The Photoshop Workspace – Overview

The Photoshop Workspace: Video

            This video lesson, titled “Adobe Photoshop Workspace Overview: A Training Tutorial,” shows the names and locations of the different major elements in the Photoshop workspace. This video lesson is from our complete Photoshop tutorial, titled “Mastering Photoshop Made Easy.”

Overview of the Photoshop Workspace:

The Menu Bar in Photoshop:

            After you create a new document or open an existing file in Photoshop, it then appears as a tabbed document file within the Photoshop workspace. At the top of the Photoshop workspace is the Menu Bar. The Menu Bar in Photoshop lets you select commands to execute. To execute a command in the Menu Bar, click a command in the Menu Bar to show its drop-down menu of subcommands. Then click the subcommand to execute in the drop-down menu.

            Subcommands followed by a right-pointing arrow let you roll over the subcommand to then show a side menu of choices from which you can click to select. Subcommands followed by an ellipsis mark mean that selecting that command will open a dialog box within which you must make additional selections to execute the command. Finally, subcommands that have available keyboard shortcuts show those keyboard shortcuts to the right of the subcommand in the drop-down menus.

The Options Bar in Photoshop:

            Below the Menu Bar in Photoshop is the Options bar. At the left end of the Options bar is the “Home” button, which you can click to view the Home screen in Photoshop. To the right of this button is the Options bar Control panel, which shows the options for the currently-selected tool in Photoshop. At the far-right end of the Options bar are buttons that let you share the current content, search for help, and also change the workspace layout.

The Tools Panel in Photoshop:

            At the left side of the Photoshop workspace is the Tools panel, which lists the available tools in Photoshop. To select a tool in Photoshop, click its button in the Tools panel. Tool buttons in the Tools panel that show a small triangle in their lower-right corner let you click and hold down on the button to show a side menu of possible alternative tools that share the same button in the Tools panel from which you can then select a choice.

            Towards the bottom of the Tools panel, you can also set the current background and foreground colors, edit the current image in quick mask mode, and change the screen mode. We will examine these tools later in the course.

The Document Windows in Photoshop:

            To the right of the Tools panel are the opened, tabbed document windows in Photoshop. The document window shows the content of the current document on which you are working. The document windows appear as tabs that show the names of the opened document files above the document content. If working with multiple, opened files, you can then click these tabs to switch between the opened files, as needed. To close an opened document window, click the small “x” button at the right end of its tab name.

The Panels in Photoshop:

            At the far-right side of the Photoshop workspace are the panels that help you edit your document. The panels and how they are grouped and arranged can vary, based on your desired workspace layout. All the preceding content appears within the Photoshop application window, which lets you treat the Photoshop workspace as a single unit you can minimize, maximize or restore, and also move, as needed, without disrupting the layout of the objects within the workspace.

A picture showing the locations of the Menu Bar, Options bar Control panel, document window, Tools panel, and other panels in the default Photoshop workspace.

The Photoshop Workspace – Instructions:

1. After you create a new document or open an existing file in Photoshop, it then appears as a tabbed document file within the Photoshop workspace.
2. At the top of the Photoshop workspace is the Menu Bar. The Menu Bar in Photoshop lets you select commands to execute.
3. To execute a command in the Menu Bar, click a command in the Menu Bar to show its drop-down menu of subcommands.
4. Then click the subcommand to execute in the drop-down menu.
5. Subcommands followed by a right-pointing arrow let you roll over the subcommand to then show a side menu of choices from which you can click to select.
6. Subcommands followed by an ellipsis mark mean that selecting that command will open a dialog box within which you must make additional selections to execute the command.
7. Finally, subcommands that have available keyboard shortcuts show those keyboard shortcuts to the right of the subcommand in the drop-down menus.
8. Below the Menu Bar in Photoshop is the Options bar.
9. At the left end of the Options bar is the “Home” button, which you can click to view the Home screen in Photoshop.
10. To the right of this button is the Options bar Control panel, which shows the options for the currently-selected tool in Photoshop.
11. At the far-right end of the Options bar are buttons that let you share the current content, search for help, and also change the workspace layout.
12. At the left side of the Photoshop workspace is the Tools panel, which lists the available tools in Photoshop.
13. To select a tool in Photoshop, click its button in the Tools panel.
14. Tool buttons in the Tools panel that show a small triangle in their lower-right corner let you click and hold down on the button to show a side menu of possible alternative tools that share the same button in the Tools panel from which you can then select a choice.
15. Towards the bottom of the Tools panel, you can also set the current background and foreground colors, edit the current image in quick mask mode, and change the screen mode.
16. To the right of the Tools panel are the opened, tabbed document windows in Photoshop.
17. The document window shows the content of the current document on which you are working.
18. The document windows appear as tabs that show the names of the opened document files above the document content.
19. To switch between the opened files if working with multiple, opened files, you can then click these tabs, as needed.
20. To close an opened document window, click the small “x” button at the right end of its tab name.
21. At the far-right side of the Photoshop workspace are the panels that help you edit your document.
22. The panels and how they are grouped and arranged can vary, based on your desired workspace layout.
23. All the preceding content appears within the Photoshop application window, which lets you treat the Photoshop workspace as a single unit you can minimize, maximize or restore, and also move, as needed, without disrupting the layout of the objects within the workspace.