Photoshop Elements / Preferences
You can change many of the default settings for Photoshop Elements
in Preferences.
Here are some of the highlights.
Go to Preferences
To go to Preferences, do the following.
Windows
Edit > Preferences, or press Ctrl + k.
Mac
Apple menu > Preferences.
Less Obvious Preferences
Are Described Below
Preferences that are obvious are not described below.
There are nine Preference windows.
1 - General Preferences
Color Picker
The Adobe Color Picker is selected by default.
Step Back/Fwd
By default, Ctrl + z and Ctrl +y are selected.
These commands are probably what you're used to from other programs.
History States
By default, 50 is selected.
You can go to Window > Undo History, and return to any one of
fifty earlier "states" of your photograph during editing.
History states take up space in RAM, Random Access Memory, so
don't increase the value unless you have the need, and have lots
of RAM.
Export Clipboard
By default, this is selected so you can copy something, and paste
it into another program.
Show Tool Tips
By default, this is selected so a link to the Help file for a
tool appears when you place the cursor over the tool's icon.
Zoom Resizes Windows
By default, this is selected so that as you zoom, the dimensions
of the image window enlarge as well.
Otherwise, the photograph will enlarge inside an image window
that remains the same size.
Use Shift Key for Tool Switch
By default, this is selected so a shortcut is harder to use inadvertently.
When selected, you can change from one member of a tool family
to another member, by pressing Shift plus the letter shortcut for
the tool.
For example, you can change from one Lasso tool to another by
pressing Shift + L.
If deselected, you can cycle through the members of a tool family
simply by pressing the letter shortcut for the tool family.
Center Document Windows
By default, this is not selected, and images open in the upper
left.
If selected, images are centered when they open.
Relaxed Text Selection
By default, this is selected.
When you click near text, it's selected.
Reset All Warning Dialogs
When a warning dialogue appears, you may be given the choice
to turn that particular warning dialogue off in the future.
Click Reset All Warning Dialogs to restore the operation of any
warning dialogues that you've turned off.
2 - File Preferences
On First Save
Always Ask
If Always Ask is selected, the first time you save a photograph
during a particular editing session, the Save As window will open.
Thereafter, during that editing session, pressing Ctrl + s will
save the photograph.
Ask If Original
Ask If Original is selected by default.
If Ask If Original is selected, and if you're editing a photograph
without any version sets already saved, the Save As window will
open the first time you save it.
If you're editing a photograph with existing version sets already
saved, Photoshop Elements will save the it in the existing version
set.
If you want to save the photograph in a new version set, go to
File > Save As, or press Shift + Ctrl + s.
Save Over the Current File
If Save Over the Current File is selected, Photoshop Elements
overwrites the existing file when you press Ctrl + s.
Image Previews
By default, Always is selected.
Image previews are aliases, icons, and thumbnails.
Ignore EXIF Profile Tag
By default, this is not selected.
If selected, Photoshop Elements will ignore the metadata that
accompanies a photograph, such as the color space.
Maximize PSD File Compatibility
By default, Photoshop Elements makes a composite layer when saving
a PSD file if Always is selected for Maximize PSD File Compatibility.
The composite layer can be read by other software.
Recent File List Contains
By default, the value is ten.
When you go to File > Open Recently Edited File, the last ten
files will appear.
3 - Display & Cursors Preferences
Show Transition Effects
This is selected by default.
Transitions, such as fades between photographs in a slide show,
are displayed.
Use Pixel Doubling
By default, this vestige of earlier days is not selected.
If selected, the resolution of the photograph is halved when
a selection is being moved, to speed up the operation with less
powerful processors and small amounts of memory.
Painting Cursors
By default, the size of the brush cursor is 50% of the size of
the brush.
You can change the cursor size to 100%.
Select Full Size Brush Tip.
Select Show Crosshair in Brush Tip if you wish.
The cursor will be solid if the edge of the brush doesn't have
any feathering, and diffuse, if there's feathering.
Here's a 50 pixel (px) brush.
Here's the same 50 px brush, but with feathering.
The brush circle is larger to show the feathering, and the circle
is diffuse.
Other Cursors
By default, Standard is selected, which displays the icon of
the tool as the cursor.
The Precise cursor is a cross-hair.
