Layer Mask Thumbnail Option

I'm using PSE 11 and layers masks. If you click on the layer mask thumbnail you have the option of "add mask to selection" and "intersect mask to selection". They both select the same area of the photo. So I use the help menu and go online and type in the same phase with quotes and it comes up no document found. How does someone learn about a feature in an app and yet don't have information on that feature? This is where people get frustrated with the help.
So...if anyone knows what the difference is, please let me know or how it's used. Thx

Omega0401 a écrit:
I'm using PSE 11 and layers masks. If you click on the layer mask thumbnail you have the option of "add mask to selection" and "intersect mask to selection". They both select the same area of the photo. So I use the help menu and go online and type in the same phase with quotes and it comes up no document found. How does someone learn about a feature in an app and yet don't have information on that feature? This is where people get frustrated with the help.
Using masks and selections are advanced workflows which justify a lot of tutorials and even whole books. Not something a tool description can achieve, especially when it deals with the interaction between two different, though similar ways to select areas of an image.
So...if anyone knows what the difference is, please let me know or how it's used. Thx
When you understand masks and selection, you know that you can:
- go from mask to selection and vice versa
- combine selections (add, substract, intersection...)
The contextual menu you are seeing lets you combine selections with masks without turning the mask into another selection.
Try this:
- duplicate the background
- desaturate the duplicate (Ctrl Shift U)
- add a mask
- Paint a part of the mask with black. That part shows in colour inside the grey background.
- now use the lasso tool to cover a part of the masked area plus a part of the rest.
- use the contextual menu and you should see the intersection.

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Go to the Layers Panel Options and choose a thumbnail size other than none.

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usually I can create an adjustment layer make changes, then option+delete and erase where I want the changes to take effect. but now I can not, option delete doesn't work and brings back the following error:
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I used to be able to add a layer mask by option delete
I think you are mistaken, option-delete fills with the foreground color, it does not add Layer Masks.
Is "Add Mask by Default" checked in the Adjustments Panel’s fly-out menu?

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First off, let me state that I am a *total* Ps newbie…My question regards the following: In Ps CS6, I cropped an area using the Marquee Tool. Then, I Added [a] Layer Mask from the Layers Panel. Next, I turned off the Indicates layer mask is linked to layer BUTTON, clicked the Smart Object Thumbnail, and moved the image using the Move Tool. Now, I right-clicked on the Layer Mask Thumbnail in order to Apply Layer Mask but it is de-highlighted. This is my problem. I cannot figure out how to Apply [the] Layer Mask. (I hope this all made sense.) Can someone please tell me how to do this in CS6? TY.

Thank you for the quick reply. I started the whole process over again and went through the same steps; and, I don't know if it shows up in the screen capture, but there is, indeed, a frame around the Layer Mask Icon when I right-click on it. The above pull-down menu is what I get when I right-click on it. (BTW, this is for a CS5 online course I'm taking, and this particular Lesson is called "Generating a Non-Destructive Crop." I'm having to figure some stuff out, since I have CS6...) I hope all that info helps.

Layer Mask Issue, please help.

Hi,
My layer mask is not working, not sure what's happening. I'm using CS 4 . i want to use blending effect so i place the photos on a white background. I click layer mask on each photo, select brush tool brush on the photo but is not working, is either appear black or white color when i use the brush paint on it. If not wrong, the foreground color should be grey & white in layer mask function but it appear black & white instead. Please see the screenshot below. Please help, thank you

Hi, I will try explain your problem.
In your posted example we can see see that you have three layers in the layers panel.
On each one of layers, we can see, on the left side, that there is the Layer Thumbnail, that is a showing the actual image of your layer and then a Layer Mask Thumbnail (the white rectangle, on the right side).
A layer mask works as follows: you tell Photoshop to display or hide actual parts (pixels) of the layer with greyscale values. A white pixel on the layer masks tells Photoshop to show the image area at full opacity (non-transparent), while a black pixel on the layer mask tells Photoshop to hide the layer totally (0% of opacity.) Gray values will therefore show the image data partially.
But you are painting on the document, and you need to indicate Photoshop whether you want to paint on the image (what you did in your example, and you do not desire) or if you want to paint on the layer mask (what you want to do). This indication is called Targeting. It is done simply by clicking either on the Layer thumbnail, or on the Layer mask thumbnail of your layer. (Clicking different areas of a layer in the layer palette are different orders you give to the program). For instance, if you want to switch the layer you are hiding to another one, in order to paint on its mask, make sure to click on the layer mask thumbnail of the other layer in the Layers Panel.
In Photoshop CS5.5 and earlier, you will see that a layer or its mask is targeted because there will be three outlines around it: a black, a white and a black one again, like the actual layer data in the highlighted layer 0928 of your image. You should see those three outlines around the layer mask in order to paint on it.
In CS6, the target indicator is different, look in my image, we can see that the layer mask is targeted thanks to the white corners: I was then able to mask part of the black layer by targeting the Layer Mask in the layer panel, and then painting on the image where I want to hide the layer.
If you want to modify the actual layer (the photos, in your case), simply click on its thumbnail, and you are good to go!
Hope this helps.
See these help documents: Layes Basics: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/cs/using/WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-78e3a.h tml
Layer masks: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/masking-layers.html
Some search results for "Layer Masks Basics" in Photoshop help: http://community.adobe.com/help/search.html?q=layer+mask+basics&x=0&y=0&lbl=photoshop_prod uct_adobelr&hl=en_US&lr=en_US&self=0&area=0
(It is one of the best ways to search for tutorials or help files)
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Mike Witherell in Silver Spring, MD

