Setting up the adobe photoshop cs6 working environment. Installing Photoshop cs6
The reason for writing this material was the repeated questions on forums and in personal messages by e-mail. The fact is that with non-optimal settings, both slowdown of the program and various other problems may occur, for example, the inability to work with individual filters or tools.
So let's get started.
First, let's configure the basic parameters of the program itself, and then move on to the color management settings.
In order to open the settings dialog, you need to either go to the menu Editing – Settings – Basic (Edit –Preferences –General) CTRL+K.
The following settings window will appear (by clicking on the picture you can view a larger image).
Here I usually set the default interpolation algorithm Bicubic (best for smooth gradients). This algorithm is the most universal and is suitable for both reducing and increasing the size of an image. However, after reduction you will have to increase the sharpness. If you mainly reduce images, you can set the algorithm Bilinear. Then, in most cases, you will not have to sharpen after reduction, or you will have to do it much less often.
Also I uncheck the option Changing tool with keySHIFT. This speeds up your work, as it allows you to quickly switch between tools of the same subgroup (for example, between a regular and a mix brush) by pressing just one key, rather than two.
Now let's move on to the next tab Interface
Here the settings concern mainly visual effects (circled in red). I turn them off because it interferes with my work. The color of the interface is a matter of taste, but I’m used to working in a light interface the old fashioned way.
I don’t use the next tab, since the settings synchronization function is not yet sufficiently developed. I'm not making any changes to it.
Go to the tab File processing
Here I change the setting Maximize file compatibilityPSD andP.S.B.. I set the value Always so that a window with this request does not appear every time you save.
Next tab – Performance.
Here you need to set the volume random access memory, which will be used by the program, the number of file change history steps available in the palette Story, scratch disks, and configure usage settings GPU(video cards). Let's go through it in order.
It is better to set RAM within the range recommended by the program so as not to slow down the operation of the operating system and others in parallel running programs and processes.
You need to select a working disk other than the system disk (the one on which the operating system). The scratch disk is used for temporary files that Photoshop creates while working. It will be very good if this happens SSD drive, in this case many operations will be performed faster.
I leave the number of steps in the history at 20 by default, since I practically don’t use the change history. Why? Yes, because after just a couple of minutes of retouching, even 500 steps of history will already be used, and storing history requires large resources, which can lead to a slowdown in the program.
Therefore, instead of turning to history, you just need to organize your work correctly: perform operations on copies of layers, use the principles of non-destructive editing.
In the GPU settings block, you need to check that the checkbox is enabled Use GPU. For more detailed settings need to press a button Extra options
Check that the settings are the same as in the figure. Pay special attention to two checkboxes - Use GPU to speed up calculations and UseOpenCL. Disabling these features results in the inability to use many operations and filters.
Of the following tabs, the tab that is of practical importance is External modules. The block flags must be enabled Filters and Extension Panels. Then all filters will be shown in the menu, and various extension panels will work.
Now let's configure the color management system parameters. To do this you need to either go to the menu Editing – Color Settings (Edit –ColorSettings) or press the key combination SHIFT+CTRL+K. The settings window will open
In line Settings select from the drop-down list Universal settings for Europe. Thus, the main working space for the RGB model will be sRGB IEC61966-2.1. This completes the color adjustment.
As working environment you can use a pre-installed environment Photo. You can select it in the upper right corner of the program window. You can then customize the program's palettes as you wish.
Now you need to restart the program and you can get to work.
More detailed information you can get in video course "Photoshop for the photographer - 2013".
Photoshop is very customizable. In addition to the settings of each palette, tool or panel, we can make significant changes to the basic parameters of the program itself, affecting all of its functionality.
Photoshop settings allow you to enable or disable functions, change the operating modes of tools, and adjust the operation of the program on your computer.
Such changes occur in a window called Settings. To open, select menu command Editing - Settings - Basic or press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+K.
As you can see, there are other commands in this menu. These are all the categories of Photoshop settings. Bypassing unnecessary mouse clicks, you can immediately go to a specific category.
Let's take a closer look at each category separately and their basic settings.
Category "Basic"
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General provides access to settings that do not fit into other categories. Most of the parameters are self-explanatory, for example the parameter Zoom with mouse wheel.
