Elements

JillW

I love lavend ... zzzzzz ...
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
2,511
When you are creating a page - do you bring all, some or one element on to your page at a time? Sometimes I bring a bunch onto the background and move them all around, other times I bring them onto my page one by one -
 
In PSE14, I bring them onto my layout one at a time because I use the file place command so it names the layer the filename. That makes doing credits easier.
 
I'm weird. (Most of the time and for most things, too!)

I started on PSE... and loved the "bucket." I would open a slew of elements and place them in the bucket... and scroll, then add to the page. (This goes back a few years, and I'm not sure if this is still what happens in PSE). Well, I upgraded to PS after learning PSE for 4 months and there is no bucket in Photoshop. I freaked, and had to find a way around it.....

So, I use my desktop as a "bucket." I export (I'm on on a Mac, exporting from Photos) all the copies of the papers and elements that I *may* want to use on my layout to my desktop, and then I can see all the thumbnails, and easily drag them into photoshop. All the names stay the same, quality, and everything. So... my PS is on the left of my screen, and all the thumbnails are on the right of my screen. When I'm done, I delete them.

See, weird. People have told me there are ways around this... but I'm so used to this, that it works for me. :)
 
After watching Cheryl scrap, I've realized it's must faster to open them all at once. I drag and drop (on a Mac) into PSE 14, then place the elements on my page, and rearrange to my heart's content.
 
In my software, all the contents of a kit are available on the right side of my screen, toggling back & forth as needed between papers and embellishments. So two quick clicks puts items in my workspace. I add elements one at a time picking & choosing from those displayed. I can also easily access other kits and add other elements as needed.
 
I open my template. Then i open every paper in my kit. and then every element in my kit. If that is more than the limit of 200, then I close out papers or ellies that I know I won't use. I am weird I guess
 
I can do either or. I use PSE 12... I do have the photo bin. However, I also have the speed scraps(?) scripts for copy/close, which will place all the elements that are open in my current document, retaining file names. Typically I start with what I know I'll use, do a bunch at one time, then later during that same layout it becomes one at a time.

Other times, if I'm using a template I want to stick to closely, I will go one at a time, because I like to bring the elements in to the layout at the right layer position, and sort of start bottom, up, but not have to move them forward or backward/up or down in the layer order.
Really depends on which I think will be faster at the time.
 
I have PS open on one monitor and ACDSee open on the other monitor. I just select, drag and drop onto my PS canvas as I want elements. If you've seen me scrap, you know this is how I work. File names are retained for me dragging straight onto the canvas. :)
 
As I scroll through the elements, I quite often just "throw" them on the page and arrange them later. Some times I just pile them off to the side of my page until I decide if I want to use them or not. I do delete unused one before I save the page.
 
I pick elements as I go along. It's all in my head how I want my page to look like.
 
If it's a mini kit, I grab the whole thing - papers and elements and drop it on my canvas. Then move it around, hide as desired.
If it's a full kit, my first step, after unzipping, was to combine everything into one folder (Minus alphas - I toss that folder in with the kit). Then I open the folder and "alt+tab back and forth between the folder and my workspace. If I want a flower, I may drop in all the flowers in the kit and push them around. Same with flair. But word art I usually look at the sayings and decide which ones to bring into my space.
 
I'm on a Mac with Photoshop CC ... but I use Finder as my searching/browsing tool ... instead of keeping Bridge open. I always used Bridge until I realized how easy it is to just grab from Mac's own searching/viewing options. I'm horrible about tagging (really never have) so it's really necessary to run Bridge for someone like me that does not organize or tag things. It's not perfect but I can usually find what I need just searching my hard drives that way ... and then I just drag & drop and dump a ton of stuff onto the PSD file. I'll group and hide stuff that I'm not sure of ... and turn on and off layers until I'm happy. I usually "see" the page in my head before I start, so I kind of know what I need.

I actually hated the Bin way back when I used PSE. I was so glad to get rid of it when I switched to Photoshop.
 
When I work with PS and bridge, I drag and drop one at a time but I'm starting to learn PSE15 now and it seems weird to open a bunch of files in the bin. I haven't figured out how to drag from the bin onto my layout without it creating a separate page that I have to delete once I drag it from there onto my page KWIM? PSE is totally alien to me but am trying to learn it for my GD who will use it.
 
I have PSE8. The way I scrap I bring one element in at a time. Place it. Search for something else. Place it. Then at the end maybe moved things around on my page. Its how my brain works.
 
When you are creating a page - do you bring all, some or one element on to your page at a time? Sometimes I bring a bunch onto the background and move them all around
This has never occurred to me. *blush* I move them on one-by-one. The finished LO is mostly "in my head," though, so it usually isn't difficult to make the page.
 
I add one element at a time...always. I usually have Bridge open on one monitor and PS open on the other and drag one at a time from there. I can see what I want/need as I build the page.
 
One monitor here and one element at a time. Even then I usually end up deleting a lot of elements before I am happy with a page.
 
I feel like I've been living under a rock. I use Photoshop CC and open the the kit I'm working with in Windows file explorer. I just switch and forth between elements/papers/alphas etc. as I need. I'm thinking I should try out using Bridge and make my life a little easier!
 
I do everything one at a time.

I can't stand clutter even the digital kind. My desktop doesn't have any icons on it (just some embedded into the tool bar) and I unzip all my files as soon as possible after downloading them.
 
I feel like I've been living under a rock. I use Photoshop CC and open the the kit I'm working with in Windows file explorer. I just switch and forth between elements/papers/alphas etc. as I need. I'm thinking I should try out using Bridge and make my life a little easier!

This is what I do too. I actually have two monitors so on one monitor I have up to four Windows explorer windows open with various kits and alphas. Then I pick what I think I might use and I'll drag a handfull of papers and elements into photoshop kind of cascaded on top of each other off to the side. Then I can drag them into my layout one at a time and place them where I want them. :)
 
Back
Top