The Info PaletteLike the Histogram palette, the Info palette is purely an informational display. It doesn't let you do anything to the image besides analyze its contents. But where the Histogram palette shows a general picture of the entire file, the Info palette lets you analyze specific points in the image. When you move the cursor across the image, the Info palette displays the pixel value under the cursor and its location in the image. More important, when you have one of the tonal- or color-correction dialog boxes (such as Levels or Curves) open, the Info palette displays the values for the pixel before and after the transformation (see Figure 6-11). Figure 6-11. Info paletteTip: Look for Differences The Info palette lets you sample the actual values of different pixels, but it also lets you hunt down hidden detail, particularly in deep shadows and bright highlights where it can be hard to see on the monitor. Move the cursor over a deep shadow, and watch the Info palette. If the numbers change as you move the cursor, there's difference lurking in thereit may be detail waiting to be exploited or it may be noise that you'll need to suppress, but something is hiding in there. Palette OptionsYou can control what sorts of information the Info palette displays in one of two ways. First, you can select Palette Options from the Info palette's popout menu (see Workspaces" in Chapter 2, Essential Photoshop Tips and Tricks). Figure 6-12. The Info palette optionsFigure 6-13. The Info palette's popup menusFor grayscale, duotone, or multichannel images, we generally set the First Color Readout to RGB, and the Second Color Readout to Actual Color. (Actual Color causes the readout method to change, depending on what type of image you're viewing.) We just about always display the mouse coordinates as pixels, because it makes it easier for us to return consistently to the same spot in the image. |