eM Client manages multiple e-mail accounts well, but its free version is limited by how many accounts it can support. It makes up for it with abundant style, a relatively easy setup, and great features, though.
This program behaves like a typical e-mail manager, akin to Outlook or Thunderbird. In addition to letting you manage multiple e-mail accounts, eM Client will organize your calendar, meetings, contacts, and more for you so you don't have to think about it. You can get right to work with this client by inserting your e-mail and letting it slowly populate all of the rest of the information it needs. It has a widget for most of the popular e-mail providers and even lets you import from other clients like Outlook. It usually works without a hitch, but it may give you some difficultly if you have two-step verification on the account you're trying to set up. The program only accepts two accounts if you use the free version, so you'll need to upgrade to Pro if you want unlimited accounts. Either way, the program sports a gorgeous layout that supports color-coding and multiple themes. There's even a built-in chat that supports ICQ, Jabber, Yahoo, and most of the other popular IM clients.eM Client is so loaded with features that it's easy to forget it only supports two accounts. While this could be a burden for some, others won't have a problem. If you're happy with that limitation, this program rewards you with a stylish layout and plenty of control over your accounts.
MailChimpis unique in its ability to combine email marketing with humor. You'll find on almost every page a link to a funny YouTube video. You'll also find that MailChimp has all the features you'll need to create an effective email marketing campaign.
With MailChimp, your subscribers will be able to easily connect to social networking pages in order to share your email marketing campaigns. You'll also be able to use social networking in conjunction with your email marketing. In one click, you'll be able to send out an email campaign and update your social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Delicious, with your latest information. You can also see who has tweeted about or liked your business.
Your emails can look different depending on the email client your subscriber uses (Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Apple Mail and more). For this reason, MailChimp can determine the 10 most popular email clients that your subscribers use. MailChimp provides you a preview of how your email will appear in each of these formats so you can be sure you're sending out an email that will look great every time.
With MailChimp, you can add your own HTML email design or use one of the service's professionally designed templates. You have hundreds of professional, sleek and quirky designs to choose from. You can add images and customize the design to your satisfaction, as well. You can save the template for further use later. Before you send out your email marketing campaign, MailChimp sends your content to the Delivery Doctor. This MailChimp feature methodically tests and retests the campaign, making sure that nothing in the content draws a red flag that will inevitably send your email to your subscribers' spam folder. MailChimp will check your spam score and detect errors in your messages' HTML code.
MailChimp collects and analyzes your data and provides excellent visual representations of that data in several formats. Interactive graphs represent the customer interaction with the email campaigns you have sent out. You can view subscriber activity, social stats, click performance and advanced reports, or view an overview of all information. The Open and Click Trackingfocuses on the HTML5 chart and enables you to see your subscriber growth. You can highlight specific periods, zoom in or redraw the chart to display different information. If you are pondering when to send MailChimp email campaigns to your customers, you may want to consult the Open and Click Over Time chart first, as it will show you the number of subscribers who read your emails and at what time they read them. Opens By Locationshows where in the world your subscribers are. The Subscriber Activity Reports chart may be the one you glance at the most, as you can dig deep into the collected data in real time. You can see who received the email, when they opened it, the exact links they clicked on, who bounced the email or who didn't open it. If your emails bounced, MailChimp automatically determines which subscribers to resend the email to and which subscribers should just be permanently deleted from your contact list. Click Maps is our favorite analytical graph that you can access from MailChimp. You are able to see the email or newsletter that you sent out to your subscribers in its entirety, but there is a clickmap overlay so that you can see which links your subscribers click the most.
The Campaign Reach chart from MailChimp is simple, but effective. You are able to see the total number of your email marketing campaigns that your customers have opened, your potential customer reach and the number of views your campaign link got on Twitter and Facebook. You will also see the number of retweets and likes the campaign received. If you run an eCommerce business, MailChimp's email marketing service can track your sales from the first URL click in your email campaign all the way to purchase. MailChimp has given you almost every type of graph, chart and table to help you develop more successful email marketing campaigns. MailChimp's Analytics360 module enables you to set goals and see your progression. This report also shows you the revenue your campaign has created and the return on investment.
Your MailChimp dashboard serves as the hub for all things email marketing. Here, you can see all of your past and current email marketing campaigns, which you can easily select for comparison. The MailChimp dashboard is streamlined and simple to use. Every feature is easily accessible. It’s easy to import or add contacts as well; simply upload them from a CSV file directly into MailChimp, or add them in manually. You can also segment your lists easily to send different messages to different categories of subscribers based on where they live, their interests and other distinguishing factors.
