Workspace basics

You create and manipulate your documents and files using various elements, such as panels, bars, and windows. Any arrangement of these elements is called a workspace. (The workspaces of different Adobe creative applications share similar appearances so that you can move between the applications easily.) You can adapt Photoshop to the way you work by selecting from several preset workspaces or by creating one of your own.

Topics in this article:

When you launch Photoshop, the Home screen appears, which includes the following:

• Information about new features.
  
• A wide range of tutorials to help you quickly learn and understand the concept, workflow, tips, and tricks.
• Display and access your recent documents: Cloud documents owned by you and accessed or shared with you recently will also show up under Recents in the home screen. Also, you can filter cloud documents with a keyword. When offline, you can still filter cloud documents using a keyword but the cloud documents available online only will appear to be greyed out.
• If necessary, customize the number of recent files displayed. Select Preferences > File Handling and then specify the desired value (0-100) in the Recent File List Contains field.

The contents of the Home screen are tailored based on your familiarity with Photoshop and your Creative Cloud membership plan.

To access the Home screen at any point while working on a Photoshop document, select the Home icon in the Options bar. To exit the Home screen, simply press the Esc key. 

The Home screen shows the following tabs and buttons on the left:

New file: Select this button to create a new document. You can create a document by selecting one of the numerous templates and presets available in Photoshop.

Open: Select this button to open an existing document in Photoshop.

Home: Select this tab to open the Home screen.

Learn: Select this tab to open a list of basic and advanced tutorials on Photoshop to get started with the application.

Files: Files section shows you all your files

• Lightroom Photos: Select this tab to access your synced Lightroom photos and import them into a Photoshop document.
• Your files: View a list of all saved cloud documents in Photoshop, whether created in Photoshop on your desktop, iPad, or web. You can easily toggle between tile and list view.
• Shared with you: View a list of the cloud documents that have been shared with you in Photoshop.

View Photoshop cloud documents | Common questions to learn more about the Cloud documents. 

Deleted: Find a complete list of cloud documents that you have deleted here. You can choose to restore the documents or permanently delete them.

Workspace

• The Application bar across the top contains a workspace switcher, menus (Windows only), and other application controls. On the Mac for certain products, you can show or hide it using the Window menu.

• The Tools panel contains tools for creating and editing images, artwork, page elements, and so on. Related tools are grouped.

• The Document window displays the file you’re working on. Document windows can be tabbed and, in certain cases, grouped and docked.
  

• Panels help you monitor and modify your work. Panels can be grouped, stacked, or docked.

• The Application frame groups all the workspace elements in a single, integrated window that lets you treat the application as a single unit. When you move or resize the Application frame or any of its elements, all the elements within it respond to each other so none overlap. Panels don’t disappear when you switch applications or when you accidentally click out of the application. If you work with two or more applications, you can position each application side by side on the screen or on multiple monitors.

  If you are using a Mac and prefer the traditional, free-form user interface, you can turn off the Application frame.

• The Options bar displays options for the currently selected tool.

• The Contextual task bar is a floating menu that presents the most relevant next steps in your workflow. You can now adjust text alignment, spacing (leading and kerning), and font style (bolding, italicizing, underlining) directly from the Contextual Task Bar.

Snap window support for Photoshop title bar (Windows only)

Updated in Photoshop 24.2 (February 2023 release)

You now have the power to snap the app windows in the Photoshop desktop app. This feature adopts the new visual style for app windows that can be easily customized for dynamically snapping application windows to pre-configured display regions. This will help ease the management of multiple applications running side by side.

Now, hover your mouse over a window’s maximize/minimize button or press Win + Z. You'll see the preset options for organizing your app windows considering your current screen size and orientation.

The snap layout support in Photoshop is enabled by default on Windows machines.

Usability features

The Photoshop workspace is easy to use and includes a number of usability features:

• Different brightness levels: Choose Edit > Preference (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences (Mac OS) and select a Color Theme swatch in the Interface section.

