CreativePro Tip of the Week: Using the Navigator panel in Photoshop

This CreativePro Tip of the Week for Using the Navigator panel in Photoshop was sent to CreativeProse email subscribers on April 26, 2017.

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If you regularly work on high-res images in Photoshop and you’re not already using the Navigator panel, you’re missing out on a slick way of seeing both a close-up and a bird’s eye view of an image at the same time. That way, you can work on the small details while checking the impact of what you do on the whole image. And it can be especially useful if you have a second monitor, where you can position the Navigator panel and make it large.

Open the Navigator panel by choosing Window > Navigator.

As you zoom and scroll in the image, you’ll see a red rectangle in the Navigator panel representing your current view.

You can click anywhere in the Navigator panel or drag the rectangle to change your view of the image. You can also use the controls at the bottom of the panel to zoom in or out.

To zoom in on a new part of the image, hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Win) and drag in the Navigator panel.

If you’re having a hard time seeing the red rectangle because of the content of a particular image, you can change its color. Go to the Navigator panel menu and choose Panel Options, then pick a different color.