VIEWING AND NAVIGATING

You can view different portions of an image at different magnifications using the Zoom tool, the Hand tool, the Navigation palette and with several keyboard shortcut commands.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to looking at an image on screen in Photoshop is that an image’s screen size when viewed on a computer monitor is not always representative of the image’s actual physical or PRINT SIZE (i.e. an image’s width and height when it is printed or dropped into another application). An image’s screen size is dependent on the resolution of your monitor, the resolution of your image and what magnification, if any, you are using to view the image. The only way to determine an image’s actual width and height (i.e. what size an image will print at) is to go the IMAGE MENU and select IMAGE SIZE. A dialog box will appear with your PRINT SIZE and RESOLUTION.

ZOOM TOOL

Click on the ZOOM TOOL in the toolbox to select it (or just hit the Z key).

Click once on the portion of your image that you want to ZOOM IN on. Click again to increase the magnification even more. The image window’s title bar will display your current zoom ratio. Photoshop allows you to magnify an image to 1600%.

You can also zoom in on just a portion of the graphic. With the ZOOM TOOL selected in the toolbox, click and hold down the mouse key to draw a marquee around the portion of the image you want to zoom in on. When you release the mouse, that portion of the image will be magnified and fill the image window.

To ZOOM OUT—decrease magnification—make sure the ZOOM TOOL is still selected, hold down the OPTION key (Mac) or the ALT key (Windows), and click once on the portion of the image you want to zoom out on.

To instantly display an image at 100%, double-click on the ZOOM TOOL in the toolbox. To display the image so that it fits entirely on your screen, double-click the HAND TOOL.

In addition, there are a number of keyboard shortcut commands for the ZOOM TOOL:

• ZOOM IN: COMMAND+ (MAC); CONTROL+ (WINDOWS)
• ZOOM OUT: COMMAND- (MAC); CONTROL- (WINDOWS)
• FIT ON SCREEN: COMMAND 0 (MAC); CONTROL 0 (WINDOWS)
• VIEW AT 100%: COMMAND OPTION 0 (MAC); CONTROL ALT 0 (WINDOWS)

When the ZOOM TOOL is selected in the toolbox, additional settings are available in the ZOOM OPTIONS BAR.

Zoom Options Bar in Photoshop 6:

Zoom Options Bar in Photoshop 7:

The following options are available:

• RESIZE WINDOWS TO FIT: When this box is checked, the image widow will resize along with the image as you zoom in or out.
• IGNORE PALETTES: When this box is checked along with the RESIZE WINDOWS TO FIT box, the image can be enlarged to fit your entire screen as you zoom in irregardless of what palettes you have open at the edge of your screen.
• ACTUAL PIXELS: When you click on this box, your image will display at 100%. You can get the same results by double-clicking on the ZOOM TOOL in the toolbox.
• FIT ON SCREEN: Click on this box to display the image so that it fits entirely on the screen. You can get the same results by double-clicking on the HAND TOOL in the toolbox.
• PRINT SIZE: This is a handy new option. When you click on it, your image will display at its actual print size (width and height), irregardless of what your monitor resolution or the resolution of your graphic happens to be.

HAND TOOL

When an image is magnified to the point where it doesn’t all fit in the image window, you can use the image window’s scroll bars to bring hidden portions of the image into view. However, an easier way is to use the HAND TOOL. Click once on the HAND TOOL ICON in the toolbox to select it (or hit the H key).

When you place the cursor over your image, notice that it changes into a little hand that you can use to move the image around (providing that the image is in a magnified state and doesn’t already fit entirely within the image window). Zoom in to about 200% and with the HAND TOOL selected, click, hold, and drag the image around the image window.

You can temporarily access and use the HAND TOOL even when another tool is selected by holding down the SPACEBAR. For as long as you press the SPACEBAR, the cursor will become a hand and you can move the image around within the image window. Once you release the SPACEBAR, you will again have access to the selected tool in the toolbox.

When the HAND TOOL is selected in the toolbox, additional settings are available in the HAND OPTIONS BAR:

Hand Options Bar in Photoshop 6 and 7:

You’ll find that these options for the HAND TOOL are identical to the options for the ZOOM TOOL:

• ACTUAL PIXELS: Click on this box to display the image at 100%. You can get the same results by double-clicking on the ZOOM TOOL in the toolbox.
• FIT ON SCREEN: Click on this box to display the image so that it fits entirely on the screen. You can get the same results by double-clicking on the HAND TOOL in the toolbox.
• PRINT SIZE: Click on this box to display the image at its actual PRINT SIZE (width and height), irregardless of what your monitor resolution or the resolution of your graphic happens to be.

NAVIGATOR PALETTE

The problem with using the ZOOM TOOL to zoom in and out on an image is that zoom percentages are preset within Photoshop. Once you zoom in to 100%, zooming in again will magnify the image to 200%. Sometimes you only want to zoom in another 50% or less. That’s where the NAVIGATOR PALETTE may come in handy (although to be quite honest, I never use it).

To access the NAVIGATOR PALETTE, click on the NAVIGATOR PALETTE TAB. If the NAVIGATOR PALETTE is not showing, go to the WINDOW MENU and select SHOW NAVIGATOR.

The NAVIGATOR PALETTE displays an IMAGE THUMBNAIL representation of your image. Use the ZOOM SLIDER at the bottom of the palette to increase or decrease magnification in very small intervals. The mountain-shaped icons at either side of the slider work just like the ZOOM TOOL. When you click the smaller mountain icon, it will decrease magnification in preset intervals. The larger mountain icon will increase magnification.

The box on the thumbnail of your image in the NAVIGATOR PALETTE is called the VIEW BOX, and it represents the area of your actual image that is currently visible in the image window. Increase the magnification and your VIEW BOX becomes smaller. Drag the VIEW BOX around the thumbnail and your image will move along with it in the image window.

The greatest benefit of using the NAVIGATOR PALETTE rather than the ZOOM or HAND TOOL is that you can increase and decrease magnification, as well as navigate around an image, without having the ZOOM or HAND TOOL selected in the toolbox.