Photoshop CS Timesaving Techniques For Dummies [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Slicing and Dicing

You can create slices in a graphic in ImageReady several ways:

Let ImageReady automatically create a specified number of horizontal and/or vertical slices

Create slices using layers

Manually slice an image using the Slice tool

Generate slices using guides

Automatically creating slices

Automatically creating slices works especially well if you have a large image that you want to slice up for quicker downloading in Web pages. Using this method, you specify how many vertical and/or horizontal slices you want, and ImageReady does the work for you.

Here’s how:

Open the image to which you want to add slices in ImageReady.





Choose Slices>Divide Slice.

The Divide Slice dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 56-2.




Figure 56-2: Use the Divide Slice dialog box to create horizontal and/or vertical slices.






Select the Divide Horizontally Into check box if you want to create horizontal slices.

If you select this option, enter the desired number of horizontal slices in the Slices Down, Evenly Spaced text box, or enter a pixel value in the Pixels Per Slice text box. When you enter a value in either text box, the horizontal slices appear as a preview in the image window.





Select the Divide Vertically Into check box if you want to create vertical slices.

If you select this option, enter the desired number of vertical slices in the Slices Across, Evenly Spaced text box, or enter a pixel value in the Pixels Per Slice text box.





Click OK.

A user slice label appears in the upper-left corner of each slice, as shown in Figure 56-3.




Figure 56-3: The number of vertical and horizontal slices you entered appears in the image window.








Tip

After creating slices using the Divide Slice dialog box, all the slices are selected. To select only one slice, choose the Slice Select tool in the Toolbox, and then click the slice you want to select. You can then reshape the slice, if necessary, or assign a URL to the slice, which I describe in “Working with Slices.”

Manually slicing an image

The Slice tool works just like the Rectangular Marquee tool in Photoshop. Drag the tool to enclose a rectangular area to create a slice (instead of a selection). As you create user slices, ImageReady automatically generates auto slices, dividing up the leftover area.

Open the image to which you want to add slices in ImageReady.





Select the Slice tool from the Toolbox.





Position the mouse where you want to start the slice, press the mouse button, and then drag diagonally to create the slice.


When you release the mouse button, a numbered user slice label appears in the upper-left corner of the slice.





Continue to create as many slices as you need.







Tip

If you need to divide an auto slice or user slice into smaller slices, select the slice using the Slice Select tool, and then choose Slices>Divide Slice. Use the Divide Slice dialog box to set the number of slices, and then click OK.

Creating slices using layers

A layer-based slice contains all the visible pixels on a layer. If you modify the layer in some way (move, transform, add layer effects to the layer, and so on) then the layer-based slice automatically resizes to include any new pixels. Layer-based slices work very well for creating rollovers that contain effects, such as a drop shadow, which may increase layer size. (Technique 59 shows you how to create rollovers.)

To create a layer-based slice, select the layer you want to turn into a slice in the Layers palette in ImageReady, and then choose Layer>New Layer Based Slice.

Generating slices using guides

Using guides to create slices lets you plot out where the slices are before you create them. Be a bit cautious when creating slices using this method, however, because any slices you previously created are deleted.

Open the image you want to add slices to in ImageReady.





Choose View>Rulers or press Ctrl+R/z +R to display the rulers.





Drag guides from the rulers into the positions you want to use for the edges of the slices.





Choose Slices>Create Slices from Guides.