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Look in the ADJUSTMENTS panel's fly out menu:
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So what I would like is a way to restore the more classic default where dragging a layer mask to trash give me the OPTION to apply or discard.
Please excuse this seemingly insgnificant request, but this is a very common function that I would like to restore.
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See if clicking Reset All Warning Dialogs at the bottom of Photoshop>Preferences>General resolves the issue.

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I'm a student assistant for a beginning Digital Art class, we teach the basics of Photoshop to create artwork. We recently upgraded to CS4 and are now having trouble with the layer masks. Instead of showing the normal window were you can see what exactly is being masked, we only see the layer mask icon. (The square with the white circle in the middle)
Does anyone know why that is? On my own laptop it's fine, it's just on the school computers that we see the icon instead of the mask itself. (perhaps a preference setting?)
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Melanie

Thanks,
You know what is weird is that I tried on my laptop to recreate the same icon with it, (by choosing none for the thumbnails) and it made me realize. I can see the images of the layers at school with the mask icon next to it. With this none option you can't see either, interesting...
We'll school's tomorrow and we will definitely try it out. Thank You for getting back so fast!!!
Melanie

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Layers palette flyout menu >> layer panel options >> choose a larger thumbnail
can you slect the mask now.
Can you cmd click on a layer mask, to select the pixels.

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I have been working on a file and all of a sudden I am unable to click on a layer mask in order to edit that mask. I am still able to do the following things:
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I am able to shift-click and command-click on layer masks and get those options/selections.
I am able to drag an existing mask to a new adjustment layer.
Hide/unhide the mask-overlay
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Closing and re-opening the file.
Restarting photoshop.
Restarting my computer.
Deleting/recreating the preferences files.
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I discovered my problem by trying to paint on whatever I was selected on. It laid down the mask overlay. I thought about it and realized that I must have bumped the 'Q' key and put myself in Quick Mask mode.
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I don't know about others, but it would save me considerable time in the long run if every new layer, (whether it is generated as a copy, from a plug-in, as a cut, or as a new blank layer) recevied an automatic layer mask. It takes no file space, but more often than not I find myself needing one. It sure would be nice to jump right into masking rather than having to first create the layer mask. Why did they stop at adjustment layers?
Am I alone in this?
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Adding layers like Text, Raster and smart objects never have had automatic layers mask added. Adding adjustment layers always came with an automatic layer mask until CS4. Adode introduced bugs in CS4 when they added the adjustment panel these bugs have been carried forward into CS5 and CS6. Adobe added two options in the adjustment panels fly-out panel. These options are designed to be global, not just adjustment panel options. These options only work sometimes when changed from their default settings. When changed from their default settings they try to change Photoshop historic default operation. When you change Photoshop default operation Action, Scripts and Plug-ins that add adjustment layers may not work correctly. Adobe should fix Photoshop and remove the two bad Adjustment Panel fly-out options. The Adjustment Panel fly-out menu option to not add Layer masks can not be safely set, same goes for the option to always clip added layer mask, if you use Actions, Scripts and Plug-ins that add adjustment layers.

Problem using Brush tool with layer mask in Photoshop CC.

Using Photoshop CC, working on a layer mask. Using the Brush tool to paint white to show the effect works like normal. Painting black has no effect. Just started doing this in the last two days.

Check you Brush blending mode setting in the tools option bar.

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hi steenmikkelsen2,
white means that your mask is transparent until you fill it with black. since then, there was no option to change the mask default settings from white to black otherwise you have to do what Noel suggested. but i hope my suggestion will help you better.
►press "Alt" key on your keyboard simultaneously as you click on the "Add Layer Mask" button under the Layers panel. that switches a white layer mask to black. :-)

Layer Mask Thumbnail Option

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