Photoshop CC 2019 Tutorials – Comprehensive Guide To Adobe Photoshop CC 2019

The Photoshop CC 2019 tutorials in this article will cover the most noteworthy new features released in this latest update.

Many new features from the previous release, Photoshop CC 2018, get upgrades and enhancements.

Photoshop CC 2019 Tutorials – All You Need To Know

You can watch the Photoshop CC 2019 Tutorials video to see how the biggest and best new features work, or you can use the index below to move down to the corresponding description.

Photoshop CC 2019 Home Screen

Photoshop CC 2019 features a new Home screen that can help Photoshop users of all levels.

For beginners, clicking on the “Take Tour” button to display a new guided tour of the Photoshop interface.

For those who have been using Photoshop for some time, the “What’s New” section will quickly demonstrate what feature enhancements were added to Photoshop CC 2019.

There is also a Home button on the top left of the Options bar that can always bring you back to the home screen even when a document is open.

If you are not a fan of the Home Screen, you can disable it by going to the Preferences Window (Ctrl K/Command K) and checking “Disable the Home Screen” from the General preferences.

Learn Panel

Photoshop CC 2018 introduced in-app learning with the Learn panel, which guides users through a series of tutorials with step-by-step directions.

Photoshop CC 2019 adds the capability to do those same tutorials with your own images to get even closer to mastering the skills.

To access the in-app tutorial go to Window > Learn

Complete a tutorial by following the directions. Then after completing the tutorial, you can choose to try the tutorial again with your own images.

User Experience Improvements in Photoshop CC 2019

If you have been using Photoshop for a while, you may want to pay attention to these user experience changes.

Modern Undo

Photoshop CC 2019 will now use Ctrl Z (Mac: Command Z) as the keyboard shortcut for undo.

Ctrl Alt Z will now toggle between the current history states and the previous one.

Edit > Undo now appends the name of the command which will be undone
(e.g., “Edit > Undo Edit Type”)

Redo also appends name of command to be undone.

Blending Mode Preview

No more guessing which Blending Mode to use. Just scroll over the different modes from the Blending Mode drop-down to see how they look on your image.

Hide Reference Point (Pivot Point)

In Photoshop, all transformations are performed around a fixed point called the Reference Point (also known as the Pivot Point).

By default, this point is at the center of the item you are transforming. However, you can change the reference point to a different location to change how the transformation or rotation is applied.

In Photoshop CC 2019, the reference point is hidden and you can enable it by checking the reference point check box.

Auto-Commit Crop, Transform, Place, and Text entry

In Photoshop CC 2019, you now have the ability to Auto-Commit changes by simply clicking outside the object boundaries, or anywhere else in the UI.

You no longer need to click on the Commit Changes Checkmark in the options bar or press Enter (Mac: Return)

Proportional Transform By Default

Photoshop now transforms most layer types (pixel layers, type layers, bitmaps, Placed Smart Objects) proportionally by default. 

When transforming a layer, you no longer need to hold down the Shift key while dragging a corner handle to resize a selected layer to constrain its proportions.

Holding down the Shift key now resizes non-proportionally when you drag a corner handle during transform.

Drag a corner handle on the bounding box to resize the layer.
Commit the changes.

Shapes and paths (vectors), still transform non-proportionally by default.

Revert The Transform into the Old Behavior
(Hold Shift to Transform Proportionally)

Use Notepad (Windows) or a text editor on Mac OS to create a plain text file (.txt).

Type the text below in the text file:
TransformProportionalScale 0

Save the file as “PSUserConfig.txt” to your Photoshop settings folder:

• Windows: [Installation Drive]:Users[User Name]AppDataRoamingAdobeAdobe Photoshop CC 2019Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings
• macOS: //Users/[User Name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings/

Layer Names Truncate In The Middle

For long layer names, Photoshop now retains the beginning and end of the layer name and puts ellipses (…) in the middle of the name.

In older versions of Photoshop, the layer name used to get cut off at the end with ellipses (…).

Dummy Text on Click

When you select the Type Tool and click to create a text layer you will now see a “Lorem Ipsum” dummy text.

Get ‘Lorem Ipsum’ as placeholder text while placing new type layers in your document.

In Type preferences (Edit > Preferences > Type), select Fill New Type Layers With Placeholder Text.

