Anyone who has a little familiarity with Photoshop knows that there are more ways to do any one thing than most people will ever know. But the real intrigue with Photoshop lies in the fact that there are so many capabilities and hidden bits that most people don’t even know exist. For example, did you know about the secret banana tool? (If you felt the need to double check, no it isn’t April 1st.)
Nathaniel Dodson of Tutvid has made a fast, five-minute video showing off a handful of hidden features ranging from mere novelty to major time-saver.
We’ll go over what’s discussed in the video here, and to see how it’s done, have a watch.
Banana Tool
In Photoshop CC, you can turn the ellipsis mark that indicates the place to click to choose tools other than the main ones displayed in your tool bar into… a yellow banana. Why? Who knows! But it’s a thing you can do, and the video will show you how.
Duplicated Transform
If you need to copy a layer and a transformation to the layer simultaneously, there is a keyboard shortcut that will let you do just that. The trick is demonstrated in Dodson’s video with a text layer, with a transformation applied automatically with each copy. In this instance, it gives an interesting spiral text effect that can be used in typographic design.
Removing “Copy” From Duplicated Layer Names
If you don’t like the word “copy” popping up in your layer names after you’ve duplicated them, there’s a one-click solution that will prevent it from happening.
[REWIND:] 10 EASY & IMMEDIATELY ACTIONABLE PHOTOSHOP TIPS & TRICKS
Adding Lens Flare To A Specific Location
You can find the exact coordinates of the place you want to add a lens flare and then enter them when you use the Lens Flare filter to apply the effect exactly where you’d like.
Merging Only Selected Layers
If you need to export only some of the layers in your project, there is an easy, though a complicated-sounding way to do this. You’ve got to press a lot of buttons, but there is a keyboard shortcut that will merge all layers that are selected into a new one.
Five tips, five minutes. Check out the video and go get yourself a new wealth of knowledge in the program that some of us love and others love to hate. Obviously, your Photoshop workspace needs a banana.