Adobe Photoshop CC – Essentials Training Course

Chapter 1: Introduction to Photoshop

Absolutely! Here's a clear and detailed explanation of Understanding the Photoshop Workspace, which is essential for anyone starting with Photoshop:

🖥️ Understanding the Photoshop Workspace

The Photoshop workspace is the main environment where you create and edit images. Knowing what each part does helps you work faster and more efficiently.

🧭 1. Menu Bar (Top of the screen)

• Located at the very top (File, Edit, Image, Layer, Select, Filter, etc.)

• Gives access to all tools, features, and settings

• Example: File > Open to open an image, or Edit > Undo to reverse changes

🛠️ 2. Tools Panel (Left side)

• Vertical bar with icons like:

  • Move Tool (V)

  • Selection Tools (Lasso, Marquee, Quick Selection)

  • Crop Tool (C)

  • Brush Tool (B)

  • Eraser Tool (E)

  • Type Tool (T)

• Hover over any tool to see its name and shortcut key

📄 3. Options Bar (Below the Menu Bar)

• Changes based on the selected tool

• Example: When the Text Tool is active, you can change font, size, and alignment here

• Think of it as the "control center" for each tool

📦 4. Document Window (Center area)

• Displays your open image or project

• You can have multiple tabs (documents) open at once

• Use Zoom Tool (Z) or Ctrl + / Ctrl - to zoom in and out

🧱 5. Panels (Right side by default)

• Layers Panel – Most important panel. Shows all your layers (think of them as sheets stacked on top of each other)

• Properties Panel – Shows options for the selected layer or object

• Adjustments Panel – Quick access to image adjustments like brightness, contrast, hue/saturation

• You can show/hide any panel from Window in the Menu Bar

🖼️ 6. Status Bar (Bottom of the window)

• Shows useful info: zoom level, file size, color profile, etc.

🧩 7. Customizing the Workspace

• Rearrange panels by dragging them

• Save a custom workspace via: Window > Workspace > New Workspace

• Reset to default: Window > Workspace > Reset Essentials

✅ Quick Tip for Beginners

Start with the "Essentials" workspace layout:

• Go to Window > Workspace > Essentials (Default)

• Then choose Reset Essentials to bring everything to a familiar layout