By default, Photoshop will display a dialog box Color palette every time you choose a color. If you prefer to use the operating system color picker instead, you can select the appropriate option from the Color Picker drop-down list.
If you download and install other color palettes, such as the Painter palette, they will also appear in this menu. But because the Adobe Color Picker is designed to work with Photoshop and all its built-in features, using a different palette may mean losing quick access to extremely important functions such as color libraries.
Parameter History of changes - e If you check this box, Photoshop will track everything that happens to the images. This is an invaluable tool for people who need to show, for example, what they did to an image when invoicing clients, or to create legal documentation for all the edits they made to an image.
Another significant parameter in this regard concerns two interesting functions called Scaling with animation And Capture drawing. If your computer is running slow, try disabling one or both of these features by unchecking the appropriate boxes.
Category "Interface"
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Interface settings allow you to change appearance Photoshop. You can improve productivity by weak computer by selecting groups from the drop-down lists Border options Do not show. This way, it won't waste processing power creating those shadows around document windows or around the program window itself.
Also, if you know all the tools and don't want to see the little yellow tooltips that appear when you hover over them or the mouse pointer controls, then uncheck Show hints. If you want new documents to open in separate windows rather than new tabs, clear the checkbox Open documents in tabs.
Category "File Processing"
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Thanks to the settings, by default, every time you save a file, the program displays a dialog box asking if you want to save the images as compatible as possible with PSD and PSB files. Saving documents with maximum compatibility increases the likelihood that they will be supported by other programs such as Adobe InDesign. If the annoying window annoys you, select from the drop-down list Maximize compatibility PSD files and P.S.B. option Always and you will never see this dialog box again.
Another useful option is at the very bottom, with which you can change the number of documents that the program will display in the Recent Documents menu. The value of this field is automatically set to 10, but you can change it.
Category "Performance"
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Settings Productivity(Performance) affect how effectively Photoshop runs on your computer. For example, the amount of memory a program is allowed to work with affects its performance. In Group Memory usage, in field Employed under Photoshop It is initially set that the program will use up to 70 percent of the available RAM. If you want to increase the value to 100 percent for better performance- do not do that. Other programs also require the computer's memory, and leaving the value set at 60-70 percent ensures that they all get their fair share.
You can also change the number of completed actions that the program remembers.
If your computer's hard drive is running low on space, consider adding another HDD, which Photoshop can use as a scratch disk to record temporary files created when editing images, such as various states. When you add a new internal hard drive or connect external drive, it appears in the list of working disks. You can allow the program to use it by checking the box next to the drive name in the column Active and dragging it up to the first position. If you follow this path, then Photoshop will work a little more energetically, since the program has two instead of one hard drives, from which information can be read and written to.
If you need to improve program performance, clear the checkbox Enable rendering. The disadvantage of turning this option off is that you won't be able to use features that depend on it, such as drawing capture and view rotation.
Category "Cursors"
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Category Options Cursors(Cursors) allow you to determine the type of mouse cursors when working with images. There is no right or wrong option here, try different cursor display options and see which one suits you.
The program has two types of cursors: drawing And other. As you select different options, Photoshop shows a sample of what each cursor looks like. There is a color indicator at the bottom of the dialog box View brush, which controls the color of the brush swatch that appears when you change the brush size using a keyboard shortcut Alt+right mouse button and dragging the mouse left or right. to change the color of the sample, click on the indicator, select a new color in the dialog box Select a color to preview the brush, and then click OK.
Category "Transparency and color gamut"
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Category settings Transparency & Gamut allow you to adjust the appearance of transparent areas. Like cursor settings, these options are purely cosmetic, so don't be afraid to experiment.
Indicator in group Out-of-gamut warning Lets you set a highlight color that shows where in the image colors fall outside the safe range of the color mode you're working with or the printer you're using.
Category "Units of measurement and rulers"
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Units of measurement and rulers(Units & Rulers) allow you to define the units of measurement that will be used in the program. Drop-down list Rulers allows you to select the units of measurement for document rulers. You can select units of measurement such as pixels, inches, centimeters, millimeters, points, picas or percentages.
If you work with a lot of documents intended for printing - centimeters or picas, you're probably the best choice. If you're creating images primarily for the web, choose pixels.
In the dropdown list Text Select items if you don't need to work with text measured in pixels or millimeters, which can be useful when you need to align text for a web page layout.
