- Photoshop User Guide
- Introduction to Photoshop
- Photoshop and other Adobe products and services
- Photoshop on the iPad (not available in mainland China)
- Photoshop on the iPad | Common questions
- Get to know the workspace
- System requirements | Photoshop on the iPad
- Create, open, and export documents
- Add photos
- Work with layers
- Draw and paint with brushes
- Make selections and add masks
- Retouch your composites
- Work with adjustment layers
- Adjust the tonality of your composite with Curves
- Apply transform operations
- Crop and rotate your composites
- Rotate, pan, zoom, and reset the canvas
- Work with Type layers
- Work with Photoshop and Lightroom
- Get missing fonts in Photoshop on the iPad
- Japanese Text in Photoshop on the iPad
- Manage app settings
- Touch shortcuts and gestures
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Edit your image size
- Livestream as you create in Photoshop on the iPad
- Correct imperfections with the Healing Brush
- Create brushes in Capture and use them in Photoshop on the iPad
- Work with Camera Raw files
- Create and work with Smart Objects
- Adjust exposure in your images with Dodge and Burn
- Auto adjustment commands in Photoshop on the iPad
- Smudge areas in your images with Photoshop on the iPad
- Saturate or desaturate your images using Sponge tool
- Content aware fill for iPad
- Photoshop on the web (not available in mainland China)
- Common questions
- System requirements
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Supported file types
- Introduction to the workspace
- Open and work with cloud documents
- Generative AI features
- Basic concepts of editing
- Quick Actions
- Work with layers
- Retouch images and remove imperfections
- Make quick selections
- Image improvements with Adjustment Layers
- Add a fill layer
- Move, transform, and crop images
- Draw and paint
- Draw and edit Shapes
- Work with Type layers
- Work with anyone on the web
- Manage app settings
- Generate Image
- Generate Background
- Reference Image
- Photoshop (beta) (not available in mainland China)
- Generative AI (not available in mainland China)
- Common questions on generative AI in Photoshop
- Generative Fill in Photoshop on the desktop
- Generate Image with descriptive text prompts
- Generative Expand in Photoshop on the desktop
- Replace background with Generate background
- Get new variations with Generate Similar
- Generative Fill in Photoshop on the iPad
- Generative Expand in Photoshop on the iPad
- Generative AI features in Photoshop on the web
- Content authenticity (not available in mainland China)
- Cloud documents (not available in mainland China)
- Photoshop cloud documents | Common questions
- Photoshop cloud documents | Workflow questions
- Manage and work with cloud documents in Photoshop
- Upgrade cloud storage for Photoshop
- Unable to create or save a cloud document
- Solve Photoshop cloud document errors
- Collect cloud document sync logs
- Invite others to edit your cloud documents
- Share files and comment in-app
- Workspace
- Workspace basics
- Preferences
- Learn faster with the Photoshop Discover Panel
- Create documents
- Place files
- Default keyboard shortcuts
- Customize keyboard shortcuts
- Tool galleries
- Performance preferences
- Use tools
- Presets
- Grid and guides
- Touch gestures
- Use the Touch Bar with Photoshop
- Touch capabilities and customizable workspaces
- Technology previews
- Metadata and notes
- Place Photoshop images in other applications
- Rulers
- Show or hide non-printing Extras
- Specify columns for an image
- Undo and history
- Panels and menus
- Position elements with snapping
- Position with the Ruler tool
- Web, screen, and app design
- Image and color basics
- How to resize images
- Work with raster and vector images
- Image size and resolution
- Acquire images from cameras and scanners
- Create, open, and import images
- View images
- Invalid JPEG Marker error | Opening images
- Viewing multiple images
- Customize color pickers and swatches
- High dynamic range images
- Match colors in your image
- Convert between color modes
- Color modes
- Erase parts of an image
- Blending modes
- Choose colors
- Customize indexed color tables
- Image information
- Distort filters are unavailable
- About color
- Color and monochrome adjustments using channels
- Choose colors in the Color and Swatches panels
- Sample
- Color mode or Image mode
- Color cast
- Add a conditional mode change to an action
- Add swatches from HTML CSS and SVG
- Bit depth and preferences
- Layers
- Layer basics
- Nondestructive editing
- Create and manage layers and groups
- Select, group, and link layers
- Place images into frames
- Layer opacity and blending
- Mask layers
- Apply Smart Filters
- Layer comps
- Move, stack, and lock layers
- Mask layers with vector masks
- Manage layers and groups
- Layer effects and styles
- Edit layer masks
- Extract assets
- Reveal layers with clipping masks
- Generate image assets from layers
- Work with Smart Objects
- Blending modes
- Combine multiple images into a group portrait
- Combine images with Auto-Blend Layers
- Align and distribute layers
- Copy CSS from layers
- Load selections from a layer or layer mask's boundaries
- Knockout to reveal content from other layers
- Selections
- Get started with selections
- Make selections in your composite
- Select and Mask workspace
