What's New in CS4... ARRANGING DOCUMENTS

Well, I'm making my way around CS4 and learning how to manage some of the things that are new or different from CS3. I've received a couple of emails asking if I knew yet how to do several things. So it got me to thinking... maybe I could just start a little section here to track new/different things as I learn them. This way, if you're new to CS4, this could maybe serve as a Go To place. If you don't have CS4, just make a mental note that this is here so that when you do get it, you'll know just where to go. :)

(I'll label these as "What's New in CS4". This way, you can just refer to the Labels section (located on the left sidebar) and be taken directly to all posts that reference this subject.)

So... first order of business. When you have multiple documents open in CS4, by default, they are arranged a little differently than in CS3. I started to change it back to the way CS3 has it, but I kind of like this new way of arranging, so I've pushed past the "but I'm just not used to it" phase and now it's already becoming 2nd nature.

So if you have a new document open and you go to open a photo and want to drag it over to your new layout, there are 2 ways to do this. The first one is by using the little Arrange Documents icon at the top of your screen. Here are the steps you would follow to do it this way...

When you open a photo with a new document already open, this is how your screen will appear.

1a. They (by default) open in tabs. So here, we have the first tab as our new document and the 2nd tab as our photo. To get your photo over to your new document, click on the Arrange Documents at the top of your screen and choose 2 Up.

2a. This simply splits your 2 documents into 2 equally sized windows and allows you to see both of them side by side. Then you would just click, hold, and drag your photo over onto your new document.


3a. To go back to a full screen of your new document, you can either click on the Arrange Documents icon again and choose Consolidate All (which gives you full screen with your workspace showing and the documents arranged in tabs). This will keep your photo open, but out of your way. Or, if you know you're done with your photo, you can click the "x" on the photo tab to close it out.


NOTE: Instead of clicking on the Arrange Documents icon again, you can also right-click on one of the tabs and choose Consolidate All to Here (or your preferred command.)

Another way to see both documents at once is by moving one of them out to a "floating" position that stays on top of your document. Here's how you do it that way...

1b. Click on your photo tab, hold, and drag it up or down.

2b. This pulls it out if the Consolidated Documents and places it in a "floating" position over your new document. Your new document remains "docked" behind this floating window, which means it will remain there. A "docked" document can't be pulled in front of a floating window without floating both documents.

3b. Now you would simply click, hold, and drag your photo over to your new document.

4b. To keep you photo open in case you need it later, you can simply minimize it. Or if you're done with your photo, you can just click the "x" to close it out.

There are several other ways to view and arrange your documents. Now that you know how to get to them, you can play around with each view and see which one you like best. :)

I'll be back with more tips as I learn them. :)