Hidden “Reset” Button in Photoshop Adjustment Palettes from Jay Hilgert on Vimeo.

Last week, I was Photoshopping and I noticed that (screenshot below) all of my brushes looked pixelated. not only did they looked pixelated in the Brushes palette, but even when I used the brushes, they even drew like the document was in bitmap mode, but of course it wasn’t. I tried everything under the sun to fix it, and I even called a few good designer friends of mine and they had never heard of such a thing. This is a recreation of what my brushes palette looked like:

When it should have looked like this:

And this is what the brush looked like when I used it:

When it should have looked like this:

After some discussion with colleagues, we decided that it wouldn’t hurt to try and delete the Photoshop Preferences file from my system and see if that works. Well I’m not exactly sure where to even find that file or if it’s a hidden file or not, so I did some searching. I came across a thread in the Adobe forums that was a godsend.

(*Works for Photoshop 6x and newer!) All you have to do to delete your settings and start fresh is 1) Close Photoshop, and 2) Hold Command + Option + Shift (Control + Alt + Shift, PC) while you restart Photoshop. This brings up a dialogue box where you can choose to delete your settings file, no need to search through your system folders to find it.

After I did this, my Brushes palette was back to normal. Who woulda thunk it! Now, this little shortcut may not fix every glitch you run into, but it’s a butload faster than re-installing, so It’s worth a shot if Photoshop is acting up on you :)

First Things First: The Project

I want to develop a very simple, very sexy software that does a single task, and does it very well. I know 100% that there is a high demand in the Mac-Graphic Design world for this little gem of an app, not only from my experience as a designer, but my hundreds of Google queries in search of something remotely similar, and countless forum threads I’ve come across with desperate designers begging for the exact program I wish to develop. I can’t explain the details of the software until developers who are interested in participating agree to a Non-Disclosure Agreement. The App will be simple, easy to use, convenient for designers, lightweight (hopefully), and very very cheap (if not free).

1. I need a developer.

I’m a designer, and therefore, not fluent in the development (programming) environment. For this project, I need someone who loves to code for Mac, and is willing to work with me on the UI and User experience.

2. The programmer will be paid.

If you are selected, you will be compensated for your code mastery, and I will cover the cost for any Developer Membership (ADC, Adobe, etc.) needed to access the code you need. I’m willing to pay cash via Paypal, check, or Apple gift card. Hourly rates and compensation are always negotiable. If you’d rather become my partner on this project, as opposed to a hired programmer, that’s negotiable too. I’m not in this to take advantage of anyone. I’m willing to make this a long-term relationship if you are. I just want to grab the bull by the horns and do the design community a much-needed service.

3. What (who) I’m looking for:

The ideal candidate would be experienced at Mac development (i.e. Cocoa, Objective-C, xCode, interfaceBuilder, etc.). Experience developing for Adobe/Photoshop is a bonus, but not 100% necessary. The ideal candidate should also have a love for attention to detail, and considers the user experience of utmost importance, along with optimization of system resources.

4. If You’re Interested… Or know someone who might be..

Email me using the contact form, and put “Developer” somewhere in the subject line. Tell me a little about your experience, skills, and why you be a good fit for this project. Portfolios and websites are a bonus. If I think you’ve got what it takes, I’ll send you a Non-Disclosure Agreement, and we can discuss the project in detail.

You can also feel free to send me links or introduce me to people who might be wiling to participate, if you know a developer that doesn’t visit this site. Thanks for listening, and I hope to get this project off the ground soon, I know you will all love it :)

[via: Lifehacker]

1. Reclaim your function keys!

Like in the screenshot above, go to your System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard. Now, directly below the 2 sliders, check the box that says “Use all F1, F2 etc. keys as standard function keys.”

Now your keys will act normally in Photoshop (and everything else). For example, Shift + F5 will do a fill instead of turning up your volume! (MacBook)

2. Regain the functionality of the specialty keys.

You can still use your specialty keys, but you have to hold the “Fn” (function) key to enable them. The function key is the bottom left key on a Macbook keyboard.

… as well as the wireless keyboard:

On the regular keyboards, the function key in up by the delete key:

Now, given the location of the key on the regular keyboards, this will likely require two hands in many cases. Therefore, this little workaround might be much more convenient for laptop users, but as I like to say, It’s nice to know your options. Happy Keyboarding :)

Click on Images to enlarge

To enable Camera Raw for jpegs, open preferences (Command/Control + K) and navigate to the File Handling section. Check the box next to “Prefer Adobe Camera Raw for JPEG files.” Notice that it says “Prefer.” For reasons unknown to me, Camera Raw won’t open every jpeg you ask it to. Don’t ask me why.

Now that you have your image open in Camera Raw, tweak away with ease. It’s like all of Photoshop’s adjustment options morphed into a slider, and now reside in a sidebar so you can tweak on the fly. Give it a try, and poke around your options.

One of my favorite features of Camera Raw is the “Lens Vignetting.” Play with 2 sliders and get a vignette in seconds, instead of having to fill a layer with black and then start masking to reveal the image. ( vignetting is the darkening of the corners on an image. Typically gives the photo an ‘older’ feel. Wikipedia info on vignetting if your interested >>) Once you’re done adjusting your image, click “Open Image” and you’ll be back in Photoshop.

Like I said earlier, you may or may not want/need to use Camera Raw for jpegs, its just nice to know your options ;)

Thanks, pilotzen

You can download the PDF from the Adobe homepage.

Photoshop CS1 on Leopard:

Illustrator CS1 in Leopard:

The font drop down is really wide.

Even the beefiest filters seemed to work ok.