The application of Alt key in Photoshop

ALT is the abbreviation for the word "alter", and the Chinese meaning is "change". Under Windows operating platform, the ALT key is the king of the keyboard. Skilled use of this key, can greatly improve the efficiency of our operation of the computer. In Photoshop, its function is to play the most incisively and vividly.

The network provides the related skill mostly is the list, because has not contacted each other therefore not easy to remember. This article tries according to its principle to roughly classify, some functions are very not commonly used, to keep the article complete, easy to be tasted, must not rote. In addition, Alt match the menu and hold the mouse down until you have the command you want to loosen.

First, perform the replication function

1. Press ALT to copy the layer when you drag the layer using the Move tool. Creates a new layer named after a layer x copy, or if the object within the move selection is copied inside the layer, without creating a new layer; This feature applies to the combination of the mobile tool and the keypad key;

2, holding down the ALT key (ctrl+alt+t) at the time of the Free transform (ctrl+t) is to copy the original layer and transform it on the copy layer; Similarly, if an object within a transform selection is copied within the layer, no new layer is generated; Note that this action activates the free transform box only, No subsequent operations can not be seen, only the transformation began to find the copy generation;

In addition, in order to perform the last transformation again, the last transformation is ctrl+alt+shift+t to copy the original image, which is used in the production of the ctrl+shift+t of the recursive changes.

3. A known downward merge layer (ctrl+e) merges the current layer with the next visible layer, with the latter layer name (the command is not available if its bottom layer is not visible); Ctrl+alt+e The result is to copy the current layer content to the next layer; Merge visible layers (ctrl+shift+ E) hold down the ALT key (ctrl+alt+shift+e) to merge all visible layers into the current layer (for example, an empty layer that is built at the top).

Ii. execution of an alternative option when there is a possibility of a second choice

1, hold down the ALT key to use the eyedropper tool will be the background color rather than the foreground color;

2. When holding down the ALT key, the Magnifier tool becomes a narrowing tool, and the same can be toggled between the lasso and Polygon lasso (L) Blur and Sharpen (R), Dodge and deepen (O), Eraser, and History Eraser (E);

3, add a layer mask when the default mask for all white, that is, 100% opacity, with ALT click Add Mask, then add All Black mask, that layer completely transparent;

4, in the editing layer mask, with ALT click on the Layers panel in the Mask section, you can let the image window to display the Mask view, again Click Restore to the Layer view (hold down SHIFT to switch off and open the mask);

5, hold down the ALT key when you drag the guides to switch between horizontal and vertical guides. Alt-click an existing vertical guide to turn it into a horizontal guide, and vice versa.

Iii. parameters to invoke the last dialog box action

1, to duplicate the just used filter, you can use the combination of keys (ctrl+f) to invoke, if you want to modify the previous filter parameters (if the filter has parameters), the combination of keys (CTRL+ALT+F) The Filter dialog box, if the filter has no parameters to adjust, In general, Alt is invalid (see below for special cases);

2, in the adjustment of color, hue, color balance, curve and other tools used in the same, to repeat the last parameter, need to cooperate with ALT to pull up the panel to retain parameters, append a carriage return confirmation.

Iv. when involved in the dialog box operation, to force the avoidance or append a dialog box

1, the level of the layer board to create a new level, hold down the ALT key can force pop-up new Layer Property Settings dialog box;

2, the Layers panel to delete a layer when holding down the ALT key can skip the confirmation dialog box directly delete the layer;

3, the above two for the channel and Path, action, historical record panel is equally effective;

4, the implementation of the 1th article described in the effect can be implemented with ctrl+shift+n, so ctrl+shift+alt+n equivalent to directly click on the layers of the layer board to create a new button;

5, when the background layer into the general layer of the method is generally in the layers of the background layer Board double-click, pop-up default into Layer 0 dialog box; with Alt Double-click can skip the dialog box directly to the background layer into layer 0;

V. Special usage

1, for layer grouping, hold down ALT to move the cursor to the boundary line between the two layers, the cursor change number, click Group;

2, when the current tool is a brush (B), gradient (G), press ALT to temporarily activate the eyedropper tool to draw the foreground color; This method is commonly used instead of the real eyedropper tool (I), because the former two hotkeys are in the left-hand area, the background color can be quickly switched through the hot key x;

3, in any of the parameters can be adjusted dialog box, when the parameters are not satisfied with the parameter, press ALT, the button "Cancel" changed to "Reset", click to return to the initial state of the dialog box;

4, in the text editor, alt with the keypad of the left and right arrow keys can adjust the spacing between the characters;

5, into the channel: in RGB mode, for example, Hotkey ctrl+~, ctrl+1, ctrl+2, ctrl+3 respectively corresponding to the display of all channels and display red, green, blue channel, ctrl+4 then corresponding to the display of the creation of the alpha channel 1, etc. with the ALT key (ctrl+alt+ 4) is the direct transfer of these channels into the constituency;

6, in the color panel press the ALT key, the cursor into scissors, you can delete the color board unit.

Vi. Other uses

1, the fastest way to open a file in Photoshop is to double-click the desktop, ALT + Double-click the desktop to open for (shift+ Double-click the desktop to pull Photoshop image browser);

2, the scope of the center: in the use of trimming, rectangular or elliptical mask to delimit the range, the default state of the mouse click on the 1th is a rectangle or elliptical rectangular cut a corner of the rectangle, such as with Alt the 1th of the rectangle or the center of the ellipse (with shift Force Square or circle) ; The same applies to the free transform (with shift to equal ratio scaling);

3. Subtraction: When using a mask or lasso, first delimit a selection, and then press the ALT key to subtract the new selection from the original selection (shift to increase the selection), while pressing SHIFT and ALT for the intersection of the old selection; the performance is also applied to the CTRL key to the layer selection;

4, repeat the cloud filter, with ALT can get the strongest contrast clouds, the effect is equivalent to a common cloud followed by an automatic color order operation;

5, Alt+backspace and Ctrl+backspace key combination for the fill foreground color and background color, another very useful hotkey is the Shift+backspace―― Activation Fill dialog box;

In addition, the Alt+shift+backspace and Ctrl+shift+backspace key combinations fill the existing pixels (keep the transparent area) before and after the background color, and the ctrl+alt+backspace is filled with snapshots;

6, consecutive press ALT + "[" or ALT + "]" can be sequentially (circular) activation of the bottom or top layer for the current layer;

7, in the Curve dialog box, hold down ALT click the curve background of the grid to make it between the 4x4 and 10x10 switch;

8, call up the software eggs: for example, press ALT click on the upper right side of the surface of the triangle, select the last "Palette option, will appear a magician's small window."