tranquil222

Is there any way to make it so that layers outside the canvas are visible? Like on Flash MX if you have a layer that is outside your stage, then you can still see them. Any help on this would be nice.
Thanks!

ladyfinger007

Halas I think that it is not possible yet in Photoshop. everything that is in the "big data" as they call the surrounding area cannot be visible.

In fact, I've seen numerous times a features request for such a behaviour in Photoshop, we can only ask that it'll make to the next revision of Photoshop.

The only workaround I know is to select the move tool [V], then click on the "show bounding box" radiobox. This way, you'll know how far goes the off canvas data. (you'll nead to click on each channel to see its limit)

Not also that it will show only the 50% opaque areas.

Bacardi

What you can do is work with a quite large document in which all large data is visible, and then use rulers/guides to limit your to-be-visible image. You can create a layer on which everything is transparant inside the guides' rectangle, and opaque outside it. This way you can simulate what you and many others would like to have.

tranquil222

how do you make the large data visible??

ladyfinger007

Just resize your doc so it is bigger...
nice workaround... memory eating but valid, still!

Rantin Al

Pierre, sorry to jump in Just to clarify.

Resize the Canvas Size not the Image Size.

This will give an enlarged Viewable area. Use guides as Erik said to mark out your work area and crop to this when finalised.

Cheers Al

tranquil222

Yeah, it does eat lots of memory...and this is an ok workaround(not quite as good as Pierre's) if you have a powerful system, but if you ever wanted to flatten it to create an image it would be quite a hassle to move and resize all of the elements. is this actually avoided with the guides? if so, how(in detail)? thanks everyone!!!

Rantin Al

Set the guides to the edges of your original file.
Increase the Canvas size to see the oversized layer component(s).

You will now have a rectangular guide area defining the original view

Position / adjust the bits you are interested in.

Either:
1. Use the guides to crop back to the original file size, retaining the layers.

or

2. Flatten the file if you are finished working on it. Then crop to the guides.

How's that?

Al

tranquil222

That's pretty good. I guess I thought it was going to be more complicated than it was(like maybe there was a way to define a new canvas within guides and set the rest to be opaque, etc.) You guys are awesome. THANKS!

ladyfinger007

Thanks for the correction Al indeed, it was needed :} !