• On-image displays: Stay informed as you use your favorite tools. On-image displays show selection dimensions, transformation angles, and more. To change the placement of the displays, choose an option from the Show Transformation Values in the Interface preferences.
• Maximized screen space: Select the button at the bottom of the toolbar to switch between Standard and Fullscreen display modes.
• Set UX color: You can customize the interface to sport one of the following color themes: Black, Dark Gray, Medium Gray and Light Gray. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Interface.
  2. Choose the desired color theme.

Hide or show all panels

• To hide or show all panels, including the Tools panel and Control panel, press Tab.

• To hide or show all panels except the Tools panel and Control panel, press Shift+Tab.

Display panel options

• Select the panel menu icon in the upper-right corner of the panel.

Reconfigure the Tools panel

By selecting the double-arrow   icon positioned at the upper-left corner of the Toolbar, you can enlarge it, transforming it into a more compact, double-column format. Select the arrows once more to revert to the original single-column layout.

Manage windows and panels

You can create a custom workspace by moving and manipulating Document windows and panels. You can also save workspaces and switch among them.

Rearrange, dock, or float document windows

When you open more than one file, the Document windows are tabbed.

• To rearrange the order of tabbed Document windows, drag a window’s tab to a new location in the group.
• To undock (float or untab) a Document window from a group of windows, drag the window’s tab out of the group.

• To dock a Document window to a separate group of Document windows, drag the window into the group.
• To create groups of stacked or tiled documents, drag the window to one of the drop zones along the top, bottom, or sides of another window. You can also select a layout for the group by using the Layout button on the Application bar.
• To switch to another document in a tabbed group when dragging a selection, drag the selection over the document’s tab for a moment.

Dock and undock panels

A dock is a collection of panels or panel groups displayed together, generally in a vertical orientation. You dock and undock panels by moving them into and out of a dock.

• To dock a panel, drag it by its tab into the dock, at the top, bottom, or in between other panels.

• To dock a panel group, drag it by its title bar (the solid empty bar above the tabs) into the dock.

• To remove a panel or panel group, drag it out of the dock by its tab or title bar. You can drag it into another dock or make it free-floating.

Move panels

As you move panels, you see blue highlighted drop zones, areas where you can move the panel. For example, you can move a panel up or down in a dock by dragging it to the narrow blue drop zone above or below another panel. If you drag to an area that is not a drop zone, the panel floats freely in the workspace.

• To move a panel, drag it by its tab.

• To move a panel group, drag the title bar.

Add and remove panels

If you remove all panels from a dock, the dock disappears. You can create a dock by moving panels to the right edge of the workspace until a drop zone appears.

• To remove a panel, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac) its tab and then select Close, or deselect it from the Window menu.

• To add a panel, select it from the Window menu and dock it wherever you want.

Manipulate panel groups

• To move a panel into a group, drag the panel’s tab to the highlighted drop zone in the group.

• To rearrange panels in a group, drag a panel’s tab to a new location in the group.

• To remove a panel from a group so that it floats freely, drag the panel by its tab outside the group.

• To move a group, drag the title bar (the area above the tabs).

Stack floating panels

When you drag a panel out of its dock but not into a drop zone, the panel floats freely. The floating panel allows you to position it anywhere in the workspace. You can stack floating panels or panel groups so that they move as a unit when you drag the topmost title bar.

• To stack floating panels, drag a panel by its tab to the drop zone at the bottom of another panel.

• To change the stacking order, drag a panel up or down by its tab.

• To remove a panel or panel group from the stack, so that it floats by itself, drag it out by its tab or title bar.

Resize panels

• To minimize or maximize a panel, panel group, or stack of panels, double-click a tab. You can also double-click the tab area (the empty space next to the tabs).

• To resize a panel, drag any side of the panel. Some panels, such as the Color panel cannot be resized by dragging.

Collapse and expand panel icons

You can collapse panels to icons to reduce clutter on the workspace. In some cases, panels are collapsed to icons in the default workspace.

• To collapse or expand all panel icons in a column, click the double arrow at the top of the dock.

• To expand a single panel icon, click it.

• To resize panel icons so that you see only the icons (and not the labels), adjust the width of the dock until the text disappears. To display the icon text again, make the dock wider.

