User's Manual

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ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS2
User Guide
To apply or delete a layer mask
When you finish creating a layer mask, you can either apply the mask and make the changes permanent or delete the
mask without applying changes. Because layer masks are stored as alpha channels, applying and deleting layer masks
can help reduce file size.
1 Click the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette.
2 To remove the layer mask and make changes permanent, click the Delete icon at the bottom of the Layers
palette, and then click Apply (Photoshop) or Yes (ImageReady).
3 To remove thelayer maskwithout applying thechanges, clickthe Delete icon at thebottomofthe Layers palette,
and then click Delete (Photoshop) or No (ImageReady).
You can also apply or delete layer masks using the Layer menu.
See also
“To save a selection” on page 334
To load a layer or layer mask’s boundaries as a selection
By loading a layer mask, you can quickly select all the opaque areas on a layer—that is, the areas within the layer
boundaries. This is useful when you want to exclude transparent areas from a selection. You can also load the bound-
aries of a layer mask as a selection.
❖ Do one of the following:
• In the Layers palette, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the layer thumbnail or layer mask
thumbnail.
• To add the pixels to an existing selection, press Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Command+Shift (Mac OS), and click the
layer thumbnail or layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette.
• To subtract the pixels from an existing selection, press Ctrl+Alt (Windows) or Command+Option (Mac OS), and
click the layer thumbnail or layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette.
• To load the intersection of the pixels and an existing selection, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or
Command+Option+Shift (Mac OS), and click the layer thumbnail or layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette.
If you want to move all the contents of a layer, use the Move tool without loading a transparency mask.
Clipping masks
You can use the content of a layer to mask the layers above it. The transparent pixels of the bottom or base layer mask
thecontent of layers aboveitthatare part of a clipping mask. The content of the base layer clips (reveals), the content
of the layers above it in the clipping mask.