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Geek Culture / Can I disable the layers in Photoshop?

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Xander
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 11:33
I use to use Corel Photopaint, and got very accustomed to that program. Now I have to use Adobe Photoshop, and I really don't like it. I really hate the layers. I want to be able to cut parts out and move them around without dealing with all those layers. Can I disable them or something?

Xander Moser - Bolt Software - Firewall
bitJericho
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 11:45
*why* That's the whole point of photoshop.. the layers... You should get some tutorials or a book on how to use it properly


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Osiris
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 11:45
yeah id like to know also because i keep getting an error "layer not acsessable"

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bitJericho
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 11:47
*sighs and decides to sit out on this one*


No plot? No problem! Come write with the worst of us!
Xander
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 11:58
I understand how to use them, but the stuff I am doing does not require layers. I am just doing simple grahpic editing, I don't need any alpha layers or different objects on seperate layers. It is so much faster without them. It takes forever to do some simple copy-past and basic pixel editing because I have to keep switching between layers and stuff.

Xander Moser - Bolt Software - Firewall
hyrichter
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 12:59
Click on the Layer menu and near the bottom of the menu click on "flatten image."

Phaelax
DBPro Master
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 13:03
corel? ewwwww. I hate EVERY product they make. Horrible!
If you don't like layers (whats wrong with you) you can just do all your operations on 1 layer. You can also hide other layers by clicking its little icon.

"eureka" - Archimedes
Ian T
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 13:40
I doubt it, because that's really the primary feature of the program. It's what makes it a several hundred dollar program instead of a several dollar program. I'd recommend just going back to Photopaint somehow if you're that used to it. For advanced image editing and creation though, layers are a crucial, flexible and excellent tool .


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Three Score
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 13:57
i also hatye that layers feature of photoshop i ony do simple editing so i have no need for layers and i can't do ti all in one layer cause like when i try to make a square or well any shape after it only sasy layer is not directly editable(or something like that)

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QuothTheRaven
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 14:01 Edited at: 22nd Oct 2004 14:02
I too was an avid Photopaint user, and the layers of PS really bugged me a lot. You can flatten the image, but then whenver you cut/paste you still have the layers. And the undockable windows badly cultter the workspace, especially the layer window, where you have to browse a stupid box to find the thing you want to access instead of just clicking on it like Photopaint.

Layers in PS as just a pointless way to list the objects in a file, which I feel Photopaint handled much better.

Oh well.

JeBuS
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 14:07
I've never used Photopaint, but as for layers in Photoshop, I couldn't live without them. Makes life so much easier, and makes for some damn fine effects.


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Ian T
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 15:10
But how can they hurt? If you screw up with something's placement, you can go back and modify it in a million ways later. Single-layer editing is really a thing of the past


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AluminumPork
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 17:27
If you don't understand the usefulness of layers then read some tutorials and see how they are one of the most useful features of an image editing program. PaintShop Pro has them as well and that's a $100 program. It's one of the most energy/time savers I've ever known. I use to have the same attitude towards them when I first started try PhotoShop at school, and would just flatten the image and work on it that way. But trust me, even if you're doing "simple image editing", I can guarantee you that you could find a time saving use for them.

For me, I find them very useful for use in web design in conjuction with the ever-so-useful ImageReady. They make it easy for rollovers and other neato web things.

Anyways, take a little bit to see how layers are a gift from the heavens.

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indi
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 17:27
yeah photoshop is for users who develop professional quality material for print / film / television and games, as well as forensics and medicine. Ive seen it used to compare bullets and to isolate shapes in medical xrays.

if you dont use layers then your workflow wont be as easy to undo or change according to what you need.

as mentioned before you can flatten the layers.

but... add one layer and remove the background layer and work on that new layer and flatten whenever you aquire more layers due to pasting or rasterising.

if however you stick with layers you will find its a much easier way to manage objects in your composition and allow you to nudge elements around or apply effects and features to different layers accordingly.

you can also merge visible which will merge the visible layers together.

photoshop without layers is like a fire engine without a ladder and a fulltank of h20.

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself
Wiggett
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 19:51
it also helps when rendering effects on certain parts. say you want to have a red background with a metal textured word in the center, if you wanted to emboss that metal texture but not the back ground, you can easily do it by embossing just the word layer, otehrwise you would emobss the red aswell. layer's are a good thing, you don't like it, then use m$ paint sissy.

