Remove the clutter in Photoshop

You ever notice that you have a zillion panels/palettes open in Photoshop and the clutter becomes too much? Sometimes I can't even see the image I'm working on.
Try this. Hit the Tab key to quickly hide all the palettes and tool bars. Hit Tab again to bring them back.
Shift Tab hides just the panels/palettes. Hit Shift Tab again to bring them back.
This way you can view your image without the clutter and not lose the palettes you had opened.

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My latest video pick
Imagine the entire world getting together to make music with our own unique talents. A moment of peace through music. Wouldn't it sound beautiful? Perhaps it might sound a little like this.

Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

Saving a Selection in Photoshop

Nothing's more frustrating than losing a selection after spending a half hour making a complicated selection. Sometimes I accidently de-select or click the wrong place and have to start again!

There is an answer to this complicated selection issue.
Save your selection.
Rather than wasting time reselecting it all over again, just save your selection.
While working on your selection choose Select > Save Selection.
In the resulting Save Selection dialog box, name the selection and click OK.


Now, when you need to access that selection, choose Select > Load Selection. In the resulting dialog box, choose your saved selection from the Channel pop-up menu and click OK.

In my example of our adopted son Jim and his dad, I've saved the shirt, after reloading the saved selection from the provided channel menu, I can go back to edit my selection or make my adjustments.

Make sure you save your document as a native Photoshop file (.psd) in order to access your selection in the future) The best part is, you can save numerous selections in your image! Just make sure to give them descriptive names.

My video pick for the month
Don't be quick to judge someone until you've had a chance to see their true inner beauty. Always give people a chance to show you who they really are, not by the labels that the world may have given them.
Here is Susan Boyle who was given that chance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

FREE logo maker

I couldn't create a logo from scratch if I had to. However, here is a site that will get you started.
http://www.logoinstant.com/ offers you a couple dozen logos to choose from. The best part is, when you download the file you'll get a .psd or .ai file that you can edit.Above is a sample logo offered. I downloaded the Photoshop version of course ;-)
It came with all the layers I needed to edit the text and background color.Here it is after editing it in Photoshop.
It's a great way to create a logo if you have no idea how to get started. You'll find several different themes to choose from.
However, I did have to crop out their logo in my finished graphic. Not a problem when the rest is free. Enjoy!

FREE online invitation creator

Here's something new that I tried and give 2 thumbs up on.
Do you send email invitations to people for parties or events? Here is a way to create an invitation, keep track of people attending and even include a map to the event!
Invite43.com is a neat site that does it all. You don't even have to register to access these tools.
I tested it with a "fake" birthday party for my son's dog Ginger. I was even able to upload a photo of the dog, provide a map, include a password for the event if desired, and keep track of responses of who can attend or not attend.
After finishing your invitation, you'll get a tiny url that you can share with everyone that you want to invite.

I noted that when clicking on the YES "I'll attend" it asks for email information from the attendee. I noted that you don't have to enter this information and it still worked great for those who may not like to share email information.
In my example you'll notice the "Attending" and "Not attending" list from those who have responded.
I even got an email each time someone responded to my invitation.
What a quick, fun and best of all Free way to manage invitations!
Give it a try at http://invite43.com and make it a great weekend for yourself and for someone else.

FREE online page editor to print only what you want

Ever try to print a web page and get only parts of the page or worse yet nothing?

Sometimes your printout is full of ads, empty space and other junk you don't want. Sometimes the parts you really wanted don't even print.

PrintWhatYouLike is a free online editor that lets you format any web page for printing in seconds! You can remove backgrounds, images and edit what you see so that only what you want is printed. You can even change the size of the text!

Save Money, Save the Environment.

You can try it live online for free.
http://www.printwhatyoulike.com/

FREE Password Manager Software

What was my password??
I either have so many passwords to remember I can’t remember the name of the dog. Or, I keep reusing the same password over and over again which I know is too risky. What’s worse are the passwords that expire and have to be changed on a regular basis.I’ve tried post-it-notes on my monitor but a strong wind came along and my life almost came to an end.Managing multiple passwords is a pain. The more we use computers, the more passwords we have to remember. And, I have a feeling it’s not going to get any better.

There are several free programs that allow you to use one master password to access a list of all your usernames and passwords.

I was using AnyPassword and loved it. However, it doesn't work with Vista. So, I had to start looking again for something that was simple and best of all FREE.

I always try the software on my computer first to save you the trouble of getting something that doesn't work the way it should. So, here is what I found that works with Vista AND XP. As a matter of fact, it works with Windows 98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista operating systems.

I found "Effcient Password Manager".

With this software I’m able to use one password to get in to store all my information in one file. I create a “key” for each password I need to keep track of. Each key allows me to store the username, password, URL (if applicible) and notes if I want. They are also easy to edit if a password or URL changes.

I keep a shortcut (as pictured) on my desktop and just enter one password to get in.

I make copies of my key file in several places including my portable flash drive. I can always download the free"Efficient Password Manager" software on any machine and know that I have my passwords file handy if needed. I just need to keep track of the one password to access my information.














I hope you find using password management software as helpful as I do. To download a copy of this software, here is their site:

http://www.efficientpasswordmanager.com/

Fabulous Photoshop Tip in less than a minute

I've decided to add a new feature that you'll see called "Fabulous Photoshop Tip in less than a minute".
I'll share the simple things in Photoshop that you may, or may not know that you'll enjoy and speed up your production time in Photoshop. Enjoy!

Quickly change the size of your working brush
Tired of having to go to the option palette to change your brush size and guessing if it will be the right size?
Use the left "[" and right "]" bracket keys to increase and decrease brush size by 10 pixels with each click of the key. You can see the changes in the size of the option palette as you use the bracket keys.
(Holding down the shift key while using the brackets will change the softness or hardness of the brush)
Think that is neat? Guess what, it works with the clone stamp, eraser, dodge, burn and other tools too! Give it a try.

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My video pick of the month.
Make it a better world with a simple act of kindness.