MailChimp's email marketing service has a very impressive range of support options, which are all conveniently located on their support page. Here, you have the option to type a keyword or phrase into the knowledge base search toolbar. We typed in "survey," for example, and 10 articles pertaining to this subject populated. From the MailChimp support homepage, you can select the Email Us tab, which takes you to a contact form. If you need answers to your questions quickly, you can choose to chat with a live representative. This email marketing service also offers a customer forum. Here, you can present your ideas about features you would like MailChimp to offer, ask fellow MailChimp users questions or just engage in friendly banter. One of our favorite support options available is the online training. MailChimp's email marketing service publishes a 45-minute webinar every week and covers a wide range of topics. You can also register to watch a variety of live sessions
Tailor Windows to your workflow with these two helpful taskbar tweaks
Ian Paul
The Windows taskbar is perhaps one of the most overlooked desktop components that can be tweaked to improve your PC experience. Today, I'm going to show you two tricks you can do with the taskbar: One will give you a tad more screen space for your day-to-day work, and the second tip is a Windows XP throwback for anyone who yearns for the glory days of Windows.
Hiding for space
The taskbar is great for navigating between different open programs, checking the time, and getting system notifications. But let's be honest: A lot of the time it's just sitting down at the bottom of the screen taking up more space than it needs to.
Hiding the taskbar in Windows 7 and up takes just a few clicks.
Fortunately, the taskbar doesn't need to be there at all and can be dismissed and summoned at will. Here's how to do that in Windows 7 and 8.1.
Right-click on the taskbar and in the menu that appears, selectProperties. Under the Taskbar tab—which should be the first open tab you see—check the box next to Auto-hide the taskbar.
Then click Apply and OK. During this process, your taskbar may disappear and reappear a couple of times. Eventually, however, it should slink away into the bottom of your screen patiently waiting to be called upon.
To summon the taskbar, simply point your mouse to the bottom of the screen and it'll spring back to existence. In Windows 8.1, you'll notice the taskbar becomes a little more translucent when it's set to auto-hide.
If you ever want to return your taskbar to a permanent position, just follow the same instructions to uncheck the auto-hide box.
Bringing back Windows XP's taskbar
Select "Never Combine" to give your Windows 7 or 8 taskbar an XP flavor.
Since Windows 7, the taskbar condenses all the open windows for one program under a single icon called a taskbar button by default. If you have three Word documents open, you'll see just one Word button. Hover over that icon and you'll see three mini-previews for each open window.
Condensed buttons are handy if you like to keep your taskbar clean, but some people prefer the XP approach of seeing individual taskbar buttons for each open window.
There's an easy way to get that behavior back in newer versions of Windows. Again, right-click on the taskbar and select Properties.
Under the Taskbar tab look for the Taskbar buttons setting. Click the drop-down menu to the right of that setting and select Never combine, or Combine when taskbar is full for a more practical approach.
Then click Apply and OK as before and you're done.
An XP-style taskbar, with separate icons for each open window. (Click to enlarge.)
Each open window now has its own taskbar button just like the old days. All hail the customizable taskbar!
How to quickly convert old Google Drive Sheets to the new format for offline editing
Ian Paul
Mar 23, 2014 9:30 AM
Good news, productivity fans! The new version of Google Sheets, featuring full offline editing when you use the Google Chrome browser, is now rolling out to all users.
Bad news, productivity fans! The long-awaited offline editing will only work with spreadsheets created with the new version of Sheets. That means any older spreadsheets you have in Drive—which is probably most of them—won't work in offline mode. That's no good.
Google plans on automatically switching over all your files to the new Sheets format at some unspecified point in the future. But for now, Google suggests the easiest workaround is to copy-and-paste your old spreadsheet into a new file using the updated version of Sheets.
But that's clunky and inelegant. Fortunately, there's also a slightly simpler solution where you don't have to mess with copying and pasting at all.
The power of the desktop
To turn an old spreadsheet into a new spreadsheet, thus making it available for offline editing, we're simply going to download and then re-upload the file.
First, however, you have to make sure you're using the new version of Sheets by visitingg.co/newsheets. Second, you have to make sure your PC is ready for offline editing in Chrome by following the instructions on Google's Help pages.
Done? Good. Here we go.
Let's say we want to convert a file called "Test3."
First thing you need to do is download your Google spreadsheet as an Excel spreadsheet.
First hover over the Test3 spreadsheet in Google Drive and then right-click it. In the context menu that opens select "Download..."
A pop-up window will appear. Make sure "Microsoft Excel .xlsx" is selected in the drop-down menu so that an Excel file arrives on your desktop. Once you're ready, click the Download button.
The next part is very simple: Just grab the file that is now on your PC (probably at the download bar at the bottom of Chrome, or in the downloads folder) and drag-and-drop it over your Google Drive page in Chrome. Test3 will now be uploaded to Google Drive as an Excel spreadsheet.
Converting to the new Sheets format
Once you switch from Excel format to the new Sheets format, you're ready for offling editing.
