Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows: The Missing Manual

Creating a New File

You may want to create a new, blank document when you're using Elements as a drawing program or when you're combining parts of other images together, for example.

To create a new file, go to the Editor, and choose File → New → Blank File or press Ctrl+N to bring up the New dialog box. You have lots of choices to make each time you start a new file, including what to name it. All your other options are covered in the following sections.

Tip

You can't create a new, blank file in the Organizer, but Elements gives you a quick shortcut from the Organizer to the Editor so you can open up a new file there. To open a new file, choose File → New → Photoshop Elements Image File, and Elements creates a virgin file for you and automatically hops you and the new blank file over to the Editor. If you want to create a new file based on a photo that's in the Organizer, select the thumbnail, press Ctrl+C to copy the image, and then choose File → New → "Image from Clipboard". Elements switches you to the Editor, where you'll see your copied photo awaiting you, all ready to work on.

Picking a File Size

The next thing you need to decide after you name your new file is how big you want it to be. There are two ways to do this:

• Start with a Preset. Preset, the second item in the New dialog box, lets you choose the general kind of document you want to create. If you want to create a file for printing, pick from the menu's second group. The third group contains choices for onscreen viewing. ...