For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be using Adobe Photoshop CC to introduce you to the Photoshop menus.  Upon completion, you should have a general understanding where to locate common commands within each menu.

If you are currently using a different version of Photoshop, some features may be different, but you should still be able to follow along.

As always, if you have any questions, please leave a comment or contact us directly and we will answer as soon as possible.

Terms to Know

With all the slang and tech terms being used today, it can be difficult to make sense of everything.  Understanding the latest jargon will help you navigate through Photoshop a little easier.  Therefore, I have listed a few key terms used in this tutorial.  You can access all Photoshop Key Terms here.

• Place Embedded – Places an image as a smart object directly into a Photoshop File.
• Place Linked – Places an image that is linked to the external file.  When the image is updated, it also updates the image in the Photoshop File.
• Ellipse – The three dots following a command indicating additional options are available.
• RGB – The most commonly used color mode where red, green, and blue are combined in many ways to create other colors.
• CMYK – A color mode that uses cyan, magenta, yellow and black in creating various colors.
• PNG – Portable Network Graphics.   A standard format for print and web images that supports full levels of transparency.
• Transform Control Points – The eight square boxes located around the bounding box of a selection.
• Snap to Grid – Acts like a magnet using a snap action to precisely align objects to guides, edges, boundaries or other objects.

Photoshop Menus

Now that you have opened or created a new file, it’s time to become familiar with the most commonly used menus in Photoshop.  In addition, we will highlight the most commonly used commands in a few menus.

Continue scrolling or select a menu to learn more.

Main Menu Bar

File Menu

Edit Menu

Image Menu

Filter Menu

View Menu

Windows Menu

 

Main Menu Bar

The one thing most software programs have in common is the Main Menu Bar.  It groups together similar commands in a drop-down selection list.

To begin with, the main menu bar contains 11 menus located across the top of your document.  Each one contains commands that may be useful for your project.

You may notice that some commands are followed by an ellipsis (three dots following a command).  This indicates additional setting are available for that command.

Commands with a right pointing triangle to the far right, indicate additional options are available for that command.

Menu commands that are grayed out are disabled for the action you are trying to complete.  Generally, this normally happens if you do not have an object or layer selected. 

When Undo is grayed out, this indicates there are no previous actions to undo.

File Menu

First up in the Main Menu Bar is the File Menu.  It contains commands for opening or creating new files, saving, placing files in your document and printing.

• New – Opens a new file.  To learn more about creating new files, see Series 1 – Working with Photoshop Files.
• Open – Opens an existing file.  To learn more about opening files, see Series 1 – Working with Photoshop Files.
• Open Recent – Brings up the last 20 files you have opened or created.
• Close – Closes the current file.
• Save as – Allows you to save files as jpeg, png, pdf., etc.  For more information on file formats see Photoshop File Formats.
• Place Embedded – Places Photoshop compatible files directly into the file you are currently working in.
• Print – Prints your file.
• Exit – Exits the current file you are working on.

Edit Menu

The second tab in the Main Menu Bar is the Edit Menu.  This menu contains commands used for direct editing on images within in your file.  Study this one!  Undoubtedly, you will use the UNDO and REDO commands more than any other.

• Undo – The most commonly used command that allows you to undo your last action.
• Step Forward – Allows you to move forward through undo commands.
• Step Backward – Allows you to go back multiple steps, one at a time.  Unfortunately, you cannot undo any actions before the document was opened.
• Cut – Uses the selection tool to cut an area out of its original object.
• Copy – Uses the selection tool to copy an area of an object without changing the original.
• Paste – Pastes the selection that was cut or copied.
• Fill – Fill the a selection or layer with a chosen color or pattern
• Stroke – Adds an outline to your selection or layer with a cho color.
• Free Transform – Allows you to freely transform a raster image, vector shape or path using the transform control points.
• Transform – Allows you to flip, scale, rotate, skew, distort, or change the perspective of an object or text.

Image Menu

The image menu contains options that allow you to alter the appearance of an image.  In addition, it provides options to adjust the size, resolution, color, and size of your image or document.

• Mode – Used to change the file to a different color scheme. RGB and CMYK are the most commonly used.
• Adjustments – This is where you will make most of your photo enhancements and color manipulations.
• Auto Tone / Contrast / Color – Automatically adjusts the tone, contrast or color of an object or photo.
• Image Size – Allows you to change the height, width and/or resolution of your file.
• Canvas Size – Changes the size of your canvas to increase or decrease your working space. **CAUTION** Decreasing the canvas size will permanently delete objects (or a portion of an object).
• Image Rotation – Allows you to rotate or flip an image.
• Crop – Allows you remove areas and straighten photos while keeping the original intact. Also, you can resize your artboard using the dimensions you specify.  **CAUTION** Resizing your artboard will permanently delete objects (or a portion of an object).
• Trim – Automatically trims an object or photo based on transparent pixels or solid colored areas in the background.

Filter Menu

The filter menu contains many useful tools that can do everything from retouching to adding art effects to your photos.  You don’t necessarily need to know about each one, but I wanted to introduce them as they can add stunning effects to any project.

• Filter Gallery – Contains several different types of artistic and texture effects.  Using the Filter Gallery is very helpful when you need to apply more than one filter to an object.  For example, it may take a 2-3 different filter effects to transform your photos into a charcoal sketch or cartoon character.  A huge plus in using the filter gallery is the instant preview.  In other words, your original photo remains unchanged until you like what you see.
• 3D – Creates bump maps on 3D objects.
• Blur – Adds a subtle or soft blur to your selection or layer.
• Blur Gallery – Several blur options you can add to specific areas of an image.
• Distort – Adds a wavy, rippled, zigzag or twirlly distorted effect to images.
• Noise – Adds random color pixels to your image.
• Pixelate – Transforms images into color squares to give it a pixelated look.
• Render – Adds lighting, shadow, clouds and texture effects to images.
• Sharpen – Adds contrast to increase your images clarity.
• Stylize – Adds artistic effects to your image.

View Menu

The view menu controls several helpful commands that control the visibility of your images, workspace and/or document.

• Zoom In/Zoom Out – Allows you to zoom in or out to control the visibility of your image.
• Fit on Screen – Automatically zooms in or out to view the entire workspace.
• Fit Artboard on Screen – Automatically zooms in or out to view the entire artboard.
• 100% / 200% – Automatically zooms in or out to 100% / 200%.
• Print Size – Shows the actual print size.
• Rulers – Selecting the rulers command will allow them to be visible on your screen.
• Snap /Snap To – The snap feature works much like a magnet.  It allows you to perfectly align objects, text, and guides to other objects, guides, layers, etc.  In other words, as you move objects around, they will automatically “snap to” another object or guide in its path.  This is especially helpful to keep everything uniform.  You can set the options to snap to guides, grid, layers, slices, document bounds or a combination of all.
• New Guide – Guides are visual, non-printing lines that aid in keeping objects precisely aligned.

Windows Menu

The windows menu contains a list of the floating panels that can be used in your workspace.  You can select to show any combination of the available panels.  This is interchangeable and can be customized for each document.

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Up Next!

Next, let’s move on and learn about the Photoshop Toolbar.

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