Chapter 13: filters, Filter basics, Using filters – Adobe Photoshop CS4 User Manual
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Last updated 1/10/2010
Chapter 13: Filters
You can use filters to apply special effects to images or to perform common image editing tasks, such as sharpening
photos. This section provides an overview of Adobe Photoshop CS4 filters and how to apply them to images. Complete
information on using some filters is available in other sections. Search Adobe Help for information on the Sharpening,
Blurring, Lens Correction, Lens Blur, Noise Reduction, Liquify, and Vanishing Point filters.
Filter basics
Using filters
You can use filters to clean up or retouch your photos, apply special art effects that give your image the appearance of
a sketch or impressionistic painting, or create unique transformations using distortions and lighting effects. The filters
provided by Adobe appear in the Filter menu. Some filters provided by third-party developers are available as plug-
ins. Once installed, these plug-in filters appear at the bottom of the Filter menu.
Smart Filters, applied to Smart Objects, let you use filters non-destructively. Smart Filters are stored as layer effects in
the Layers panel and can be readjusted at any time, working from the original image data contained in the Smart
Object. For more information on Smart Filter Effects and nondestructive editing, see “
To use a filter, choose the appropriate submenu command from the Filter menu. These guidelines can help you in
choosing filters:
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Filters are applied to the active, visible layer or a selection.
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For 8-bits-per-channel images, most filters can be applied cumulatively through the Filter Gallery. All filters can be
applied individually.
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Filters cannot be applied to Bitmap-mode or indexed-color images.
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Some filters work only on RGB images.
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All filters can be applied to 8-bit images.
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The following filters can be applied to 16-bit images: Liquify, Vanishing Point, Average Blur, Blur, Blur More, Box
Blur, Gaussian
Blur, Lens Blur, Motion
Blur, Radial Blur, Surface Blur, Shape Blur, Lens Correction, Add Noise,
Despeckle, Dust &
Scratches, Median, Reduce Noise, Fibers, Clouds, Difference Clouds, Lens Flare, Sharpen,
Sharpen Edges, Sharpen More, Smart Sharpen, Unsharp Mask, Emboss, Find Edges, Solarize, De-Interlace, NTSC
Colors, Custom, High Pass, Maximum, Minimum, and Offset.
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The following filters can be applied to 32-bit images: Average Blur, Box Blur, Gaussian Blur, Motion Blur, Radial
Blur, Shape Blur, Surface Blur, Add Noise, Clouds, Lens Flare, Smart Sharpen, Unsharp Mask, De-Interlace, NTSC
Colors, Emboss, High Pass, Maximum, Minimum, and Offset.
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Some filters are processed entirely in RAM. If you don’t have enough available RAM to process a filter effect, you
may get an error message.
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