adjustment layer to only affect layer below it

alt+apple (control) + G
and it auto clicks to the layer below the adjustment layer.

Photoshop Text Box resizing

http://www.theblog.ca/photoshop-textbox

Peter on his blog wrote (as was my experience): "Trying to tweak every conceivable Photoshop option and using ctrl+click, shift+right-click, scream-at-computer-click, etc. got me nowhere. So thanks for nothing to Google and thanks for nothing to my brain.

Yeah, I could have just created a new text box, but that would have meant giving in. So, after an hour I sent the file to Derek (smart guy) and complained. He replied: “I don’t have the problem — I can resize the text box and the font size isn’t changed.”

What!?!? Is this a joke!?!? I went back to Photoshop and… ah… for some reason a light finally turned on: I should have simply resized while using the Text Tool; all along, I was trying to use the arrow to resize the text box."

Simple, yet essential.

Photoshop Layer shortcuts

Make all layers visible (yes, I searched and searched for this one, because if you use alt click on more than one layer, layers within a folder won't become visible again.

Right click on eyeball/ then show/hide all layers


Found this here, which might just be the best collection of Photoshop shortcuts I have found. Ok, my logic is flawed, but I couldn't find the above shortcut anywhere else...

http://jkost.com/pdf/photoshop/cs3/PSTips&Tech.pdf

Preparing Photoshop files for hand-off

http://www.noupe.com/photoshop/preparing-photoshop-files-for-web-developers.html

a great article. Comments are helpful too. I agree with the bit about keeping more layers rather than flattening everything thus allowing the developer to slice as they will and to make edits as necessary.

And this is a nice list of things that a designer can hand to the developer to make their life easier (from one of the comments):

I follow almost all of the tips listed. Some additional ones I add are:
1. Always include a flattened version as a support/reference files in case of any shifting
2. High level call out for dynamic content and areas that are fluid/flexible
3.Pixel specs – similar to old school print specs – a file with:
- hex color call outs
- font stack, type size, line height, hex colors, style, – weight, letter spacing etc
- border widths, hex colors
- container heights/widths
- padding
Some may wonder why so detailed – if I can provide that to my dev he/she can produce the CSS in half the time. The other reason is it leaves little doubt for color shifting since I’ve spec’d it out.

color profiles for webdesign

http://www.rumblingskies.com/blog/?p=46#more-46

When pasting, you are prompted to assign a profile: use working rgb: iec61966=2.1

Convert to profle engine: Adobe ACE
and relative color metric

check "use black point compensation"
check "use dither"

Set color profiles to sRGB.
If your monitor profile matches, click of "convert to sRGB" in the "Save for Web and Devices" dialog
working with sRGB is recommended by the smashing ebook "mastering photoshop for web", but then you will need to work with a soft proof
view->proof setup, then change the setting to Monitor RGB
then make sure that view-proof color is checked.
This is identical to how the image will appear in the browser
then it doesn't matter if "convert to sRGB" is on or off but make sure that "embed color profile" is off.

Video dimensions Chart