Group settings Column are useful when creating graphics that need to fit into a specific column size in a program like Adobe InDesign.
Category: Guides, Grid and Slices
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Setting up a group Guides, Grid, and Slices(Guides, Grid & Stices) allow you to choose the colors of the guides, grids and cutting fragments. You can also set the spacing between grid lines and the number of divisions that appear between thick grid lines by entering values in the Line Every and Internal Division By fields, respectively.
To really save time, adjust settings in a group Default resolution for new documents. From now on, Photoshop will automatically install in the dialog box New settings specified here.
Category "External modules"
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You can do even more interesting things in Photoshop by setting third party programs, called external modules(Plugins).
Controls in this category allow you to access plug-ins located outside of the Photoshop folder, which can help you avoid losing them if you have to reinstall the program.
Category "Fonts"
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Category controls Fonts(Type) allow you to enable or disable the mode Straight quotes, and also manage the parameter , used in the font menu in the attributes panel and in the palette Symbol. Because viewing the font typeface is so useful when selecting a font, this option is enabled by default in CS5.
If you want to see font samples, uncheck the box Font preview size, and Photoshop will only display the font names.
If you are working with Asian characters, check the Show Asian text options and make sure the checkbox is Enable missing glyph protection also installed. Now, if you try to use a letter or symbol from a font that is not installed on your computer, you will not get strange hieroglyphs or squares.
If you notice an error in the text, select it and press Ctrl + Enter. Thank you!
Before you start using Photoshop, it needs to be configured correctly for it to work correctly. Don't worry if anything is unclear, just follow the instructions below. We will analyze each setting item separately. Then, when you understand each item and understand the process of its operation, you will independently understand which settings are best for you.
So, first of all, let’s go to settings Edit → Settings → General
I don't think so desired function Exporting the clipboard only takes up space. Therefore, I advise you to uncheck this item. Everything else is fine, feel free to move on!
Interface
At this stage, you can leave everything as default, but I still want to note some points. First: you can change color scheme interface to taste (I use the darkest one, if you noticed). Second: You can check the box Show channels in color, this function can help you understand how rgb channels work. Third: You can change the interface language; I showed this in more detail in the video tutorial ( How to change the interface language of Photoshop Cs6).Go ahead. 
File processing
First of all, uncheck the box next to "Show a warning before saving files in TIFF format", it displays a warning that the number of layers increases the output file size. You can also disable maximizing PSD and PSB file compatibility by changing the option to "Never". 
Performance
This is one of the important Photoshop settings that decides a lot)
Memory usage
It all directly depends on your RAM. On average, if you don’t use other programs when working in Photoshop, you should separate 70-80%, as you can see, I separated a little more than 80%, and Photoshop can handle it completely.
History and caching
At this stage, I strongly advise you to change the action history item. This parameter is very important for everyone; it is responsible for the number of steps in the story. That is, how many times can you press undo actions Ctrl + Z. For full-fledged work, I think 500 is completely enough, but don’t take into account the maximum you can only do is 1000. The longer the history of actions, the more RAM is required.
Working disks
I won’t talk about how this parameter works and how important it is, for too long. Let me just say that this affects the speed of work. For these purposes, preferably indicate a separate disk where there is no OS. +20gb is enough to complete most tasks.
GPU Settings
You must check the box next to "OpenCL". This feature is not required for full functionality; it makes navigation and editing of files (such as visualization, effects) smoother. Unfortunately, my video card does not allow me to use this feature, which I really regret. 
Paint brushes
Set the brush tip to full size. I advise you to check the box next to show the crosshair on the tip of the brush purely for convenience.
Other cursors
Leave it as "Standard". To accurately display the cursor, use Caps lock. 
Transparency and color gamut
You can leave it at default; there are no vital items here. 
Units of measurement and rulers
Units
Since I mainly use Photoshop for the web, my ruler is displayed in pixels. If you are working in a different direction, you can select the appropriate ruler format from the drop-down list.
Column
You don't need to change anything, you can leave it as is.
Default permissions for new documents
The print resolution is quite normal, so we'll leave it as it is. The screen resolution can be raised to 80 ppi if you are working with web images.