Once it's done uploading, just right-click the new Test3 Excel file and select Open with... > Google Sheets. That will export the file to the new Google Sheets format—meaning you're good to go for offline editing.
Don't let the number of steps fool you: Once you've got the hang of it this process, it takes mere seconds over a broadband connection. More importantly, it means no fumbling with copying and pasting vast pools of data from one spreadsheet to another.
1. BackTrack 5r3: This is one of the most loved and best known Linux-based hacking distributions. Based on Canonical’s Ubuntu operating system, Backtrack’s logo says, “The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.” With version 5, the GNOME desktop environment was added along with the usual KDE desktop environment.
2. Nodezero: This is another Ubuntu-based hacking, which is used for penetration testing. Every time you get a patch for bugs in the Ubuntu OS, Nodezero also gets updated.
3. BackBox Linux: This is yet another Ubuntu-based distro being used for hacking. According to the developers, the OS has been designed to create a penetration testing distro that is fast and easy to use. It also gets update with new ethical hacking tools regularly using repositories.
4. Blackbuntu: Ubuntu itself may not be a hacking distro, but there are plenty that are based on it. This distribution comes with categories such as Network Mapping, Information Gathering, Penetration, Vulnerability Identification, Privilege Escalation, Radio Network Analysis, VoIP analysis and more.
5. Samurai Web Testing Framework: This distro lays focus on attacking websites using the best free and open source tools for hacking and attacking. The developers have incorporated four steps into the distribution, including, reconnaissance, mapping, discovery and exploitation.
6. Knoppix STD: From Ubuntu to Debian, Knoppix STD is a Debian based hacking distribution that runs the GNOME, KDE, LXDE and Openbox desktop environments. It has been around for quite a long time now and was amongst the first live distros.
7. Pentoo: This is a live CD that is meant for security testing and is based on Gentoo. It comes with a number of customised tools and kernel from the company. These include a Backported WiFi stack, XFCE4 etc.
8. Weakerthan: This distribution uses the Flufbox desktop environment and is best suited for WiFi hacking because of its many Wireless tools. It is a Debian Squeeze-based distribution that comes with tools for WiFi attacks, Cisco exploitation, SQL Hacking, Web Hacking, Bluetooth and others.
9. Matriux Krypton: After Weakerth4n, this is perhaps the first distribution that is directly based on the Debian OS. It contains an arsenal of 300 security tools and makes for a good choice for ethical hacking, penetration testing, security testing, system and network administration, cyber forensics investigations etc.
10. DEFT: This OS is based on the Linux Kernel 3 along with the Digital Advanced Response Toolkit. It uses WINE in order to run Windows tools Linux and predominantly run with the LXDE desktop environment.
Dropbox is probably the most famous cloud storage service and some new features make it even more attractive
Dropbox has always been a popular service with and small businesses, not least because it offers a fully-featured 2GB service free.
That’s not much space by today’s standards, but there are easy ways to boost it, with Dropbox giving away additional storage when you use specific features. Meanwhile, its Dropbox for Business product means it can scale up to suit larger companies too. Plans start at $795 per year for five users with a pooled 1TB of space, and scale up at $125 per additional user. Usage can be monitored and managed from a central console.
Simplicity has always been Dropbox’s biggest strength. An easy-to-setup client is installed on every PC, Mac or Linux desktop being used by one of your end users – the licence is per-user, not per system – and a special ‘dropbox’ folder is placed on each hard drive.
Files saved or dropped in the dropbox are automatically synchronised across all systems connected to the same account, not to mention a folder, accessible through a web browser, stored on Dropbox’s own servers. It’s now also possible to set individual dropbox clients to sync selectively, so that you don’t automatically copy every addition to a growing library of media onto the capacity-constrained Ultrabook you use on the move.
Files saved or dropped in the dropbox are automatically synchronised across all systems connected to the same account
A recent update has seen Dropbox’s system tray applet transformed, so that it now provides an at-a-glance view of files which have recently been added or changed, plus instant access to your files in the local Dropbox folder or on the Dropbox website.
However, most things you need to do with Dropbox can be done just by right-clicking on files and sub-folders within the Dropbox folder. Right-click on a file, for instance, and select Dropbox > View Previous Versions, and you can easily restore older versions of a file with a click. It’s possible to delete files from your dropbox by dragging them to the recycle bin, but if you do so by mistake it’s not an issue. The browser-based interface allows for rapid restorations.
Dropbox’s other key advantage is the ease and efficiency of sharing. Files and folders can be shared with other Dropbox users through email invitations, and once shared the files will synchronise automatically, with notifications when another user adds or changes the file. You can share files on the website or by right-clicking on the file in the Dropbox folder, and you can now share recently added files very quickly using the system tray applet, which also allows you to accept or reject an invitation to join a folder at a click. Files will synchronise across a LAN as well as the Internet, helping to keep business bandwidth costs low. Non-Dropbox users can also be given access to files through a web link.
