Adobe Photoshop interface basics

The Menu System

The Adobe Photoshop's menu system isn't that dissimilar to others you may have encountered in the past.

Browsing across the menu bar, you will discover familiar titles such as 'File', 'Select', 'View', 'Window' and 'Help'. To view the content of these 'drop-down' menus, simply click each heading to allow the relevant listing to unfold.

Some items within certain drop-down menus are denoted with black arrows to the right as you can see in the above screen shot. If you click on such a listing, a further sub-menu will expand out, displaying additional options.

Note: The menu system within Adobe Photoshop is suitably organised. For instance; should you need to 'open' or 'save' an image file then all of the relevant options will be available within the 'File' menu. Likewise, if you need to perform a special action on a selection, you will need to refer to the 'Select' menu, and so on.

Tip: As you navigate through the menu system, you will observe that many items have codes next next to them. These are 'quick-key' or 'short-cut' functions.

Try to memorise the quick-keys of procedures that you use on a regular basis. If a curtain function does not have a quick-key associated with it, then a quick-key may not exists for that particular action.

How to use a quick-key
Alt+Shft+Ctrl+S = Press and continue to hold down the 'Alt' key + 'Shift' key + 'Ctrl' key and then press the 's' key to execute that function.

Adobe product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated .