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Here is another one of those boring but must read tutorials. If you have plans for designing web pages
or navigation interfaces this is one of the most important features you will learn. This tip will also help you when creating your own
shapes or doing precise design work. |
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1) Open a new image 600 pixels wide x 40 pixels high with a white background. 2) Menu = Tools /
Preferences. The Preferences Window shown above will open.
Select Tools Palette and grid in the drop down box.
Cell size = 10
Color = Black
3) Menu = View
Below you see the View Menu. Place a Check Mark next to: Show Grid and Snap To Grid |
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Your composition space should look like mine above. Now the Fun Begins. If you followed along with
the first must know tutorial explaining the bottom guide for creating exact
selections you are in good shape. If not go review it now. |
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Selection Tool |
4) Select the Selection Tool (Shown to the Left) and then select the Rectangle selection tool
(Shown to the Right). Make sure Stroke and Fill are not checked.
5) Draw a 100 pixel wide x 20 pixel high rectangle. If you started at pixel 0,0 you will see your rectangle snapping to the
grid in steps of 10 as you move to the right and downward.
6) Menu = Edit / Copy
7) Menu = Edit Paste |
Rectangle selection tool |
Layer Palette |
You will now notice a new layer in the Layers Palette like mine to the left. 8) With Layer 1 selected
in the Layers Palette.
Menu = Selection / Select Layer
Menu = Filter / Color / Colored layer. Choose black.
Below is what I have so far. |
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9) Menu = View. Remove the Check Mark next to Show Grid. Your grid should be gone like mine
below. |
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10) Select Layer 1 in your Layers Palette, Right Click and select Duplicate.
11) Select the new layer, Layer 2 in the Layers Palette and using your mouse move it to the left. You will notice it
moves in increments of 10 even though the grid is no longer visible. This will insure that we have the same exact space between each
button and each button will be parallel with each other.
12) Now select Layer 2, right click and duplicate it. Again select the new Layer, Layer 3 and move it to the left.
13) Go back to Layer 1, duplicate it again but this time move the new Layer, Layer 4 to the right.
14) Now select Layer 4 in the Layers Palette, duplicate it and then move the new Layer, Layer 5 to the right.
When done you should have perfectly spaced buttons like I do below. Even though this wasn't a fun tutorial imagine if we had nice
shiny buttons or tabs instead of the black rectangles. Hopefully you can now see the importance of learning how to use this tool. |
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