All these features make Dropbox incredibly useful, and for many smaller businesses the free 2GB option could be enough. You can access files from tablets and phones using iOS, Android, Blackberry and Kindle Fire apps, and even upload photos and videos direct. Currently, Dropbox’s biggest limitation is the lack of any built-in apps to preview or edit Office documents, though preview facilities will arrive with a forthcoming update, currently being trialled. In the meantime, many mobile apps, including QuickOffice and Documents 2 Go, will open and save documents directly to and from a Dropbox account. More effective tools to organise and share photos through albums are also on their way.
One big concern may be security. Files are stored using 256-bit AES encryption and the service uses SSL for data transfer, while the actual data is held on Amazon’s S3 servers, with high security and multiple levels of redundancy. However, after embarrassing security lapses in 2011 and the theft of customer email addresses in 2012, confidence in Dropbox has been shaken. To fix this, Dropbox has improved its internal monitoring and now offers optional two-factor authentication, using a code delivered via SMS to authorise new connections. If you’re storing business-critical information, two-factor authentication is a must.
Dropbox won’t leave you hanging around. Our test files took only 27 minutes to upload and 17 minutes to download, while edited files had changes copies across in under 90 seconds. Dropbox might not have the features of Box.net or the clever integration of SkyDrive and Google Drive, but it’s simple and extremely effective, particularly when it comes to collaboration with other Dropbox users. Dropbox still does what it does extremely well, and it’s unmatched for simple, hassle-free file-synchronisation and sharing across multiple systems and multiple users. However, the capacity of the free service now seems meagre in comparison to the Microsoft and Google competition, and it struggles to match their paid services for features or value for money. It’s still the most streamlined service, but no longer necessarily the best.
CLICK HERE TO GET ONLINE SHEET(LOGIN WITH GOOGLE ACCOUNT) CLICK HERE TO GET CHOME EXTENSION
Whether you’re crunching big data or tracking your family budget, you don’t want to waste time waiting for files to load or re-doing edits that were lost because your Internet connection dropped. You can now get more done by switching tothe new version of Google Sheets. It’s faster, supports larger spreadsheets, has a number of new features, and works offline.
Bigger, faster spreadsheets
The new Sheets supports millions of cells and kicks many of the old size and complexity limits to the curb. Scrolling, loading and calculation are all snappier, even in more complex spreadsheets.
New features based on your feedback and requests Filter views is a new feature unique to Google Sheets that lets you quickly name, save and share different views of your data. This comes in handy when you’re collaborating so you can sort a spreadsheet without affecting how others see it.
Whether you’re new to formulas or a whiz at running complex functions, it’s now easier to set up and perform calculations. New function help and examples guide you as you type, and error highlighting and coloring make it easy to spot and fix mistakes.
As another time-saving improvement, text now automatically flows into empty adjacent cells—no manual merge needed.
With the improved conditional formatting, you can add rules to change the colors and styles of cells in your spreadsheet based on custom formulas.
No Internet connection? Work offline with Chrome
You shouldn’t have to think about whether you have a WiFi connection when you want to work. So just like Google Docs and Slides, you can now make edits to Sheets offline. When you reconnect to the Internet, your edits will automatically sync. If you've edited Docs or Slides offline in the past, then you’re already set up to edit Sheets offline. If not, follow these one-time instructions for setting up offline in Chrome.
Ready to try it out?
Turn on the new Sheets by checking the “Try the new Google Sheets” box in Google Drive settings. From then on, all new spreadsheets you create will work offline and include these new features. We’ll be adding a small list of missing features in the coming months, so if you rely on any of them, you may want to wait a little longer before opting in.
Control another PC from your own computer...Its Free
By Admin 07 Download
Team Viewer is a free tool that makes it incredibly easy to set and use a VPN connection; a Virtual Private Network that lets you take complete control of another PC from your own computer, whether they're separated by a soda can or a continent (and as long as both machines are running TeamViewer). It enables two-way connections in which users can flip control back and forth. TeamViewer also lets you hold virtual meetings with multiple participants (again, they all must have TeamViewer installed). With a name like TeamViewer, you'd expect it to be an enterprise-ready tool, and you'd be right: TeamViewer's robust simplicity is what happens when multiple users of vastly different skills need to use software. After a while, the bugs get squashed pretty firmly. But TeamViewer is free to non-commercial users. That means you can use it to access your work and home PCs remotely, of course. But you can also install it on your mom's PC (for example) and provide tech support from home.
