The Options Bar

Below the menu bar, we find the options bar.

In this bar we set the options for the tool selected in the toolbar, constantly making changing to these settings.

For example, the “Brush” tool is selected in the previous illustration of the Options bar.

And the tool “Rectangle” is selected in the following illustration of the Options bar

When we learn how to use the different tools, you can set options for the selected tool in this bar.

We can make the Options Bar visible or invisible by clicking on “Window” in the menu bar and selecting “Options” from the drop-down menu.

Image Window

In the earlier versions of Photoshop, all the photos are in their own window, this has now changed.
In CS4 version, the photos are opened in different tabs by default.

If you have opened several pictures to display in the tab bar, you see a double right pointing arrow. When you click this button, it opens a drop-down menu with a list of all open photos.

The one, which has a checkmark next to it, is selected at that time.

The order of the pictures in this list is determined by the order in which the tabs are located. You can drag tabs to any place you want in the tab bar.

You can use the tabs, or rather disconnect the photos from the tab bar by dragging the picture under the tab bar.

You can close a picture by clicking on the x icon.

You can close all the pictures by the keyboard shortcut Alt + Ctrl + W button on your keyboard.

If you like all this stuff, but not the tabs and would rather want to open each picture in its own window, no problem. Click the “Edit” button in the menu bar, choose “Preferences” from the drop-down menu and click the “Interface”.

In the “Preferences”, uncheck the box for the “Open Documents as Tabs” option and click the “OK” button.

The next time you open one or more photos, these are all in their own image window.

Guides and Rulers

We can use different guides to assist us in making changes in our image.

To insert guides, we first open the rulers. Just click the button “View” in the menu bar and select “Rulers” in the drop-down menu.

To add a horizontal guide click and drag down the pointer from the top ruler, release the mouse button when the desired position of your line is reached.

Ditto for vertical lines, but then we start in the vertical ruler. I think it is logical.

We can always change the position of the guide.

Move the mouse pointer over this line and when it turns into a double arrow, click and drag it to another position.

To remove a guide, click and drag it back into the ruler.

To remove all guides, click the “View” in the menu bar and select “Clear Guides” in the drop-down menu.

If you want to lock the guides, click the “View” in the menu bar and select “Lock Guides” in the drop-down menu.
If you wish to add a guide at a certain position in the window, click the “View” in the menu bar and select “New Guide” in the drop-down menu.
In the window that appears, you can enter the position of the horizontal or vertical guide that you want to add.

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