[BarbaraC1977]

I use lots of SS Layout templates, and some of the older ones I've purchased came without PSD files. I've definitely come to appreciate the convenience of the PSD. I found myself avoiding some of my templates that didn't have one, when I didn't think I had the time to layer all the PNGs on the JPEG preview. It seemed very tedious to line them up, white on white, or gray on gray, and sometimes they need to be precisely aligned. I want crisp alignment, but I also like speed, and my eyes aren't getting younger!

Today I figured out a way to line them up so much more easily. Place the JPEG preview on the bottom layer. Then add an adjustment filter (hue or saturation change works, too, tinting the JPEG. Now the misaligned components are easy to detect. Click the image below to see an example; this white square need to go up a bit and right just a smidge. I can nudge them until the lavender shading for that shape is hidden. Voila--easy, fast alignment of PNG layers.

 ASO_SS_DLOT_DbleSpread_Spread_7-8_600_R.jpg (75.96K)
Number of downloads: 26 Example is from ASO DoubleSpread LayoutTemplate 7-8.

I hadn't seen this hint posted elsewhere; my apologies if it's a duplicate. You can remove the shading once the PSD is created if you like. Then save the assembly as a PSD before doing anything else. I hope that others find this as helpful as I am finding it.

[patsyt]

Great tip Barbara!

[podiumchick]

Another tip is to drag the layer onto your document while holding 'shift'. They'll all line up perfectly! I also use this trick when pulling a paper onto a LO--it centers it just right.

[BarbaraC1977]

Yep, that's right when you drag the layers one at a time. I'm using the CopyClose action, where I can add all the layers at once, and retain their original file names. It centers all the pieces, regardless of their intended destination; that's the downside of that technique.

[J9Buckles]

When I hold "shift" and drag an image over onto my workspace, it doesn't centre it....it places it in the same spot as it was in it's original image...only now it's on the new image. It centres photos because there are no transparent pixels but the png files are all 12x12, so the pieces move over exactly where they need to be. I'm tired....I hope that made sense.

[BarbaraC1977]

Yes--makes sense, and is similar to Podiumchick's comment above. There's a tradeoff--the Shift + Drag trick retains the intended location--hooray, but you have to do each layer one at a time, and you lose the naming/lettering of the layers. I use the lettering to ensure the stack is correctly arranged. CopyClose centers everything--boohoo, but it keeps the filenames, including the letters, and it's fast. So I guess it just depends which way you'd like to work. That's what makes the world go around--we all do things differently.

[Smiles]

I've been avoiding them too - thanks for the hints!

[Heatheranne]

Great tips ladies! I'll be sure to save this information - thank you. :-)

[podiumchick]

I guess I should clarify--the centering is when I do a 12x12 background. =)

[BarbaraC1977]

Both options for aligning templates apply to 12x12 AND to 8.5x11 and 4x6 templates. No worries!

[J9Buckles]

...and if this whole concept of holding shift and dragging across is confusing anyone....Ro teaches it in her first Secrets videos! (Makes it easy-peasy!)

Secrets & MORE Secrets for PS, PSE!

[PattyBee]

I don't use any of those methods anymore.

Instead, I use the built in script in Photoshop called "Load Files into Stack". It perfectly "places" each files in the correct order, and in the correct place in the document. In CS4 and CS5 it builds the stack upside down, so I have to add another step where I shift-click to seleect all the layers and then I go to Layers>arrange>reverse. Back in CS3 though I didn't have to do that last extra step because it builds the layers based on what you clicked on first, before you shift click. If you click on the top most layer first and then shift-click on the background layer it builds it perfectly each time. But for some reason CS4 and CS5 always build the layers upside down.

It literally only takes about 10 seconds to reconstruct each PSD Template that way. Perhaps someone would like to create a Script for PSE users which does the same thing, cause it's not available in PSE.

[Sarah in VA]

Great tip, Barbara. Thanks for sharing. I find I've been avoiding those templates I bought early in my digital days before the PSDs were offerred for just this reason. Or using only the ones I'd already build PSDs for!

[BarbaraC1977]

Patty, that's a great suggestion!

The script did not seem to be built into PS CS4. I went searching on the Adobe site, and found it via an Adobe blog. It was a beta script for CS3, but never officially released. You can still download it at the moment, though, and I don't know about its functionality with older releases of PS. Dragging the script into CS4 worked, and Layers, Arrange, Reverse worked perfectly. So that's a great tip.

I attempted to install it "permanently" by putting it into the Adobe Presets/Scripts folder, and found that it was, theoretically, already there--a different version of the file. I renamed the old one, added the new one, and re-started PS. The script still doesn't appear on the list anywhere, so that's kind of quirky. I didn't try resetting all Actions, since I didn't want to reset my other scripts right at the moment. It works by dragging the script to PS CS4 at the moment for me.

The script does not appear to work for PSE 7, and I don't know what's available for other programs. So the technique I described above is useful for PSE users, or PS users running older releases.

I'm not sure about PSP. Dragging layers into Corel Photo-Paint keeps the alignment perfectly, and doesn't need reversing, but does lose the file names, just as PS CS4 does with Shift + Drag.

I'm glad to know how to make this useful tip work for PS CS4. The tip at the outset of this thread: shading the preview works great for PSE users, and possibly for PS CS2 and older releases.

[PattyBee]

You mentioned being afraid to reset all Actions... are you trying to run the script through the actions pallette and can't find it there?
Cause I access it through the menu: File>scripts>load files into stack

I never had CS4 so I can't check and see whether/where it might be. But I nearly wore it out with heavy usage in CS3 and definitely in CS5 now.

[April Showers]

I found these instructions for CS4--

• Open Bridge.
• Navigate to the directory that your images reside in
• Select the files.
• Now in the menu bar select Tools > Photoshop > Load Files into Photoshop layers.

Now I'll have to open Bridge to see if it works.

Well, I didn't open Bridge, but File>Scripts>Load Files into Stacks is available in CS4 extended. If it isn't in your version, maybe the other way I found will work.

Thanks Patty! I have lots of older templates and make my own psd files when I use them, but this will make the process a lot faster.