We installed and opened TeamViewer on two Windows 7 PCs; one a 64-bit desktop, the other a 32-bit netbook. TeamViewer provides a user name and password for each machine. You simply need to enter each machine's numbers in the other to create a connection. The host PC's screen displays the remote PC's desktop in a window, and the host machine's mouse and keyboard control the remote PC's counterparts. We could open folders, files, and programs; run processes; and change settings: anything we could do with the remote machine's own controls, we could do from our main PC's controls, too, with TeamViewer. We tried the Meeting tool, too, but since we had TeamViewer installed on just two PCs, our pool of invitees was a bit small. TeamViewer offers some useful options; for instance, you can limit it to file transfers if you don't need total control.
Latest arrival : Microsoft Office package 2013 giving Teamviewer Proffessional Version With more facilities..!!
TeamViewer is simply the easiest tool of its type we've used, and a far cry from the VPN apps of not so long ago. And it can cut down on the phone tag when friends and family need tech support!
NB:We are available 24hrs for your Tech Support..!
Download PDF24 PDF Creator from this page and execute the setup to install the application.
After installation succeeds, a desktop icon for the PDF editor will have been created.
Double-click this icon to start the editor and to start editing PDF files.
The editor contains drag and drop option tin the editing area.
You can also drag and drop documents from PC.
If you drag documents other than PDF files, like .JPEG,PNG,PS, PCL, BMP, PCX, TIFF..etc.
These documents will be converted to PDF and vise versa.
you can delete and rearrange pages, move pages from one document to another,merge documents,change properties like author and title, secure a PDF with a password, sign a PDF document and much more.
Smudge tool, fill a layer with an off-white tone, duplicate the Background Layer and set it at the top of the stack, with Opacity at about 13%, then highlight the Smudge tool, check Sample All Layers, and start painting. It’s that simple.
89. Add texture to paintings
Photoshop tips: Add texture to paintings
Precise colour and lines
90. Draw straight lines
91. Sample a colour
colour and then set it as your Foreground colour.
92. Precise painting
93. Cycle through the brushes
94. Dodge or Burn
instantly to the Dodge tool.
95. Get a pen and tablet
96. Change hardness
97. Quick Opacity change
Adobe Camera Raw tricks
98. Use Select All
Photoshop tips: Use select all
99. Open Smart Objects
100. Mask Sharpening
Photoshop tips: Mask sharpening
101. Reset the sliders quickly
Photoshop tips: Reset the sliders quickly
102. Crop ratios
Photoshop tips: Crop ratios
103.Exposure before colour
104.Adjustment Brush controls
Photoshop tips: Adjustment Brush controls
105. Erase masks
106. Clip the blacks
107. Straighten horizons
108. Clipping views
109. Screen real estate
ACR and Bridge
110. 3D carousel view
Photoshop tips: 3D carousel view
111. Paste ACR settings
Photoshop tips: Paste ACR settings
112. Stack similar images
Photoshop tips: Stack similar images
113. Open in ACR
Photoshop tips: Open in ACR
114. Open as layers
Photoshop tips: Open as layers
115. Step-by-step Solarisation in ACR
A: Make a cone-shaped curve
Photoshop tips: Make a cone-shaped curve
B: Convert to mono
Photoshop tips: Convert to mono
Brush up your skills
116. Create a brush
117. Make sketch lines
Photoshop tips: Make sketch lines
118. Experiment
Photoshop tips: Experiment!
different brush effects and settings. The best way to find out how it works is to grab the Brush tool, choose a colour, open a new document and start painting.
119. Go further
120. Step by step: Quick brush effects
A: Set up the Brush
Photoshop tips: Set up the brush
B: Paint mask and colours
Photoshop tips: Paint mask and colours
There’s a really easy way to overlay an image on top of text. Drop an image layer over a type layer then hold down Alt and click the line between the two layers in the Layers Panel to clip the image to the text.
03. Bird’s Eye View
Want to change the default grey background to something more funky? Shift–click over the background area with the Paint Bucket tool to fill it with your foreground colour. Right-click it to go back to grey.
Go to Edit>Preferences>Performance to change the number of History states up to a maximum of 1000. Beware though of the effect that this has on performance.
Use colour coding to organise your Layers Panel. Right-clickover a layer’s eye icon to quickly access 8 colour code choices.
To close all of your documents at the same time, Shift-clickany image window’s close icon.
While using any tool, hold Cmd/Ctrl to temporarily switch to the Move tool. Release to go back to your original tool. Note that spring-loaded keyboard shortcuts work for other tool shortcuts, too.
For interactive zooming, hold Cmd/Ctrl+Space then drag right to zoom in, or left to zoom out. The zoom targets where your mouse icon is, so it’s one of the quickest ways to navigate around an image.
Hold down Cmd+Alt and drag any layer to instantly make a copy.
