retired_paddza

Since it's addition in (I believe) version 6, the histroy function has been basically a replacement for the undo feature. Back in the day, you had one level of undo (basically one level of history) and you were forced to save multiple files to build a working state for your projects. Now you have access to your workflow through the history function. (I personally have cmd+Z set to be "step backward", as often I want to undo a couple things quickly without pulling up my history or I want to walk backwards through some steps that are similarly named in the history palette).

There is one place that undo still functions where history does not though, that is in active functions. If you want a good example of that, create a shape, then cmd+T to free transform and make a couple transformations, before you apply them though, hit your undo key, it will step back one transformation step... it does an "undo" on the last step you made. It might not seem like much, but if you've been tweaking a transformation for 10 steps to get it just right and mess something up because the cat jumped on your mousing hand, you'll appreciate that one little undo.

So basically, history is now for workflow while undo is for active work... if that makes sense.

As a side note, and at risk of stepping in the middle of something... MsOZ, you need to lay off the attitude. I understand that lots of people ask stupid questions without trying or putting out effort, but if you read the forums regularly (as any active member should be doing) you would know that Lee is always willing to put out effort and asks questions once he's exhausted resources.

On the flipside Lee, yelling and name-calling doesn't come off well either, I'm surprised to see you "lose your cool".

I'm not a mod, and I'm sure most people could care less what I think, but I care about this community and it's members and I hate to see things go poorly.

I'm done with the soapbox if anyone wants to borrow it. $0.02

Welles

Excellent clarification, Mindbender. That makes complete sense to me. I like your use of the remapped Command + Z also. I always have all my palettes available at all times on a secondary monitor so always have easy visual and mouse access so it never even dawned on me to do that. Good tip!

Lee

Thanks you guys for the additional input. This place rules........as always

A side note on owners manuals. It goes without saying that the folks who write manuals have a lot of understanding about the topics they write about. Unfortunately, many seem to lose track of the fact that they are "experts" and are NOT just writing for other experts. Maybe some just have poor communication skills in some cases and nobody in corporate (who approves the manuals) is any better. I don't know? I think many times mfg's forget that many who read their manuals are self taught like am. And in some cases, with difficult instructions, many folks need "their hand held" more that someone who has been working with PS for years. I know I do. There are some days the I feel like I'm reading Greek through muddy water when trying to understand something in an owners manual.

Anyway, thanks again for the clarification.

MindBender - Point taken, buddy. I was not having a good day that day and then to log onto the internet "Cheers" of PS forums and be told by someone I don't even know to read the manual if I want to know something was more than I could take.

Welles

Lee,

{Rant}

Boy oh boy. You just punched one of my rant and rave buttons! Computer manuals. Writers of manuals should always have some rank beginner sitting at their sides as they write. All too often the manual simply describes the self evident without giving any real explanation or the 'explanation' is given in terms of itself. A typical nerdish explanation might read...

"The dweeberization of the function is the ization function of the dweeb."

Great! You don't have the slightest idea what the terms mean and some nerd thinks he is making sense to the uninitiated.

BAH! I hate 'em!!! }

Recently I've been using TypeTool by FontLab, a 'simple' font maker and editor (the cheapo version of FontLab). In the manual is simply a description of most of the elements you see as you try to use the software but not all by any means and there is no information at all how to use it! AARGH! Well, I am figuring it out but trial and error is much slower than shortening the learning curve with one decently prepared tutorial.

It drives me batty!

{/Rant}

nitrobutler

Hey Lee, there something else the History palette can do that Z or CTRL/Z can't %}
Say you created this boss effect (i.e. transparent rain drops) on layer 3 and want to use the same style on layer 8, drag and drop in the layers palette perhaps? Naw it covers the entire layer, I just want it in certain ares only |
Solution: Go to the History palette click on the box next to the state where you created the effect then use the history brush on layer 8 and bam you can paint on the same effect you created earlier anywhere you like. [righton]

Lee

VERY cool. Thanks, Nitro. [righton]

Welles,
Ranting now and then is good for the sole......or something like that.

Ferlin

Nitrobutler! thanks.- Finally I have a clearer understanding of the history brush. Up till now its been a little fuzzy and I didn't quite get it.
Don't really get the non-linear history thing - haven't needed it so far.
I can't imagine PS without the history pallette.

Thanks for bringing the history topic up Lee. We all learn -at least inexperienced users like me learn. I too have been scolded by Ms Oz , but on the whole I thinks most of the time she's right. Like about the spoon feeding - there are people who come on here and want info that is clearly covered in Mark's tutorials and they don't bother to look at them. i mean, what are they there for. Anyway enough of that.

retired_paddza

I've worked with Photoshop since version 2 and I still cant decipher some of the crap in the manual, even stuff I know how to use in and out... ever read the descriptions of the different blending modes? hehe scary stuff. I would expect someone to consult the manual (or more likely the help files) before asking a question, but if they've done that to no avail, then even the simplest question is warrented. Thank goodness for places like this!!

Nitro brings up another good use for history... tool states. You can set certain tools like the erase tool or the art brush to work from specific areas in your history... so it's like masking out a chunk of time. Just click that little paint icon in the history palette and you can work from there.

kiwi

Hi guys


I use the history brush a lot for photo retouch,when you use it in conjunction with a tablet its great.I often set my tablet to the firm setting and gradually build up a little noise or blur etc.One thing I used to often find was when you rework an area it always sticks out as being re worked,but if you zoom way in and use your background layer as a kind of key{with your masked person etc} add just a smidegeon of noise until the two start to look the same,its a great way of making retouching dissapear on a composition.


If I am using the clone tool before I start I almost always purge my history so that I have around 20 or lifesavers in the history palette.For the undo I use that a bit when I am painting,and if I use undo or the history palette for me generally it depends whether I am painting an area on the left or the right hand side of the monitor One thing I have learned about PS though is that there are often many ways of doing things.I discovered a while back that for instance the frosted glass filter works better for waves then the ripple filter,so personally I think a great deal of PS comes down to experimentation really.



As for the manuals and the writers there of,ages ago a friend of mine and I had a discussion about the lack of understandable information in a plugin for 3D we were discussing.Some time later this friend of mine creates an incredible 3D plugin himself,and what does he do he makes a bloody manual which is kind of indecipherable [stuned] ,hows that for irony I think there is a compulsory class every coder has to go to which is 101 ways to make an indecipherable manual for your software.


Stu.

austizmo

This is almost completly off-topic, but I thought you all might enjyo this little gem from the Flash Manual.

Object: an object derived from the Object object.

That's useful, no?