If you need a cursor with cross-hairs occasionally, press the
Caps Lock key.
Crop Tool
By default, the shield, the darker area around a crop box, appears.
You can change the color and opacity of the shield.
4 - Transparency Preferences
By default, a gray, medium-sized checkerboard pattern, is used
to denote transparent (no pixel) areas.
If the checkerboard pattern is distracting, change Medium to
None.
5 - Units & Rulers Preferences
Units
You probably want the ruler bars to use pixels (px), the fonts
in points (pts), and print size in inches.
You can change the unit of the rulers by right clicking on a
ruler bar, and selecting a new unit.
Or, if you're using the Info palette, right click the + icon.
New Document Preset Resolutions
You probably want 300 pixels per inch (ppi) as the print resolution,
and 72 ppi as the screen resolution.
6 - Grid Preferences
You can change the color, style, and spacing of the grid lines.
Go to View > Grid to make it appear.
If you would like a rule-of-thirds (tick-tack-toe) grid, enter
33 percent with a subdivision of 1.
7 - Plug-ins & Scratch Disks Preferences
Additional Plug-Ins Folder
Normally, plug-ins are placed in the Photoshop Elements plug-ins
folder.
However, if you'll be using the same plug-ins with other programs,
do the following.
1) Create a folder for the plug-ins.
For example, create a folder called Plug-ins in My Pictures.
2) Go to Preferences in Photoshop Elements.
Windows
Go to Edit > Preferences > Plug-ins & Scratch Disks Preferences.
Or, press Ctrl + k, and select Plug-ins & Scratch Disks Preferences.
Mac
Go to Apple menu > Preferences > Plug-ins & Scratch Disks Preferences.
3) Select Additional Plug-Ins Folder.
You'll be prompted to browse to the new plug-ins folder.
4) Restart Photoshop Elements.
Scratch Disk
A scratch disk is any memory space set aside for temporary storage.
Photoshop Elements creates temporary files as you edit.
For example, let's say the file for your photograph is 700 KB.
When you open the photograph with Photoshop Elements, 700 KB
of space is needed immediately.
If you apply the Gaussian Blur filter, Photoshop Elements needs
another 700 KB of space to store the blurred photograph.
If you use the Unsharp Mask (USM) filter, you need yet another
700 KB of space.
These temporary files are placed in RAM, Random Access Memory.
RAM is where your computer performs it's activities.
In contrast, the memory on the hard drive is largely for storage
of the operating system, programs, and your files.
Think of RAM as the office, and a hard drive, as the warehouse.
Photoshop Elements takes over a portion of the RAM for use as
a scratch disk (swap file).
By default, Photoshop Elements uses 55% of the RAM in a Windows
computer, and 70% in a Mac computer.
If there isn't enough RAM, Photoshop Elements uses the hard drive
as another scratch disk.
The hard drive is much slower than RAM.
If you're often editing with many layers, stitching panoramas,
or doing other pixel-intensive activities, you can designate a second
internal hard drive as a scratch disk.
Efficiency
Photoshop Elements uses the Efficiency percentage as a measure
of memory performance.
In the lower left, just below the image of your photograph, click
the black triangle, and select Efficiency.
Normal efficiency is 95 to 100%.
If the efficiency is often lower, a second internal hard drive
may be helpful.
8 - Memory & Image Cache Preferences
Cache Settings
By default, this is set to 6.
You can have up to 8 cache levels.
When you use the Zoom tool to reduce the size of a photograph
on your screen, Photoshop Elements uses cached versions of the photograph
at 66.67%, 50%, 33.33%, 25%, 16.67%, 12.5%, 8.33%, and 6.25%, to
speed up the display.
Memory Usage
How much available RAM is displayed, as well as how much is dedicated
to Photoshop Elements.
As mentioned, the default value is 55% for a Windows computer
and 70% for a Mac computer.
If you have a Windows computer with more than 1 GB of RAM, increase
the percentage to 75%, especially if you have 2 GB of RAM.
9 - Type Preferences
Use Smart Quotes
Smart quotes are angle differently, depending on which side of
a word or phrase they are located.
Preference File Gone Awry
Photoshop Elements stores your preferences in a file.
If the file becomes corrupted, Photoshop Elements may display
unexpected behavior.
Go to
Preference
File Gone Awry.
