5 Photoshop Tips to Make Your Life Easier
by Margaret Penney | March 6, 2017
Make a Duplicate
Making duplicates in Photoshop is useful for when you are creating a pattern or want to have a new version of an element in order to add adjustments on the fly. The quickest way to make a duplicate (that doesn’t get in the way of your process) is to choose ALT + DRAG.
ALT + DRAG
Create a Clipping Mask
If you create digital collage or complex typographic designs you probably use clipping masks quite a bit. The clipping mask selection can be a bit tricky, your best bet for creating clipping masks quickly is to choose Alt and then click between the two layers. Note: make sure the clipping mask layer is on top.
ALT + CLICK BETWEEN LAYERS
Select A Layer
If you want to move elements around your artboard as you would in real-life the easiest way to grab anything on any layer is to choose CTRL + ALT + RIGHT-CLICK. You can save much time if you do this.
CLTL + ALT + RIGHT-CLICK
Draw a Straight Line
The easiest and fastest way to make a straight line in Photoshop is to choose Shift + Paintbrush.
SHIFT + PAINTBRUSH TOOL
Merge Layers, Make New Layer
If you’re creating a group of webpages within one Photoshop document, or just working iteratively it’s useful to know how to select a group of layers and convert them into a new layer. To do that just choose CTRL+ SHIFT + ALT + E.
CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + E
Margaret Penney is a former Managing Editor of Notes on Design. Margaret is a teacher, designer, writer and new media artist and founder of Hello Creative Co. Read more articles by Margaret.
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