Adobe Photoshop CS3 - Manual (Page 327)

PHOTOSHOP CS3
User Guide
320
• To make the layer partially visible, paint the mask with gray. Darker grays make the level more transparent, lighter
grays make it more opaque.
• To add to the mask and hide the layer or group, paint the mask with black. The layers below become visible.
To edit the layer instead of the layer mask, select it by clicking its thumbnail in the Layers palette. A border appears
around the layer thumbnail.
To paste a copied selection into a layer mask, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the layer mask
thumbnail in the Layers palette to select and display the mask channel. Choose Edit > Paste, then Select > Deselect.
The selection is converted to grayscale and added to the mask. Click the layer thumbnail in the Layers palette to deselect
the mask channel.
Select and display the layer mask channel
For easier editing of a layer mask, you can display the grayscale mask by itself or as a rubylith overlay on the layer.
❖ Do one of the following:
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the layer mask thumbnail to view only the grayscale mask. To
redisplay the layers, Alt-click or Option-click the layer mask thumbnail, or click an eye icon.
• Hold down Alt+Shift (Windows) or Option+Shift (Mac OS), and click the layer mask thumbnail to view the mask
on top of the layer in a rubylith masking color. Hold down Alt+Shift or Option+Shift, and click the thumbnail
again to turn off the color display.
Disable or enable a layer mask
❖ Do one of the following:
• Shift-click the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette.
• Select the layer containing the layer mask you want to disable or enable, and choose Layer > Layer Mask > Disable
or Layer > Layer Mask > Enable.
A red X appears over the mask thumbnail in the Layers palette when the mask is disabled, and the layer’s content
appears without masking effects.
Change the layer mask rubylith color or opacity
1 Do one of the following:
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the layer mask thumbnail to select the layer mask channel; then
double-click the layer mask thumbnail.
• Double-click the layer mask channel in the Channels palette.
2 To choose a new mask color, in the Layer Mask Display Options dialog box, click the color swatch and choose a
new color.
3 To change the opacity, enter a value between 0% and 100%.
Both the color and opacity settings affect only the appearance of the mask and have no effect on how underlying
areas are protected. For example, you may want to change these settings to make the mask more easily visible against
the colors in the image.
4 Click OK.