The Diffuse Glow filter can give highlights a soft ethereal feel, especially when you combine the effect with desaturation. Hit Dto reset colours then go to Filter>Distort> Diffuse Glow. Keep the effect fairly subtle, then go toImage>Adjustments>Hue/ Saturation and drop the saturation down to complete the dreamlike effect.
You probably know that Cmd/Ctrl+Z is Undo, but you may not know Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+Z lets you undo more than one history state.
Shift + or – will cycle through different layer Blend Modes, so long as you don’t have a tool that uses Blend Mode options settings.
Converting a Layer Style to a normal pixel-based layer gives you greater control to edit the contents. To do so, add a style then right-click Effects and choose Create Layer.
If you’re working with multiple layers and you want to view one layer on its own, there’s no need to hide all the others manually, simply hold down Alt and click the Eye icon of a layer to make every other layer invisible. Hold down Alt and click again to reveal them.
After adding any Adjustment Layer, hit Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert the Layer Mask and quickly hide the effect, then paint back over the image with white to selectively reveal the adjustment.
You can move either a mask or an image independently of one another by clicking the link between the two thumbnails in the Layers Panel. Highlight the thumbnail you want to reposition, then grab the Move tool.
Hold down Alt and drag a mask, style or layer to
Double-click the Background Layer and hit OK to convert it to an editable layer
Always use Adjustment Layers rather than directly editing a layer. This gives you three advantages: you can edit it at any time, control the strength with Opacity, and use a mask to make it work selectively.
When using the Move tool, right-click over a point in the image for a list of all the layers you’re hovering over.
The Layers Panel is the most important box in Photoshop, so you’ll want to make sure it’s set up properly for your needs. Choose Panel Options from the Fly-out menu to select different thumbnail sizes and content.
You can move layers up or down the stack in the Layers Panel while watching the image change. Hold down Cmd/Ctrl and press ] or [. Add in Shift to move a layer right to the top or bottom.
You can press Alt+Backspace to fill a layer or
A new layer filled with 50% grey is useful in lots of situations. For example, you can dodge and burn with it, add texture, or manipulate a Lens Flare effect, all in a completely non-destructive way. To create a 50% grey layer, make a new layer then go to Edit>Fill, then set the Blend Mode to Overlay.
Layer Groups are incredibly useful, but don’t bother clicking on the Layer Group icon, as you’ll have to add layers to the new group manually. Instead, you should highlight several layers and either drag them to this icon or alternatively hit Cmd/Ctrl+G.
To apply a change of font or size to multiple type layers at once, hold down Cmd/ Ctrl and click the layers in the Layers Panel to highlight them, then simply select the Type tool and change the settings in the Options Bar.
Hold down Alt and click a Layer Mask thumbnail to toggle between a view of the mask and the image. Hold down Shift and click to turn the mask on or off.
To quickly select all layers of a similar kind, such as shape or type
When not using a painting tool, you can change layer Opacity
You may be familiar with Color Range in the Select drop-down menu. But did you know that you can access a similar command through the Color Range button in the Masks Panel? (Window>Masks). This allows you to quickly make a mask by sampling colours, which can be used for making a quick spot colour effect.
Open a portrait image and a generic fire image, then grab theMove tool and check Auto-Select Layer and Show Transform Controls. Drag the fire image into the girl image to copy it in, then change the Blend Mode of the layer toScreen.
Click the bounding box to transform the fire layer, then resize, rotate and position the layer. Right-click while in Transform mode and choose Warp to wrap the fire around the body. HitCmd/Ctrl+J to copy the fire layer and transform again to build up the effect.
Almost all tools have a contextual menu that’s accessed with a simple right-click. This usually gives you the tool’s major controls and a few handy shortcuts. As well as the tool you have active, where you right-click affects the menu, too. For example, a right-click over a layer thumbnail or mask thumbnail gives different options.
Being able to quickly and easily move around your image and
With any selection tool, hold Shift to add to an existing selection and Alt to subtract from it. Shift+Alt together allows you to intersect selections.
Cut and paste a selection to a new layer and Photoshop will place it in the middle of the screen. If you want to paste it to a new layer, but keep the position the same, use Cmd/Ctrl+X to cut and Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+V to paste in place. Similarly, you should hold down Shift while dragging layers between documents with the Move tool to keep the same position.
Press Cmd/Ctrl+H to hide or reveal a selection’s ‘marching ants’ line. Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+H does the same for a Path line.
Use the Cmd/Ctrl+click shortcut on any layer thumbnail, mask thumbnail, Channel or Path to load its shape or contents as a selection.
When using the Lasso tool, hold Alt then release the mouse
The Rectangular Marquee tool has a useful ‘Style’ setting in the Options Bar that lets you make a selection at a fixed ratio or size. This is helpful if you want to select a specific area to use as a wallpaper or for web pages.
