Photoshop Tutorial for Fashion Design (Part 14)
Palettes: Navigation, Histogram, Info

In this segment we are going to talk about most commonly used palettes (panels) on the right side of the screen. Palettes are important features in Adobe Photoshop. They allow you to monitor and adjust your work which was demonstrated a number of times in the Toolbox section. Before we begin exploring palettes one by one, let’s go over common functions first.

By default, each window has more than one palette. You can see by the number of tabs in the window. To activate a hidden palette, simply click on the respective tab. Use expand/collapse icon if necessary to display or hide full window. In addition, windows can be rearranged. To do so, click and drag on the top of the window to tear it off. To add, click and drag to the desired place. Either at the bottom, top or in the middle. Wait for the blue highlight and release the mouse. And finally you can expand and collapse the entire row of windows by clicking on the double arrow at the top.

If you need to access any specific palette simply click on the respective icon to bring it up. Click on the icon again to close or use the double arrows. This is especially useful if you have a limited screen area. In addition, palettes can be removed from and added to windows individually.

To remove a palette, simply click on the X icon in the tab. To add a palette, go to the Window menu and choose the desired palette from the list. Know that they are listed in alphabetical order and active palettes will have check marks next to them. Now I have my Navigator back, and let’s bring back History. And the final feature’s the option menu unique to each palette. To access, click on the Palette Menu button located right below the Close Window icon.

Navigator contains a thumbnail preview of your document. A red rectangle called the “proxy view” surrounds the currently visible area in the document. You can change the view of the document by dragging the proxy view around the thumbnail. This palette can also be used to zoom in and out using the slider at the bottom or entering a specific magnification value.

Histogram displays color intensity level in your document. It is a good feature if you’re a photographer. As a fashion designer, I don’t use it at all. So I’m going to remove this palette from the window.

Info palette displays basic information related to the active document and the tool in use. As I move the cursor over my document, I can spot the color. You can see how the RGB and CMYK values are changing. I can also see the axis placement of my cursor. You can see how the X and Y values are changing. If I were to use the Selection tool I could see the width and height of my current selection. And right below the dimensions, the Info palette displays your current document size. In the final section you’ll find tips on how to use currently selected tool. I’m working with the Selection tool right now so it says: “Draw rectangular selection or move selection outline. Use Shift, Option and Command for additional options.”

To customize the palette, click on the option icon in the top right and select Palette Options. First Color Readout mode: I’m going to keep at Actual Color. Since I’m working in RGB anyway, it will display RGB values. And if I decide to switch to a different mode, the Info palette will change accordingly. Second Color Readout: I’m going to set to Opacity. I use opacity often and this option will help me to remember the settings if I want to recreate the transparency. You can see how the opacity information changes as I roll my cursor over to different parts of the document.

You can set your rulers to different units. Sometimes when I work with plaids in Photoshop I use centimeters for better precision. If I were to work on web graphics, I’d use pixels but generally I prefer to stay with inches.

In the Status Information section I will uncheck Document Sizes. If I need it, I can see the size at the bottom of my document. I’d rather have Document Dimensions instead. That provides me with resolution settings and the number of pixels in my document. I’ll check Current Tool as well, keep Show Tool Hints and click “OK”.

Although I don’t have the Info palette active when I work I refer to it once in a while so I will definitely keep it in the window.