Point/Spade Size
Let's leave it as it is, that's enough 
Guides, Grid, and Slices 
External modules
The only thing you can do here to speed up the work is to specify another folder for external modules. How can this help me? Very simple. By default, all plugins are installed in the system plugins folder, and the more new plugins there are, the slower Photoshop loads. By specifying a new location for plugins, Photoshop will load them as they are activated, which accordingly speeds up the loading of the program. 
Fonts
You can leave the default settings here 
3D
I rarely use this function, so I can’t give specific advice. But in those cases when I used it, the default settings suit me. 
CLICK OK
In custody:
OK it's all over Now! Now you have adjusted your photoshop for a more normal and comfortable work in him. If you have any questions with any point, write! Let's figure it out together...
The reason for writing this material was the repeated questions on forums and in personal messages by e-mail. The fact is that with non-optimal settings, both slowdown of the program and various other problems may occur, for example, the inability to work with individual filters or tools.
So let's get started.
First, let's configure the basic parameters of the program itself, and then move on to the color management settings.
In order to open the settings dialog, you need to either go to the menu Editing - Settings - Basic (Edit-Preferences -General) CTRL+K.
The following settings window will appear (by clicking on the picture you can view a larger image).
Here I usually set the default interpolation algorithm Bicubic (best for smooth gradients). This algorithm is the most universal and is suitable for both reducing and increasing the size of an image. However, after reduction you will have to increase the sharpness. If you mainly reduce images, you can set the algorithm Bilinear. Then, in most cases, you will not have to sharpen after reduction, or you will have to do it much less often.
Also I uncheck the option Changing tool with keySHIFT. This speeds up your work, as it allows you to quickly switch between tools of the same subgroup (for example, between a regular and a mix brush) by pressing just one key, rather than two.
Now let's move on to the next tab Interface
Here the settings concern mainly visual effects (circled in red). I turn them off because it interferes with my work. The color of the interface is a matter of taste, but I’m used to working in a light interface the old fashioned way.
I don’t use the next tab, since the settings synchronization function is not yet sufficiently developed. I'm not making any changes to it.
Go to the tab File processing
Here I change the setting Maximize file compatibilityPSD andP.S.B.. I set the value Always so that a window with this request does not appear every time you save.
Next tab - Performance.
Here you need to set the amount of RAM that will be used by the program, the number of file change history steps available in the palette Story, scratch disks, and also configure the settings for using the GPU (video card). Let's go through it in order.
It is better to set RAM within the range recommended by the program so as not to slow down the operation of the operating system and other programs and processes running in parallel.
You need to select a working disk other than the system disk (the one on which the operating system is installed). The scratch disk is used for temporary files that Photoshop creates while working. It is very good if it is an SSD drive, in this case many operations will be performed faster.
I leave the number of steps in the history at 20 by default, since I practically don’t use the change history. Why? Yes, because after just a couple of minutes of retouching, even 500 steps of history will already be used, and storing history requires large resources, which can lead to a slowdown in the program.
Therefore, instead of turning to history, you just need to organize your work correctly: perform operations on copies of layers, use the principles of non-destructive editing.
In the GPU settings block, you need to check that the checkbox is enabled Use GPU. For more detailed settings, click the button Extra options
Check that the settings are the same as in the figure. Pay special attention to two checkboxes - Use GPU to speed up calculations and UseOpenCL. Disabling these features results in the inability to use many operations and filters.
Of the following tabs, the tab that is of practical importance is External modules. The block flags must be enabled Filters and Extension Panels. Then all filters will be shown in the menu, and various extension panels will work.
Now let's configure the color management system parameters. To do this you need to either go to the menu Editing - Color Settings (Edit-ColorSettings) or press the key combination SHIFT+CTRL+K. The settings window will open
In line Settings select from the drop-down list Universal settings for Europe. Thus, the main working space for the RGB model will be sRGB IEC61966-2.1. This completes the color adjustment.
You can use the preinstalled environment as a working environment Photo. You can select it in the upper right corner of the program window. You can then customize the program's palettes as you wish.
Now you need to restart the program and you can get to work.
Before working with Adobe Photoshop on your computer, you first need to optimally configure this graphics editor. This is necessary in order to further work the program did not cause you any difficulties or problems. Working in such an editor should be convenient, pleasant and fast. In this material we will go through the basic settings and adjust some of them to suit ourselves. Now let's get to work!