- Select with the marquee tools
- Select with the lasso tools
- Adjust pixel selections
- Move, copy, and delete selected pixels
- Create a temporary quick mask
- Select a color range in an image
- Convert between paths and selection borders
- Channel basics
- Save selections and alpha channel masks
- Select the image areas in focus
- Duplicate, split, and merge channels
- Channel calculations
- Get started with selections
- Image adjustments
- Replace object colors
- Perspective warp
- Reduce camera shake blurring
- Healing brush examples
- Export color lookup tables
- Adjust image sharpness and blur
- Understand color adjustments
- Apply a Brightness/Contrast adjustment
- Adjust shadow and highlight detail
- Levels adjustment
- Adjust hue and saturation
- Adjust vibrance
- Adjust color saturation in image areas
- Make quick tonal adjustments
- Apply special color effects to images
- Enhance your image with color balance adjustments
- High dynamic range images
- View histograms and pixel values
- Match colors in your image
- Crop and straighten photos
- Convert a color image to black and white
- Adjustment and fill layers
- Curves adjustment
- Blending modes
- Target images for press
- Adjust color and tone with Levels and Curves eyedroppers
- Adjust HDR exposure and toning
- Dodge or burn image areas
- Make selective color adjustments
- Adobe Camera Raw
- Camera Raw system requirements
- What's new in Camera Raw
- Introduction to Camera Raw
- Create panoramas
- Supported lenses
- Vignette, grain, and dehaze effects in Camera Raw
- Default keyboard shortcuts
- Automatic perspective correction in Camera Raw
- Radial Filter in Camera Raw
- Manage Camera Raw settings
- Open, process, and save images in Camera Raw
- Repair images with the Enhanced Spot Removal tool in Camera Raw
- Rotate, crop, and adjust images
- Adjust color rendering in Camera Raw
- Process versions in Camera Raw
- Make local adjustments in Camera Raw
- Image repair and restoration
- Image enhancement and transformation
- Drawing and painting
- Paint symmetrical patterns
- Draw rectangles and modify stroke options
- About drawing
- Draw and edit shapes
- Painting tools
- Create and modify brushes
- Blending modes
- Add color to paths
- Edit paths
- Paint with the Mixer Brush
- Brush presets
- Gradients
- Gradient interpolation
- Fill and stroke selections, layers, and paths
- Draw with the Pen tools
- Create patterns
- Generate a pattern using the Pattern Maker
- Manage paths
- Manage pattern libraries and presets
- Draw or paint with a graphics tablet
- Create textured brushes
- Add dynamic elements to brushes
- Gradient
- Paint stylized strokes with the Art History Brush
- Paint with a pattern
- Sync presets on multiple devices
- Migrate presets, actions, and settings
- Text
- Filters and effects
- Saving and exporting
- Color Management
- Web, screen, and app design
- Video and animation
- Printing
- Automation
- Troubleshooting
For Photoshop versions earlier than Photoshop CC, some functionality discussed in this article may be available only if you have Photoshop Extended. Photoshop does not have a separate Extended offering. All features in Photoshop Extended are part of Photoshop.
Preview a frame animation
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Do one of the following:
Click the Play button in the Timeline panel.
Use the spacebar to play and pause the animation.
The animation is displayed in the document window. The animation repeats indefinitely unless you specified another repeat value in the Play Options dialog box.
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To stop the animation, click the Stop button .
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To rewind the animation, click the Selects First Frame button .Note:
To see a more accurate preview of the animation and timing, preview the animation in a web browser. In Photoshop, open the Save For Web dialog box and click the Preview In Browser button. Use the browser’s Stop and Reload commands to stop or replay the animation.
Set the timeline area to preview
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To set the timeline duration you want to export or preview, do any of the following in the Timeline panel:
Drag either end of work area bar.
Drag the work area bar over the section you want to preview.
Move the current-time indicator to the time or frame you want. From the panel menu, choose either Work Area > Set Start At Playhead or Work Area > Set End At Playhead.
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To remove the portions of the timeline not in the work area, choose Trim Document Duration To Work Area from the panel menu.
Previewing video or timeline animations
Your video or animation can be previewed in the document window. Photoshop uses RAM to preview the video or animation during your editing session. When you play or drag to preview frames, they are automatically cached for faster playback the next time they’re played. The cached frames are indicated by the green bar in the work area of the Timeline panel. The number of frames cached depends on the amount of RAM available to Photoshop.
Preview a video or timeline animation
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Do any of the following:
In the timeline, drag the current-time indicator.
Use the playback buttons at the bottom of the Animation panel Timeline panel.