New Features In Photoshop CC 2019

Flip Canvas View Horizontally

Sometimes when you are compositing or retouching you will need to flip your canvas to see the image in a different way and catch mistakes.

The old method of doing this was to flip your canvas horizontally by transforming your pixels. This would could take time in a large composite.

In Photoshop CC 2019 you can now simply go to View > Flip Horizontal to view a flipped version of your image.

Double-Click to Edit Text

With the Move Tool selected, you can double-click on a text layer to edit it.

Distribute Spacing

Photoshop CC 2019 now allows you to distribute the spacing between the objects (much like Adobe Illustrator).

In previous releases, photoshop used the center point to distribute objects. If your objects are different sizes, the space between the objects would not be the same.

Photoshop CC 2019 now allows you to get even spacing between objects by using the edges of the object.

Math In Number Fields

Photoshop CC 2019 brings back the capability of performing simple math in number fields.

In any input box that accepts numeric values, you can type in simple math operations like 300/3, which gets calculated as 100 and inputs that final value into the field.

For example, if you want to want to increase the canvas size by an additional 100 pixels, you can simply type ‘+100’ to the current width or height field value in the Canvas Size dialog.

To calculate values in any text box that accepts numerical values:

These are the mathematical operators that you can use in Photoshop:
+ (plus), – (minus), x (multiplication), / (division), or % (percent).

Lock Workspace

When working in Photoshop, it can be frustrating when panels get accidentally moved around. Photoshop CC 2019 now allows locking your workspace to prevent panels from moving.

To Lock your Workspace, go to Window > Workspace > Lock Workspace
This will block you from re-positioning your panels, but you can still resize them if you like.

Color Wheel Color Picker

Use the Color Wheel to visualize the color spectrum and easily choose colors based on harmonies such as complementary colors and analogous colors.

From the Color panel fly-out menu, choose Color Wheel.

Symmetry Tool

The Symmetry Tool was a Technology preview in Photoshop CC 2018, and it now becomes a full feature in Photoshop CC 2019.

The Symmetry Tool allows you to paint your brush strokes in a perfectly symmetrical pattern. While using the Paint Brush, Mixer Brush, Pencil, or Eraser tools, click the butterfly icon in the Options bar.

Choose from the several available types of symmetry – Vertical, Horizontal, Dual Axis, Diagonal, Wavy, Circle, Spiral, Parallel Lines, Radial, Mandala.

As you paint, the strokes are reflected live across the line of symmetry, allowing you to easily create intricate symmetrical patterns.

Task Space Keyboard Shortcuts

You can now modify the shortcut keys for Select and Mask workspace. Choose Edit > Keyboards Shortcuts.

In the Keyboard Shortcuts And Menus dialog, choose Taskspaces from the Shortcuts For menu.

In the Taskspace command column, expand the Select and Mask set to edit the shortcuts as required.

New Content-Aware Fill Workspace

Photoshop CC 2019’s biggest and best feature is perhaps the New Content-Aware Fill.

This version of Content-Aware Fill gives you complete control over what pixels Photoshop samples from, how it applies the fill algorithm, and how it outputs the fill.

Check out this video for a complete guide on Photoshop CC 2019’s Content-Aware Workspace.

To activate the New Content-Aware, select anything in your image that you would like to remove.

Then with an active selection, go to Edit > Content-Aware Fill…
(Note: that the existing Edit > Fill dialog is still available.)

In this new dedicated workspace, you can redefine the areas to fill, define the sampling area, change algorithm settings, and see a live full-resolution preview of your adjustments.

For a detailed description of all the settings and features of this new feature check out: The New Content-Aware Fill In Photoshop CC 2019 – Complete Guide

Frame Tool

With the new Frame Tool, you can easily mask images by placing them into frames.

Use the Frame Tool (K) to quickly create rectangular or elliptical placeholder frames. You can also convert any shape or text into frames and fill it with images.

To place an image into a frame, simply drag an image onto it. The image will automatically resize to fit the frame.

Content placed in frames is always placed as Smart Objects so that it can be scaled non-destructively.

For a detailed description of all the settings and features of the Frame Tool check out: The New Content-Aware Fill In Photoshop CC 2019 – Complete Guide

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