Datasheet
18
Part I: Getting Started
By default, the Tools panel opens as a single row of
tools down the left side of the Elements window. You
can change the view to a double row of tools by
clicking the right-pointing double chevron. Doing so
shows all tools when you’re working on smaller
computer monitors.
You can easily access tools in Elements by pressing
shortcut keys on your keyboard. For a quick glance
at the Tools panel and the keystrokes needed to
access the tools, look over Figure 1-9.
Notice on the Tools panel that several tools appear
with a tiny arrowhead pointing right and downward
in the lower-right corner of the tool. Whenever you
see this arrowhead, remember that more tools are
nested within that tool group. Click a tool with an
arrowhead and hold down the mouse button, or for
a faster response from Elements, just right-click a
tool. A pop-up toolbar opens, as shown in Figure
1-10, that offers you more tool selections within
that group.
To select tools within a tool group by using key-
strokes, hold down the Shift key and strike the
respective key (as shown in Figure 1-9) to access
the tool. Keep the Shift key down and repeatedly
press the shortcut key to step through all tools in
a given group.
Whether you have to press the Shift key to
select tools is controlled by a preference
setting. To change the default setting so
that you don’t have to press Shift, choose
Edit➪Preferences➪General (Adobe Photoshop
Elements 8➪Preferences➪General) or press
Ctrl+K (Ô+K on the Mac).
The shortcuts work for you at all times except when
you’re typing text with the cursor active inside a
text block. Be certain to click the Tools panel to
select a tool when you finish editing some text.
The tools are varied, and you may find that you
don’t use all the tools in the Tools panel in your
workflow. Rather than describe the tool functions
here, we address the tools in the rest of this book
as they pertain to the respective Elements tasks.
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Figure 1-9: You access
tools by clicking the tool on
the Tools panel or typing a
keyboard shortcut.
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