Table of Contents
Advertisement
CHAPTER 7
186
Using Channels and Masks
Viewing channels
You can use the palette to view any combination of
individual channels. For example, you can view an
alpha channel and the composite channel together
to see how changes made in the alpha channel
relate to the entire image. By default, individual
channels are displayed in grayscale.
To display the Channels palette:
Choose Windows > Show Channels, or click the
1
Channels palette tab.
Use the scroll bars or resize the palette to see
2
additional channels.
When a channel is visible in the image, an eye
icon ( ) appears to its left in the palette.
To show or hide a channel:
Click in the eye column next to the channel to
show or hide that channel. (Click the composite
channel to view all default color channels.
The composite channel is displayed whenever all
the color channels are visible.)
To show or hide multiple channels, drag
through the eye column in the Channels
palette.
These guidelines apply to channels you display:
In RGB, CMYK, or Lab images, you can view the
•
individual channels in color. (In Lab images, only
the a and b channels appear in color.)
If more than one channel is active, the channels
•
always appear in color.
•
In alpha channels, selected pixels appear as
white; unselected pixels appear as black (partially
transparent or selected pixels appear as gray).
These are the channel default options.
•
If you display an alpha channel at the same time
as color channels, the alpha channel appears as a
transparent color overlay, analogous to a printer's
rubylith or a sheet of acetate. To change the color
of this overlay or set other alpha channel options,
see "Creating alpha channels (Photoshop)" on
page 200.
Changing the display of the palette
You can show the individual color channels in
color (rather than grayscale) in the Channels
palette and specify the size of the thumbnails.
Using thumbnails is the most convenient way
of tracking channel contents; however, turning
off the display of thumbnails can improve
performance.
To show color channels in color:
Choose Edit > Preferences > Display & Cursors.
1
2
Select Color Channels in Color, and click OK.
To resize or hide channel thumbnails:
1
Choose Palette Options from the Channels
palette menu.
2
Select a display option:
Click a thumbnail size. Smaller thumbnails
•
reduce the space required by the palette—helpful
when you're working on smaller monitors.
Click None to turn off the display of thumbnails.
•
Click OK.
3
Hide quick links:
Advertisement
Table of Contents