Press the spacebar to play or stop playback. For additional shortcuts, see Keys for the Animation panel in Timeline Mode.
Note:To see a more accurate preview of an animation created for the web, preview the animation in a web browser. Use the browser’s Stop and Reload commands to stop or replay the animation. Open the Save For Web dialog box, and click the Preview In Browser button.
Preview audio for video layers
When you enable audio previews for video layers, Photoshop includes the audio in files exported to QuickTime Movie format. (See Export video files or image sequences.)
In the Timeline panel, do either of the following:
- To enable or disable audio previews for a specific video layer, click the speaker icon for that layer.
- To enable or disable audio previews for an entire document, click the speaker icon to the right of the playback buttons at the bottom of the panel.
Enable frame skipping
Photoshop can skip uncached frames to achieve real-time playback.
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With Timeline panel in timeline animation mode, choose Allow Frame Skipping from the panel menu.
Preview your document on a video monitor
The Video Preview plug‑in lets you preview the current frame specified in the animation timeline (or any image open in Photoshop) through FireWire (IEEE 1394) on a display device, such as a video monitor. You can also adjust the aspect ratio for proper display of images.
On 64-bit operating systems, you must use the 32-bit version of Photoshop to access the Video Preview plug-in.
The Video Preview plug‑in supports RGB, grayscale, and indexed images. (The plug‑in converts 16‑bpc images to 8‑bpc images.) The Video Preview plug‑in does not support alpha channels. Transparency is displayed as black.
The Video Preview plug‑in does not lock the display device. When Photoshop is in the background on your computer and another application moves into the foreground, the preview turns off and the device is unlocked so other applications can use it for preview purposes.
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Connect a display device, such as a video monitor, to your computer via FireWire (IEEE 1394).
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With a document open in Photoshop, do one of the following:
If you don’t want to set output options for viewing your document on a device, choose File > Export > Send Video Preview To Device. You can skip the rest of the steps in this procedure.
To set output options before viewing your document on the device, choose File > Export > Video Preview.
The Video Preview dialog box opens. If your document’s pixel aspect ratio doesn’t match the aspect ratio settings of the display device, you will see an alert.
Note:The Send Video Preview To Device command uses the previous settings in the Video Preview dialog box.
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Under Device Settings, specify options for the device that will display the image:
(Mac OS) To specify an output mode, select NTSC or PAL. If the output mode and the device do not match (for example, specifying NTSC for the output mode and connecting to a device in PAL mode), black patches appear on previewing.
To specify the aspect ratio of the display device, choose either Standard (4:3) or Widescreen (16:9) from the Aspect Ratio menu.
Note:The Aspect Ratio setting determines which placement options are available.
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Under Image Options, choose a placement option to determine how the image appears in the display device:
Center
Places the center of the image at the center of the screen, cropping the portions that fall outside the display edges of the video preview device.
Pillarbox
Displays a 4:3 image on a 16:9 display with the center of the image at the center of the screen and gray bands on the left and right sides of the image. This option is available only if you chose Widescreen (16:9) for the device aspect ratio.
Crop to 4:3
Displays a 16:9 image on a 4:3 display with the center of the image at the center of the screen and without distortion by cropping the left and right edges of the frame that fall outside the display edges of the video preview device. This option is available only if you chose Standard (4:3) for the device aspect ratio.
Letterbox
Scales a 16:9 image to fit on a 4:3 display. Gray bands appear on the top and bottom of the image due the difference in aspect ratio between the 16:9 image and the 4:3 display. This maintains the display aspect ratio without cropping or distorting the image. This option is available only if you chose Standard (4:3) for the device aspect ratio.
Crop To 14:9/Letterbox
Displays a widescreen image cropped to a 14:9 aspect ratio with black bands on either the top and bottom of the image (when viewed on a 4:3 display) or on the left and right sides (when viewed on a 16:9 display). This maintains the display aspect ratio without distorting the image.
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Choose an option from the Image Size menu to control whether the document pixels are scaled to the device display:
Do Not Scale
Applies no vertical scaling to the image. The image is cropped if its height is greater than that of the video display.
Scale To Fit Within Frame
Increases or decreases the image height and width proportionally to fit in the video frame. With this option, a 16:9 image appears on a 4:3 display as letterbox, and a 4:3 image appears on a 16:9 display as pillarbox.
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Select the Apply Pixel Aspect Ratio To Preview check box to display the image using the document’s (nonsquare) pixel aspect ratio. Deselect this option to display the image as it appears on your computer (square pixel) monitor.
By default, the Apply Pixel Aspect Ratio To Preview check box is selected to maintain the image’s pixel aspect ratio. In general, you would deselect this option if the document’s pixel aspect ratio is assumed to be square and you want to view the image as it would appear on a computer (square pixel) monitor.
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Click OK to export the document to the device display.