You can transform a selection in just the same way as a layer. Just go to Select>Transform Selection. Right-click to choose from familiar transform modes like Skew and Warp.
If you're new to the Pen Tool, this is one of the best Photoshop tips out there! As a new user it can be frustrating when plotting anchor points, as often you’re not entirely sure how your next curve will behave. There’s a useful feature hidden in the Options Bar that can be a godsend for beginners. Click the ‘Geometry options’ drop-down (next to Auto Add/Delete) and checkRubber Band. Now, as you use the Pen tool you’ll see an interactive preview of your next curve before you add it.
A little-known feature of the Crop tool allows you to hide, rather than delete cropped areas. To do this, you’ll need to make the Background Layer editable first, so double-click it then hit OK. Next, grab the Crop tool and drag a crop window, then instead of applying the crop, check Hide in the Options. Now you can re-crop at any time by dragging outside the window to reveal the previously cropped areas.
When using the Pen tool, hold down Cmd/Ctrl to temporarily switch to the Direct Selection tool. This lets you move anchor points and control handles.
To add a point, hover over the existing path line and the Pen tool will automatically change to the Add Anchor Point tool.
Remove handles from a point and make it into a sharp angle byAlt-clicking over it.
Turn any active selection into a path by clicking the ‘Make Workpath from Selection’ icon at the bottom of the Paths Panel.
Add handles to a point by holding Alt then dragging outwards from the point.
Once you’ve made a path with the Pen tool, right-click for lots of options, including Make Selection, Fill Path and Stroke Path.
For a magnetic Pen tool that behaves just like the Magnetic Lasso tool, choose the Freeform Pen tool from the Tools Panel then check ‘Magnetic’ in the Options Bar.
Go to Window Channel then drag the Blue Channel to the New Channel icon to duplicate it. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+L to access Levels, then drag the white and black point sliders in dramatically to make the sky totally white and the land black. Now use the Brush tool and paint with black to tidy any bits in the land.
Hold Cmd/Ctrl and click the Blue Copy Channel to load a selection of the white areas. Click back on the RGB Channel then go to the Layers Panel and add a Curves Adjustment Layer. The selection is automatically turned into a mask. Drag down on the curve to darken the sky.
For tablet owners, Adobe Eazel is both fun and a serious painting tool. Finger-painted brush strokes have a fluidity that’s difficult to create on a computer. Wireless transmission between tablet and Photoshop streamlines the painting process.
When using a non-circular brush, you may find the need to change the angle of the brush tip. To do this, click the Brush Panel in the Options Bar then highlight Brush Tip shape and drag the circle to change the angle of the brush. You can also flip it horizontally or vertically with the check boxes.
Clone around corners by rotating a clone source. To do so, useShift+Alt+ < or >. It helps if you have Show Overlay checked in the Clone Source Panel, so that you can see the rotation.
The Bevel and Emboss filter is often used by digital painters to make brush strokes look like ridged layers of paint. Merge a copy of all the layers, then set the Blend Mode to Overlay and apply the Bevel and Emboss filter.
When using the Brush tool, hold down Alt and the right mouse button for a preview of the Brush tip’s size and hardness. Drag down and up to increase or decrease hardness, and drag right or left to change the size.
Photoshop tips don't just come in the form of shortcuts. When painting, it’s often easier to rotate the canvas rather than try to bend your wrist into an uncomfortable position. Just as a sketcher would angle a piece of paper, you can angle your canvas by holding down R then dragging it around. Release Rand you’ll flip back to your original tool. To revert back to normal, hold down R and click Reset View in the options.
Smudge painting is quick and immensely satisfying. To paint with the
As a finishing touch, you can make your paintings look much more authentic by adding a paper texture. Copy a texture on top of your image, then experiment with Blend Modes and Opacity until you get the right effect. The Darken or Multiply modes will usually provide you with good results.
To draw a straight line with the Brush tool, hold down Shift and then click two points.
With the Brush tool selected, hold down Alt and click to sample a
Press Caps Lock to switch your cursor to a crosshair.
Use , and . to cycle left or right through the brushes in the Brush Preset Picker.
When painting with the Burn tool, you can hold down Alt to switch
If you’re into digital painting, but don’t own a graphics tablet, you’re missing out on a whole new world of creativity. There are plenty of good, entry-level tablets available, but if you want mid-range features that include multi-touch input, treat yourself to a Wacom Intuos 5.
As you probably know, the ] and [ bracket keys change your brush size, but you can also use Shift+ ] or [ to change the brush hardness.
When using the Brush tool, press any number between 0 and 9 and the Brush Opacity will set to it. 1 for 10%, 9 for 90%, 0 for 100%. Press Shift and a number to adjust Flow.
