I am used to PSP & I am trying to teach myself to use PS CS2, & there are still a few things I cannot work out in PS, that are really easy in PSP & it is pain having to jump between the programmes.

1. In PSP if I select something with their equivalent of the lasso tool, I can then right click it & choose "promote selection to layer" & then a copy of what I have selected is on a new layer by itself - How do I do this in PS?

2. Colourise - in PSP if I want to change the colour of something, I either use the colourise button, or the "change to target" brush - where the item is colourised to whatever colour is selected in your colour palette - basically how do you colourise in PS?

3. If I have 2 images open & they both have alpha channels, in PSP, whatever image I am working on you can uses the alpha selections of any image open - can I do this in PS & how?

They are the basic things that are frustrating me at the moment. I just wish PS wouldn't make things so hard to find LOL

Thanks

1. command - J for a copy, SHIFT-Command - J for cutting it from it's layer to a new one 2. If you have 'preserve transparancy' selected (tick the /-key) or the appropriate small checkered button in the palette and command-backspace 3. You can go to any alpha channel and select the palette menu (triangle in circle) and do a 'duplicate channel) and choose the docuement you want to use the channel in as target. The channel will be copied, then you can use it to make a selection. The PSP way sounds easier, but on the other hand, I don't think I would use it a lot. You can also make a selection by command-clicking on the small layer thumbnail, it will use the contents of the layer to make a selection. Dragging layers from one document to another gives you a faster way to import selections, without alpha channel hassle (at least not obvious, 'under the hood' the transparancy of any layer is alpha information) Hope this helps! There are other ways for most of these answers too.

1. "If you have 'preserve transparancy' selected (tick the /-key) or the appropriate small checkered button in the palette and command-backspace" - where would I actually find this?

2. How do I "go to any alpha channel"? Plus I cannot find a "triangle in a circle"

Above is what my desktop looks like

Thanks

Thanks. "No thanks!" ?? - I said thanks at the end of the message

I think that it is a case of Dunglish (in Dutch when somebody says 'bedankt', the humble reaction is 'geen dank', which I used as 'no thanks'.) You do not have to thank me, I am glad to be of help :-)

In answer to #1: when you make your selection in PS you can right click in your selection and select "Layer via copy" or "Layer via cut". I think everything else got answered.

1. There are several ways but after Ive made a selection on an image I execute Ctrl+J this places the selection on its own layer. 2. To colorize an image execute Ctrl+U then check on colorize in the dialog. 3. Alpha channels are found in the channel palette as oppose to the layers palette.

Thanks, I will try all these tonight.

Quest - #3 - he was showing her to first click the Channels Palette (3A), then it's the little circled arrow (3B) found in that space when she gets there.

NO! #3...Click "Window menu" then Channel palette, that should take you to where the alpha channel should be. No two ways about it as I meant. Clear and concise!

For colorize use adjustment layers, which are located on the left of the "Create a new layer" icon in layers pallete. My favorites are Hue/saturation, Color balance, Channel mixer. Play with them and you`ll see the advantages of every one of them. The great thing about adjustment layers is you can edit them any time and they are not memory expencive :) Btw you can also copy the alpha channel from second document and paste it in the adjustment layer mask, which is the the white box linked to the adjustment layer. Click on it to make it active and press CTRL+V to paste the alpha channel :) Tihomir