- 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
Learn how to easily mask images. Turn shapes or text into frames that you can use as placeholders and fill with images. Easily replace an image by dropping another one into the frame — it automatically scales to fit.
Create a placeholder frame
You can create placeholder frames for images in any of the following ways:
- Use the Frame Tool to draw empty rectangular or elliptical frames on the canvas.
- Convert any existing shape or text to a frame.
- With an existing image on the canvas, use the Frame Tool to draw over the desired area of the image.
Create frames with the Frame Tool
- Select the Frame Tool from the Tools panel or press 'K'.
- In the Tool options bar, choose a rectangular frame or an elliptical frame .
- Draw a new frame on the canvas.
Convert any shape or text to a frame
- In the Layers panel, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) a text layer or a shape layer and choose Convert To Frame from the context-menu.
- In the New Frame dialog, enter a Name and set a specific Width and Height for the frame.
- Click OK.
Draw a frame over an existing image on the canvas
- Select the Frame Tool from the Tools panel or press 'K'.
- In the Tool options bar, choose a rectangular frame or an elliptical frame.
- With an existing image on the canvas, draw a frame over the desired area of the image.
- When you draw the frame, the image is masked by the frame boundaries.
Place an image into a frame
Content placed in frames is always placed as Smart Objects so that it can be scaled non-destructively. The content automatically scales to fit the frame. You can place content in a frame in any of the following ways:
- Drag an Adobe Stock asset or a libraries asset from the Libraries panel into the frame. The asset is placed as Smart Object that is linked back to Creative Cloud Libraries by default. To get the original separated layer (not linked to Libraries), hold down Alt key (Win) / Option key (Mac) as you drag from the Libraries panel or use the Place Layers command in the Libraries panel.
- Drag an image from your local disk into the frame. The image is placed as Embedded Smart Object. To create a Linked Smart Object, hold down Alt key (Win) / Option key (Mac) as you drag-and-drop the image.
- Select a frame. From the menu bar, select File > Place Linked or Place Embedded. In the dialog box that appears, select an image that you want to place in the selected frame. The image is placed as Linked or Embedded Smart Object.
- In the Layers panel, drag a pixel layer into an empty frame. The pixel layer is automatically converted to a Smart Object.
Frame layer in the Layers panel
In the Layers panel, frames are represented by a Frame layer type. The frame layer displays two thumbnails - a frame thumbnail and a content thumbnail.
A. Frame thumbnail B. Content thumbnail; Smart Object linked to Libraries C. Frame layer
If you open a document with frame layers in Photoshop CC 2018 or earlier versions, the frame layer opens as a Smart Object with a vector mask over it.
Select a frame or its content
Frame and its content can either be selected together or separately allowing you to transform the frame and its content independently.
A. Both the frame and its image selected B. Only the image selected (shown with transform controls enabled) C. Only the frame selected
Select both the frame and its image
To select both the frame and its image, do any of the following:
- On the Canvas, click the inset image once.
- In the Layers panel, click the frame layer.
In this selection state, the frame and the image can be moved or transformed together.
Select the image only
To select only the inset image and not the frame, do any of the following:
- On the Canvas, double-click the image.
- In the Layers panel, click the content thumbnail in the frame layer.
In the selection state, the inset image can be transformed independently. Double-clicking again in this selection state reverts to selecting both the frame and its image.
Select the frame only
To select the frame only, do any of the following:
- In any of the selection states mentioned above, click once on the frame's border in the Canvas area.
- In the Layers panel, click the frame thumbnail in the frame layer.
You can now transform the frame independently.
Replace a frame's content
Dropping a new image in a frame replaces its existing inset image. Do any one of the following:
- Drag an image from the Libraries panel into the frame in the Canvas area or over the frame layer in the Layers panel.
- Drag an image from local disk into the frame in the Canvas area.
- Select a frame or its image and use the options under Inset Image in the Properties panel: Find on Adobe Stock, Open Libraries, Place From Local Disk - Linked, or Place From Local Desk - Embedded.
- Select a frame. From the menu bar, select File > Place Linked or Place Embedded. In the dialog box that appears, select an image that you want to place in the selected frame.
Add stroke to a frame
Updated in Photoshop 21.2 (June 2020 release)
- In the Layers panel, select the frame layer.
- In the Properties panel (Window > Properties), set the following under Stroke options:
- Set frame stroke type as solid color, gradient, or pattern.
Beginning with Photoshop 21.2, you can also set an angle to rotate the frame stroke pattern and easily change its orientation.
- Set frame stroke width (pixels).
- Set alignment type for stroke - inside, center, outside.
- Set frame stroke type as solid color, gradient, or pattern.