The following Photoshops tips focus on Camera Raw. To quickly batch process a group of images, open them all in ACR (the easiest way to do this is through Adobe Bridge) and then clickSelect All. Now, any changes you make to one image will be applied to all the open files.
Hold down Shift in ACR and the Open Image button switches to Open Object. Now the file opens as a Smart Object, which means you can double-click the layer thumbnail in Photoshop to go back and edit the layer in ACR.
The Masking slider in the Detail Panel lets you control which areas of an image are sharpened, but it’s impossible to judge unless you hold down Alt as you drag. This displays a greyscale view, in which black areas are protected from sharpening, enabling you to isolate the sharpening to edge areas.
Double-click any slider to reset it to 0. If you click once, then the slider jumps to the point you’re over. So if you keep the mouse still, you can single-click, then double-click over a point for a quick ‘before and after’ view of any adjustment you’ve made.
Square crops can help to make your images stand out from the crowd. For a list of different crop ratios, hold down the mouse button over the Crop tool. Remember, like everything else in ACR, cropping is non- destructive, so you can try out different ratios and adjust the crop at any time.
It’s always best to adjust exposure before you move on to colour correction.
The Adjustment Brush is perfect for selective toning in ACR. The brush works by setting pins, each linked to a painted mask that specifies the area you want to tweak. You’ll need to view the mask when painting, and hide it when using the sliders to adjust the area. Hit Y to switch the view of the mask on or off.
When painting with the Adjustment Brush, hold down Alt to erase parts of the mask.
Deep blacks give an image extra punch, so it’s okay to clip the blacks a little. For deep blacks, drag the Black point slider inwards while holding down Alt until a few dark spots appear.
Hold down A and drag a line to straighten your images.
Hold down Alt while dragging the Exposure, Blacks or Recovery slider to see any clipped pixels, or click the icons at the top right and left of the histogram to see them all the time.
Make the most of your screen size by hitting F to switch the ACR display to Full Screen Mode.
Looking for Photoshop tips to view images in interesting ways? Look no further. All you need to do is hit Cmd/Ctrl+B to see your images in a snazzy 3D carousel. Scroll through the images with the left and right arrow keys and hit down to remove an image from the view.
You can copy ACR treatments from one file to another in Bridge. Right-click any file with the circular ACR icon, then go to Develop Settings>Copy Settings. Right-click another file (or hold down Cmd/Ctrl and click to select more than one) then choose Paste settings.
Stacks can help you keep your workspace tidy and easier to navigate by grouping similar images together. Select a group of files (hold down Shift and click the first and last) then go toStacks>Group as Stack.
Raw files open automatically into ACR, but you can open JPEGs and TIFFs, too, by right-clicking them and choosing ‘Open in Camera Raw’, or simply hit Cmd/Ctrl+R.
You can load a group of images into layers of a single document by going to Tools> Photoshop>Load Files into Photoshop Layers.
Open an image in ACR, then click the Tone Curve Panel. Drag all the points off the curve to delete them, then make one single point in the middle. Drag this down, then drag the bottom left of the curve to line up to the top, making an inverted cone shape.
Click the HSL/Greyscale Panel and check ‘Convert to Black and White’. Use the sliders to tweak the black and white conversion. If you want to add some colour, go to Split Toning and adjust the sliders to add colour to the shadows and highlights. One of the top mono Photoshop tips!
You can create a brush tip from any image you like. Simply convert to monochrome, then make a selection and go toEdit>Define BrushPreset. Only dark parts are recorded; any parts that are pure white aren’t included in the brush tip. So if you want the shape of the brush to be clear, you need to isolate the object or shape against a white background.
If you want to turn a photo into a painting, adding sketch lines can make the effect look more realistic. To do so, duplicate your layer then go to Filter>Stylise> Glowing Edges, then invert the colours, desaturate and use the Darken or Multiply Blend Mode.
The Brush Panel is the control centre for hundreds, if not thousands, of
To take the above tip further, try painting on different layers and use different Blend Modes, or add Layer Style effects to your painted layer.
Load up a generic portrait image and then load the Square Brushes from the Brush Picker drop-down menu.
Select a square brush, then open the Brush Panel and use these settings: Brush tip shape: Spacing 631%. Shape Dynamics: Size, Angle, Roundness Jitter – all 100%. Scattering: Scatter 638%, Count Jitter 50%. Colour Dynamics: Foreground/ Background Jitter 20%, Saturation Jitter 20%. Brightness 30%.
Use the Lasso tool to select the girl then hit Shift+Backspaceand choose Fill: Content-Aware. Hold down Alt and click the Add Layer Mask icon then set Foreground colour to white and paint on the mask over the girl to hide parts of the body. Next, add a new empty layer and hold down Alt to sample colours from the girl, then paint to add coloured fragments. Add a second new layer, paint larger strokes, then blur slightly withFilter> Gaussian Blur.
