Photoshop Layer Alignment

For the sake of production, we often have to arrange some layers on the same horizontal or vertical line, we will move the position of the left eye to the top of a few, as shown in the left. So two eyes are not on the same level, now to use the alignment function. Note If the layer is hidden, it cannot participate in alignment.

Select the two eye layers that you want to align, and the alignment will appear in the Top public bar (this option is not available for other tools if you use the Move tool). As shown in the figure below. The previous 6 buttons feature: top-aligned, vertically centered, bottom-aligned, left-aligned, horizontally centered, right-aligned. All we have to do is align with any one of the previous three horizontal buttons.

So what's the difference between these three buttons? In fact, they are based on the size of the pixel area of the layer to arrange the alignment. Since we have the same pixel area of the two eye layers here, we don't see any difference. To make the effect clear, we narrowed the left eye and changed the color.

To make sure that the layer is selected correctly, use the Move tool 〖v〗 to turn on the show Transform Controls option in the Top public bar (red arrow at the bottom left), and an adjustment box will appear around the eye. Adjust the size of the pixel contents of the eye layer by dragging the mouse over the 4 green arrows. Hold down the SHIFT key while adjusting to keep the height-to-width ratio constant at this point, and avoid adjusting the positive circle to an ellipse. In the adjustment of the top of the public bar will be the corresponding information value, the following right figure, see where the W and h percentage, that is, we adjust the size of the layer content of the long width ratio. Adjust it to about 55% and press ENTER to complete the transformation. Note If the "Keep aspect ratio" option is turned on (the Red arrow at the right), then hold down the SHIFT key.

In the actual use of similar operations mostly using the free transform command to complete, and more complete functions, and mobile tool This additional transformation options not only less function, but also easy to cause misoperation, practical value is not, it is recommended not to use.

After shrinking one eye, we will change the color of the other eye, and make sure that the layer is correctly selected, using Hue/saturation 〖ctrl_u〗 to adjust the hue to a numeric value (the following left image is adjusted to +50 effect).

This time we will use the previous three alignment options separately, and we'll see the difference. As shown in the image below, you can see that these three arrangements are based on the length of the y axis of the image in each layer, and the image is based on the height of the standard. Because the y-axis is a vertical orientation, the names of these three alignments should actually begin with a vertical, vertically centered, vertical bottom. Of course, we still have to use the word in Photoshop as the standard. That is, top-aligned, vertical-align, and bottom-aligned.

Figuratively speaking, the top is equal to several balloons float to the roof, no matter the size of the balloon, stay height is the height of the roof. The vertical is equivalent to wearing a Hawthorn string, each Hawthorn regardless of size through the middle. The bottom is equal to the photograph, no matter who is tall who is short standing on the ground.

Why don't you describe the effect of left alignment, horizontal alignment, and right alignment? You can rotate the book or the monitor 90 degrees and then look at the right picture.

Have you ever thought of a problem: since it is justified, who is aligned with whom? In other words, is the small eyes to the big eyes, or the big eyes to the small eyes? The two look no different, but this involves a moving problem, since it is aligned, is actually a kind of automatic movement of the layer of operation, that is the small eyes move to the big eyes, or the big eyes move to align small eyes?

We are in line, with a sound "to the right"! , each row is arranged as a datum on the rightmost person. The layer alignment here also has a base layer. The datum layer remains fixed and the other layers are moved by reference to the Datum layer. So how do you determine who is the base layer? This has to be divided into 2 different cases.

The first is to select multiple layers at the same time (regardless of whether these layers are linked), the layer palette is similar to the 1th or lower 2nd figure. Up-line (ie, top-aligned) is the base layer of a layer that was originally located at the top (only the selected layer), then a downward alignment (i.e., bottom justification) is based on the layer originally at the bottom. Vertically aligned, two (or more) layers move to the center position at the same time. As shown in the 3rd figure below

The second is linked to a number of layers, but only one of the selected layer, layer palette similar to the 4th figure, then the alignment of the base layer is the selected layer (that is, "eye" layer) as prevail.

It is important to determine the base layer, otherwise the effect of alignment is significantly different. In addition, although alignment may involve the movement of multiple layers, it is counted as a step in the history.

We see that there are 12 buttons aligned to the alignment. But now we can only choose the front 6, the following 6 are not available, this is why? This is because the following 6 types of distribution, must have more than three layer links to be effective. We can try our own first, we will learn to use in the future.

Photoshop provides smart guides (CS and earlier versions are not available), a feature that automatically determines alignment based on layer content, and is useful. Now let's learn how to use it.

First, make sure that the Alignment feature opens the view _ alignment 〖ctrl_shift_;〗, and that the view _ Snap To _ guides works, so you can use the alignment feature of the smart guides. In order to better see the alignment effect, especially when the image of a wide range of content to accurately determine the alignment of objects and methods, should also open the "view _ display _ Smart Guide." The smart guides default to magenta and can be changed from the guides, grids, and slices item 〖ctrl_k,ctrl_6〗 of the Photoshop preferences. It should be noted that even without the display of the Smart Guide, its alignment function is still valid.

Now we analyze the principle of the smart guide, it is actually to find the layer content of the boundary and center, the content of each layer by 3 total of 9 lines of invisible line through the formation. The following example of the left figure, the top of the layer is X1, the bottom is X3, the leftmost is the Y1, the rightmost is the Y3, by X2 and Y2 together is the layer center point. In this way, Photoshop automatically contrasts the 9 invisible lines in all layers and aligns them to each other during the move. The alignment performance is similar to the common reference line we have established before, it will produce the adsorption effect at a certain distance near the corresponding position.

With two layers to say, in the x direction there are 9 kinds of alignment possibilities, that is, the first layer of X1, X2, X3 and the second layer of X1, X2, X3 aligned. With the same number of 9 possibilities in the Y direction, a total of 81 alignment patterns are formed. The figure below illustrates the simultaneous alignment of 3 of these x and Y. The gray lines are the hidden guides for the layers, and the black lines are the guides that produce the alignment effect.

Understand the principle of the Smart Guide, its use is no longer mysterious, in the process of moving layers if there is alignment between these 9 lines, then the alignment of the part of the guide will automatically appear, the following right figure.

In addition to providing references when you move a layer, a smart guide can work when you create a selection, in the sense that the selection is also considered a content layer to participate in alignment. The following 2 figure is the guide that appears when you create a selection, and the bottom-left figure indicates that the Y2 line of the selection is aligned with the Y2 line of the positive circle and the Y1 line of the underlying layer, and the bottom-right figure indicates that the X2 line of the selection is aligned with the X3 line of the

In addition, you can use the Smart guides when you use the crop tools and slicing tools.