- Chapter 7: Speedy Gonzalez: Layer Tips
- NAMING LAYERS (AND WHY YOU SHOULD)
- LOCK ALL THOSE LAYERS IN JUST ONE CLICK
- TOGGLE THROUGH THE BLEND MODEs
- HIDE YOUR OTHER LAYERS IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
- WHY DRAGGING AND DROPPING STYLES ROCKS!
- APPLYING LAYER STYLES TO YOUR BACKGROUND LAYER
- LOCK, LOAD, AND MOVE LAYERS
- MANAGING YOUR LAYERS
- INSTANT OPACITY CHANGE
- COPY A LAYER IN THE SAME LOCATION IN ANOTHER DOCUMENT
- MOVING MULTIPLE LAYERS FROM DOCUMENT TO DOCUMENT
- CENTERING DRAGGED LAYERS THE EASY WAY
- EASIER DROP SHADOW ANGLE ADJUSTMENTS
- LAYER NAVIGATION SHORTCUT
- SUPER-FAST LAYER COPIES
- INSTANT LAYER ALIGNMENT
- SEPARATION ANXIETY: PUT A LAYER STYLE ON A SEPARATE LAYER
- LAYER EFFECTS REMOVAL SPEED TIP
- JUMP TO ANY LAYER JUST BY CLICKING IN YOUR IMAGE
- COLOR-CODING MADE EASY
- CAN'T PAINT ON A LAYER? HERE'S WHY
- SPEED UP PHOTOSHOP BY MERGING LAYERS
- LAYER SET SUPER-SPEED TIP
- SAVE ROOM IN YOUR LAYERS PALETTE
- CAN'T WE ALL JUST HAVE THE SAME STYLE?
- LAYER PALETTE NAVIGATION SPEED TIPS
- QUICK COPY YOUR LAYER MASK
- SELECT EVERYTHING ON YOUR LAYER IN ONE CLICK
- VIEW YOUR LAYER MASK AS A RUBYLITH
- SELECTING JUST ONE OBJECT ON A LAYER
- KEEP LAYER STYLES FROM AFFECTING NEW WORK
- UN-FILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT
- OPACITY SLIDER SPEED TIPS
- CHANGE LAYER SET BLEND MODES WITH CAUTION
- AVOIDING THE LAYER MENU
- MORE CONTROL OVER BLENDS: ADVANCED BLENDING
- SHAPES WITHOUT THE SHAPE LAYER
- SECRET OPACITY SEE-THROUGH PART OF A LAYER TIP
SPEED UP PHOTOSHOP BY MERGING LAYERS
Every time you add a layer to Photoshop, it adds quite a bit of file size to your image. The larger your file size, the slower Photoshop goes. If you're creating a document that has lots of layers, before long, your file size is going to get pretty huge. One way to keep things lean and mean is to merge any layers that don't need to be separate. You do this by clicking on the topmost layer in the Layers palette, and then pressing Command-E (PC: Control-E). This merges the current layer with the layer directly beneath it. Think of it this wayevery time you merge two layers, your file size drops and Photoshop gets faster. It's like a keyboard shortcut that adds more horsepower.