Photoshop

Interface

Interface Preferences

The Interface preferences give you options for the display and appearance of various parts of the Photoshop interface. This set of preferences was introduced in Photoshop CS4.

To access the Interface preferences, go to Edit > Preferences > Interface... (Photoshop > Preferences > Interface...) or use the keyboard shortcut for the General preferences - Ctrl-K (Cmd-K) - and then click Interface in the left pane.

View a full-sized version of the Interface preferences.

General

Show Channels in Colour: This option shows the RGB or CMYK colours in the actual colour of that channel when viewed in the Channels panel. Otherwise, the channels are displayed in greyscale (optimal).

Show Menu Colours: This option enables you to colour-code specific commands that appear in menus. This is handy if there are commands that you frequently use. Highlighting them with colour makes them easy to locate in the menu list. Once this option is enabled in the preferences, you can apply colours in the Keyboard Shortcuts & Menus dialog box. To open this dialog, go to Edit > Menus or Window > Workspace > Keyboard Shortcuts & Menus.

Show Tool Tips: This option enables the display of tool tips (text descriptions) when the cursor hovers over tools, settings, windows and panels.

Enable Gestures: "Gestures" are a feature specific to MacBook computers with multi-touch trackpads. Certain fingertip movements on the touchpad (gestures) can be used to zoom in and out, rotate an image, or flick to scroll. The Enable Gestures option lets you turn this feature on or off in Photoshop.

Panels & Documents

Auto-Collapse Iconic Panels: When this option is disabled, you must click on the panel tab or panel icon to collapse it back to a panel icon. When enabled, you can click on another panel or in the document and the panel will collapse automatically.

Auto-Show Hidden Panels: When you have used the Tab key to hide all panels, you can temporarily display a hidden panel by hovering over its location when this option is enabled.

Remember Panel Locations (CS4): With this option enabled, Photoshop will display panels where you had them positioned during your previous session. If this option is disabled, Photoshop will restore the panels to their default locations upon start-up. (This preference was changed to Restore Default Workspaces in CS5, described below.)

Restore Default Workspaces (CS5): When enabled, this option will restore panels to their default locations when Photoshop starts up. When disabled, Photoshop will remember the positions of the panels the last time you used the program and will display them the same way the next time you start the program. (This preference replaces Remember Panel Locations in CS4, described above.)

Open Documents as Tabs: By default, image windows are grouped together in a single window with tabs allowing you to switch from one image to another. If you want each image to open in its own floating window, disable this option.

Enable Floating Document Window Docking: This option allows you to add a floating image document to a tabbed image window.

UI Text Options: This lets you specify the language and the font size displayed in the user interface (UI). You will be required to restart Photoshop before your changes will take effect.

Interface Preferences Summary

Show Channels in Colour will display colour channels in their actual colours instead of the normal greyscale.
Show Menu Colours lets you assign highlight colours to frequently-used menu commands.
Show Tool Tips will display tool tips when the cursor hovers over certain interface elements.
Enable Gestures lets you turn the MacBook touchpad gestures feature off or on in Photoshop.
Auto-Collapse Iconic Panels will collapse iconic panels when another panel or the document window is clicked on.
Auto-Show Hidden Panels will reveal a hidden panel when you hover over it.
Remember Panel Locations (CS4) will display panels the way you left them the last time you used the program.
Restore Default Workspaces (CS5) will restore panels to their default positions when you start up the program.
Open Documents as Tabs will group images together in a single tabbed window.
Enable Floating Document Window Docking allows you to dock floating image windows with a group that's already docked.
UI Text Options let you specify the language and font size displayed in the Photoshop interface.

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