Basic
So, go to the menu “ Editing» —> « Settings» —> « Basic". After this, the settings window opens. Now we will look at the basic settings (picture can be enlarged):
- Color palette- leave it on " Adobe«;
- HUD color palette- leave it at " Hue wheel«;
- Image Interpolation— select the mode “ Bicubic, sharper (best for reduction)". Very often we have to reduce our image for posting on the Internet or in preparation for printing. And since we often reduce our image, that’s why we choose this mode.
Let's now see the following options in the " tab Basic". We won’t change anything much here except for the point “ Change tool with Shift key". Usually, to change a tool in one tab we click Shift key and at the same time, which relates to this instrument. This is not entirely convenient for us. Therefore, you can uncheck this item. So you can change the tool with one hotkey. It is very comfortable! But if you want, you don’t have to uncheck this item.
Also in these parameters there is an item “ Zoom with mouse wheel". If you wish, you can check this box and save the settings. Now, when scrolling with the wheel, the photo scale will change. Quite a convenient feature. If you need it, then check the box next to this function. If you do not check the box, then to change the image scale you will need to hold down ALT key and at the same time scroll with the mouse wheel.
Interface
So, when we have set the basic parameters, go to the “ Interface"to view the settings for . We don't change anything in the basic color settings. But in the settings " Border" leave all points " Do not show«.
What will this give us? By default, a shadow appears on the borders of the photo. I consider this to be an unnecessary beauty of the program, but it interferes with the work. It can be confusing whether this shadow is real or whether it was added using a separate effect. Therefore, to avoid confusion in the future, it is better to turn off the shadow display.
Below in the settings " Panels and documents"put a tick on" Auto show hidden panels ". We don’t touch any more settings here. Also make sure that your interface language is Russian and the font size in the menu is set to small.
File processing
Go to the tab " File processing". We do not change the file saving parameters.
In file compatibility, in the “” item, set “ Always". Then the program will not ask us when saving whether to maximize compatibility or not. The program will do this by default. We leave everything else unchanged.
Performance
Let's go to the performance settings of the Photoshop program. In the memory usage scale, you can configure the use of RAM to suit the needs of the program. Usually the maximum value of 100% is set here so that the program does not slow down in the future.
In settings " History and cache"We'll make some minor changes. In point " Action history“I set it to 80. In the process of work, it will be better if we have a big story. We may make some mistakes while working with the program and we must have good opportunity, so that we can always return to the previous action. If the story is small, it won't be enough. I recommend making the story large, at least 60 points. Usually history is set to 100. However, I will say that this parameter loads the system a little. If you don't have much powerful computer, then set it to 60. This way Photoshop won’t freeze often.
And here is the tab " Working disks" very important. Under no circumstances should you install a scratch disk system disk C. You can select other drives where you have the most free space. But we never touch the system disk.
Also in GPU settings (if it supports), you need to enable OpenGL rendering. Here you can also configure “ Extra options", but in these parameters I left the mode " Ordinary". It may happen that the GPU settings may not have this feature. This means that this option is not supported by your video card.
Cursors
After you have configured the program performance, go to the “ Cursors". Here you can customize the cursor appearance. Here I personally did not change anything and left everything in its standard form. If you wish, you can play around here and customize your cursor display.
Transparency and color gamut
You can configure a warning when you go beyond the color gamut, as well as the display of the transparent areas themselves. I didn’t change anything here either and left everything as default. If you wish, you can play around with the settings.
Here you can configure the units of measurement for rulers, columns for text, and the default resolution for new documents. I didn't change much here. But in " Rulers"I chose to display in " mm«. « Text"I put it in " pix". This way I will know approximately what size my letters are depending on the size of the image in pixels.
Guides, Grid, and Slices
As a rule, in the “ Guides, Grid, and Slices"You can customize the grid to suit your needs. However, I personally did not change anything here, and left all the settings as default.
External modules
Here you can select a folder for external modules. When you add various plugins there, Photoshop will subsequently refer to this folder. In point " Extension panels"All settings must be checked.
Fonts
I didn't change anything here either. I left everything as it was.
3D
In the " 3D» you can configure settings for working with 3D images. Here you can set the % of video card memory usage. I kept it 100%. There are also rendering settings, quality settings and other settings for working with 3D objects. I did not touch all these settings and left everything at default.
