- 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
- 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
- Touch capabilities and customizable workspaces
- 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
Paths panel overview
The Paths panel (Window > Paths) lists the name and a thumbnail image of each saved path, the current work path, and the current vector mask. Turning thumbnails off can improve performance. To view a path, you must first select it in the Paths panel.
A. Saved path B. Temporary work path C. Vector mask path (appears only when shape layer is selected)
Select a path
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Click the path name in the Paths panel. Only one path can be selected at a time.
Deselect a path
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Click in a blank area of the Paths panel or press Esc.
Change the size of path thumbnails
Choose Panel Options from the Paths panel menu, and select a size, or select None to turn off the display of thumbnails.
Change a path’s stacking order
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Select the path in the Paths panel, and drag the path up or down. When the heavy black line appears in the desired location, release the mouse button.Note:
You cannot change the order of vector masks or working paths in the Paths panel.
Create a new path in the Paths panel
- To create a path without naming it, click the Create New Path button at the bottom of the Paths panel.
- To create and name a path, make sure no work path is selected. Choose New Path from the Paths panel menu, or Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the New Path button at the bottom of the panel. Enter a name for the path in the New Path dialog box, and click OK.
Create a new work path
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Select a shape tool or a pen tool, and click the Paths button in the options bar.
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Set tool-specific options, and draw the path. For more information, see Shape tool options and About the Pen tools.
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Draw additional path components if desired. You can easily switch between drawing tools by clicking a tool button in the options bar. Choose a path area option to determine how overlapping path components intersect:
Add To Path Area
Adds the new area to overlapping path areas.
Subtract From Path Area
Removes the new area from the overlapping path area.
Intersect Path Areas
Restricts the path to the intersection of the new area and the existing area.
Exclude Overlapping Path Areas
Excludes the overlap area in the consolidated path.
Note:While drawing with a shape tool, hold down Shift to temporarily select the Add To Path Area option; hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to temporarily select the Subtract From Path Area option.
Path options
You can define the color and thickness of path lines to suit your taste and for easier visibility. While creating a path—using the Pen tool, for example—click the gear icon () in the Options bar. Now specify the color and thickness of path lines. Also, specify whether you want to preview path segments as you move the pointer between clicks (Rubber Band effect).
Manage paths
When you use a pen or shape tool to create a work path, the new path appears as the work path in the Paths panel. The work path is temporary; you must save it to avoid losing its contents. If you deselect the work path without saving it and start drawing again, a new path will replace the existing one.
When you use a pen or shape tool to create a new shape layer, the new path appears as a vector mask in the Paths panel. Vector masks are linked to their parent layer; you must select the parent layer in the Layers panel in order to list the Vector mask in the Paths panel. You can remove a Vector mask from a layer and convert a Vector mask to a rasterized mask. For more information, see Add and edit vector masks.
Paths saved with an image appear when you open it again. In Windows, JPEG, JPEG 2000, DCS, EPS, PDF, and TIFF formats support paths in Photoshop. In Mac OS, all available file formats support paths.
Paths in formats other than those listed here generally don’t survive a transition from Mac OS to Windows and back to Mac OS.
Save a work path
- To save without renaming, drag the work path name to the New Path button at the bottom of the Paths panel.
- To save and rename, choose Save Path from the Paths panel menu, enter a new path name in the Save Path dialog box, and click OK.
Rename a saved path
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Double-click the path name in the Paths panel, type a new name, and press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS).
Delete a path
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Click the path name in the Paths panel.
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Do one of the following:
Drag the path to the Delete icon at the bottom of the Paths panel.
Choose Delete Path from the Paths panel menu.
Click the Delete icon at the bottom of the Paths panel, and click Yes.
Note:To delete a path without being asked to confirm, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Delete icon at the bottom of the Paths panel.