Richard Davey
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 20:32
Quote: "where you have to browse a stupid box to find the thing you want to access instead of just clicking on it like Photopaint"


Hmm, if you actually owned Photoshop and had the superb manual infront of you it would take 5 seconds to read that you can just hold down CTRL-ALT while right-clicking on the image to automatically select the layer you are over, without using "that stupid box"

Or if you want Photoshop to do it automatically for you, pick the "Move" tool and the first check box in the Options bar is called "Auto Select Layer".

Have a guess what that does.

Also if you just do a simple cut or copy of an area, when you paste you get the new layer - just press CTRL+E to merge it down. Simple really. Or of course you could do a "Paste Into" to avoid this step altogether.

There is nothing graphical Photoshop cannot do (if you actually have the manual and read it of course)

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Van B
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Location: Sunnyvale
Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 20:50
Photoshop is a hella powerful, but personaly I prefer PSP's layer controls - I am getting used to PS now though with some practice.

Layering is vital for object texturing - you can export a UV map template image from Lithunwrap or whatever - then have that as a lighten layer, make texturing almost bearable. The thing is though that layers are only useful when you know how to use them - this takes a bit of practice and experimenting with different techniques. Once you know your layers and what they can do, you'll probably find yourself relying on them through instinct. One thing is to only ever apply an effect to a layer, never the backdrop - at least when working in layers you still have all the control, and can mix different effects to get the results you want.

One thing, don't know if anyones noticed that PS trounces PSP for graphics tablet usage - PS is smooth as silk, very responsive - PSP and a tablet is like painting using a dead pigeon as a brush .


Van-B


Muhahahahaha.
Wiggett
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 20:55
thats some pretty harsh painting,

Flashing Blade
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Posted: 22nd Oct 2004 21:24 Edited at: 22nd Oct 2004 21:24
Paint Shop 4 aint got layers. I think its free now.

I use Paint Shop 7 and layers are fantastic.

If you don't like your photoshop then I'll offer you £50 cash for it.


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Ian T
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Posted: 23rd Oct 2004 01:34
Yeah, I really preffered PSP because I got the trial of 6, 7, and 8 in that order (due to some new HDDs I renewed a few of them ) and basically got years' worth of work out of it. Now I have to switch to the Photoshop trial. You know, one day I am really gonna be able to stop all this and just buy the darn thing


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Xander
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Posted: 23rd Oct 2004 03:13
Okay, I realize I was being stubborn. I guess I should have waited a while to learn how to use the layers more efficiently. It just takes getting used to, and I was kind of in a hurry. It is a lot easier to move objects around after pasting them, making reediting an easier process.

I have Photoshop now because it is included on the college-issued laptop I have. I don't know if I can get access to a manual...I will have to look into it. Thanks everyone for your help.

I do have another question though:
-In Photopaint I had a tint tool that I could choose a color then tint part of the image with a brush thing. It would tint whatever you ran tool over (like a paintbrush) and affected all shades, even black and white. Is there something like this in PS? I have played around with some of the color adjustment things, but I can't get the result I want. Here is an example:



I created the top half, then copied it to the bottom and ran the tint tool over it with a blue color.

Xander Moser - Bolt Software - Firewall
Ilya
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Posted: 23rd Oct 2004 05:24
Create a colored layer with a less-than-100 alpha value.

The default editor is fine.

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Jess T
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Posted: 23rd Oct 2004 15:44
PhotoShop is great, It's gotta be the best graphic's program I've used.

Used PS6, then 7 at school, and got the 8 trial till it ran out on my PC.
Now, I use The GIMP, it's the same, but not as many features, and it's a sideways step going from PS to GIMP, but it's just as good, and FREE

Jess.


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Van B
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Posted: 23rd Oct 2004 23:35
You should make a layer, then set it as a colour layer and draw your colour over the top like a colouring book.


Van-B


Muhahahahaha.
Richard Davey
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Posted: 24th Oct 2004 03:44
Quote: "I don't know if I can get access to a manual...I will have to look into it."


There is a very extensive one built into it (the help files), but the actual printed manual is the best ever - hundreds of pages, full colour, very comprehensive.

"I am not young enough to know everything."
- Oscar Wilde

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