• To collapse an expanded panel back to its icon, select its tab, its icon, or the double arrow in the panel’s title bar.

• To add a floating panel or panel group to an icon dock, drag it in by its tab or title bar. (Panels are automatically collapsed to icons when added to an icon dock.)
• To move a panel icon (or panel icon group), drag the icon. You can drag panel icons up and down in the dock, into other docks (where they appear in the panel style of that dock), or outside the dock (where they appear as floating icons).

Use Lock Workspace to prevent accidental panel moves

Introduced in the October 2018 release of Photoshop CC (version 20.0)

Use the Lock Workspace option to prevent accidentally moving workspace panels, particularly when you’re using Photoshop on a tablet/stylus. To access this option, choose Window > Workspace > Lock Workspace.

Use simple math in number fields

Introduced in the October 2018 release of Photoshop CC (version 20.0)

You can also perform simple math in any input box that accepts numeric values.
For example, if you want to increase the canvas size by an additional 50 pixels, you can simply type '+50' to the current width or height field value in the Canvas Size dialog. 

To calculate values in any text box that accepts numerical values:

Photoshop search with the Discover Panel

The Discover Panel offers contextually relevant help and learning resources to help you level up and take on new challenges in Photoshop. The panel gives you recommendations based on your skills and your work. These recommendations include tips and tutorials on how to get multi-step workflows done faster. You can also find Quick Actions, a one-click solution for Photoshop’s most used workflows, such as removing and blurring backgrounds. 

To learn more about tools, hands-on tutorials, articles, and quick actions to accelerate workflows, check out Learn faster with the Discover Panel.

Save and switch workspaces

By saving the current size and position of panels as a named workspace, you can restore that workspace even if you move or close a panel. The names of saved workspaces appear in the workspace switcher in the Application bar.

Save a custom workspace

Display or switch workspaces

Select a workspace from the workspace switcher in the Application bar.

Delete a custom workspace

• Select Manage Workspaces from the workspace switcher in the Application bar, select the workspace, and then select Delete.

• Select Delete Workspace from the workspace switcher.

• Choose Window > Workspace > Delete Workspace, select the workspace, and then select Delete.

Restore the default workspace

Restore a saved workspace arrangement

In Photoshop, workspaces automatically appear as you last arranged them, but you can restore the original, saved arrangement of panels.

• To restore an individual workspace, choose Window > Workspace > Reset [Workspace Name].

• To restore all the workspaces installed with Photoshop, select Restore Default Workspaces in the Interface preferences.

Rich tooltips

Figuring out what Photoshop tools do is now easier than ever before! When you hover the pointer over certain tools in the Tools panel, Photoshop displays a description and a short video of the tool in action.

You can choose not to view rich tooltips. To do so, deselect the Preferences > Tools > Show Rich Tooltips preference.

When you position the pointer over most tools and options, descriptions appear in tooltips by default.

If you find tooltips visually distracting, you can hide them. In the Preferences dialog box, deselect Tools >  Show Tooltips preference.

High-density monitor support and per-monitor scaling

On Windows 10 Creators Update and later versions, Photoshop offers a full range of choices for UI scaling—from 100% through 400% in 25% increments. This enhancement makes the Photoshop user interface looks crisp and sharp regardless of the pixel density of your monitor. Photoshop automatically adjusts its resolution based on your Windows settings.

In addition, you can adjust per-monitor scaling across monitors with different scaling factors. This flexibility ensures that a high resolution (HiDPI) laptop works seamlessly alongside a lower-resolution desktop monitor, or vice versa. For example, one of your monitors can have a scale factor of 175%, while another monitor can have a scale factor of 400%. So, you can choose either the highest-end 13-inch laptops with 4k screens, the more affordable 1080p models, or tap into 8k desktop monitors, and still have an uncompromised experience within Photoshop.

In Windows, select Start > Settings > System > Display. Now, under Scale And Layout, choose a scaling factor for each of your displays.

Modifier Keys palette

The new Modifier Keys palette lets you access frequently-used keyboard modifiers—Shift, Ctrl, and Alt—on Windows-powered touch devices, such as the Surface Pro.

Select Window > Modifier Keys.