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Modify slice layout

Select one or more slices

Do one of the following:

  • Select the Slice Select tool  and click the slice in the image. When working with overlapping slices, click the visible section of an underlying slice to select it.
  • Select the Slice Select tool, and Shift-click to add slices to the selection.
  • Select the Slice Select tool in the Save for Web & Devices dialog box, and click in an auto slice or outside the image area, and drag across the slices you want to select. (Clicking in a user slice and dragging moves the slice.)
  • Choose File > Save For Web & Devices. In the dialog box, use the Slice tool to select a slice.
Note:

When using either the Slice tool or the Slice Select tool, you can switch from one tool to the other by holding down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS).

Move, resize, and snap user slices

You can move and resize user slices in Photoshop, but not in the Save For Web & Devices dialog box.

Move or resize a user slice

  1. Select one or more user slices.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • To move a slice, move the pointer inside the slice selection border, and drag the slice to a new position. Press Shift to restrict movement to a vertical, horizontal, or 45° diagonal line.

    • To resize a slice, grab a side or a corner handle of the slice, and drag. If you select and resize adjacent slices, common edges shared by the slices are resized together.

Resize or move a user slice using numeric coordinates

  1. Select one or more user slices.
  2. Click the Options button in the options bar. You can also double-click a slice to show the options.
  3. In the Dimensions area of the Slice Options dialog box, change one or more of the following options:

    X

    Specifies the distance in pixels between the left edge of the slice and the origin of the ruler in the document window.

    Y

    Specifies the distance in pixels between the top edge of the slice and the origin of the ruler in the document window.

    Note:

    The default origin of the ruler is the upper-left corner of the image.

    W

    Specifies the width of the slice.

    H

    Specifies the height of the slice.

Snap slices to a guide, user slice, or other object

  1. Select the options you want from the View > Snap To submenu.
  2. Choose View > Snap. A check mark indicates that the option is turned on.
  3. Move your selected slices as desired. The slices snap to any of your chosen objects within 4 pixels.

Divide user slices and auto slices

Use the Divide Slice dialog box to divide slices horizontally, vertically, or both. Divided slices are always user slices, regardless of whether the original is a user slice or an auto slice.

Note:

You cannot divide layer-based slices.

  1. Select one or more slices.
  2. With the Slice Select tool  , click Divide in the options bar.
  3. Select Preview in the Divide Slice dialog box to preview the changes.
  4. In the Divide Slice dialog box, select one or both of the following options:

    Divide Horizontally Into

    Divides the slice lengthwise.

    Divide Vertically Into

    Divides the slice widthwise.

  5. Define how you want to divide each selected slice:
    • Select and enter a value for Slices Down or Slices Across to divide each slice evenly into the specified number of slices.

    • Select and enter a value for Pixels Per Slice to create slices with the specified number of pixels. If the slice cannot be divided evenly by that number of pixels, the remainder is made into another slice. For example, if you divide a slice that is 100 pixels wide into three new slices each 30 pixels wide, the remaining 10‑pixel‑wide area becomes a new slice.

  6. Click OK.

Duplicate slices

You can create a duplicate slice with the same dimensions and optimization settings as the original. If the original slice is a linked user slice, the duplicate is linked to the same collection of linked slices. Duplicate slices are always user slices, regardless of whether the original is a user slice, a layer-based slice, or an auto slice.

  1. Select a slice or multiple slices.
  2. Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) from inside the selection.

Copy and paste a slice

You can copy and paste a selected slice within an image, into another image, or into another application such as Dreamweaver. Copying a slice copies all layers within the bounds of the slice (not just the active layer).

  1. Select one or more slices with the Slice Select tool  .
  2. Choose Edit > Copy.
    Note:

    A slice can’t be copied if there is an active selection in the document (a marquee pixel selection or a selected path).

  3. Do one of the following:
    • If you want to paste the slice into another image, open and display that image.

    • If pasting into Dreamweaver, make your Dreamweaver document the active window.

  4. Choose Edit > Paste. A new layer is created when a slice is pasted into a Photoshop image.
    Note:

    A slice copied into Dreamweaver retains information about the filename and path of the original Photoshop source file. To view this information in Dreamweaver, right-click (Windows) or Ctrl+click (Mac OS) the image and choose Design Notes, then locate the FilePathSrc field on the All Info tab.

Combine slices

You can combine two or more slices into a single slice. Photoshop determines the dimensions and position of the resulting slice from the rectangle created by joining the outer edges of the combined slices. If the combined slices are not adjacent or have different proportions or alignments, the newly combined slice may overlap other slices.

The combined slice takes the optimization settings of the first slice in the series of slices you select. A combined slice is always a user slice, regardless of whether the original slices include auto slices.

Note:

You cannot combine layer-based slices.

  1. Select two or more slices.
  2. Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) and choose Combine Slices.

Change the stacking order of slices

When slices overlap, the last slice you create is the top slice in the stacking order. You can change the stacking order to gain access to underlying slices. You can specify which slice is on the top and bottom of the stack and move slices up or down in the stacking order.

Note:

You cannot arrange the stacking order of auto slices.

  1. Select a slice or multiple slices.
  2. Choose the Slice Select tool  , and click a stacking order option in the options bar.
    Photoshop Stacking order options
    Stacking order options

    A. Bring To Front B. Bring Forward C. Send Backward D. Send To Back 

Align and distribute user slices

You can align user slices along an edge or their centers, and distribute user slices evenly along the vertical or horizontal axis. By aligning and distributing user slices, you can eliminate unneeded auto slices and generate a smaller, more efficient HTML file.

Note:

To align or distribute layer-based slices, align or distribute the contents of the layers.

  1. Select the user slices you want to align.
  2. Choose the Slice Select tool  , and select an option in the options bar.
    Photoshop Alignment options
    Alignment options

    A. Top B. Vertical Centers C. Bottom D. Left E. Horizontal Centers F. Right 

    Photoshop Distribute options
    Distribute options

    A. Top B. Vertical Centers C. Bottom D. Left E. Horizontal Centers F. Right 

Delete a slice

When you delete a user slice or layer-based slice, auto slices are regenerated to fill the document area.

Deleting a layer-based slice does not delete the associated layer; however, deleting the layer associated with a layer-based slice does delete the layer-based slice.

Note:

You cannot delete auto slices. If you delete all user slices and layer-based slices in an image, one auto slice covering the entire image remains.

  1. Select one or more slices.
  2. Choose the Slice or Slice Select tool and press the Backspace key or the Delete key.
  3. To delete all user slices and layer-based slices, choose View > Clear Slices.

Lock all slices

Locking slices prevents you from resizing, moving, or otherwise changing them accidentally.

  1. Choose View > Lock Slice.

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