One of the most frequent tasks I do in Photoshop is moving layers so they're in the centre of other layers or sections, so I decided to figure out how I tin practice information technology faster. If I tin can salve a few seconds every time I need to eye something, I can take less fourth dimension drawing out my ideas on screen.

The Boring Way

To get an idea of how much time I've gained, let'southward first look at how I used to practice it. Previously I would brand use of guides to center layers. If I needed to center something, I would have to setup a guide outset, which tin can be quite long winded.

It's uncomplicated plenty to create a guide in the eye of the canvas (View > New Guide… > Vertical orientation with position set equally fifty%)

I would so move the layer into position by pressing CMD + T (free transform) and lining upward the handles in centre to the guide.

What if I want to eye a layer to a office of the blueprint that isn't the middle of the certificate? Well, I used to create a guide in the heart of the area I needed by either pressing CMD + T on and existing layer or using Select > Transform Selection and moving a guide to the center of the bounding box indicated by the handles.

That seems like madness now, even though I was used to it and information technology didn't seem to be a problem. It seemed like the fastest manner at the time but I got stuck in my ways and I now accept a much faster way of doing information technology.

The Fastest Way: Middle via Marquee Selection

The fastest way to middle element(s) in photoshop is by using the marquee choice tool and I didn't even know it was possible until recently. It's one of those things you detect, apply for five minutes and call back "why didn't I know virtually this before?!". So it chop-chop becomes second nature and an important part of your Photoshop process.

The Process

First, let'south wait at how we tin utilise this technique to eye a layer in the middle of a document. With the layer you want to middle selected and the marquee tool active, printing CTRL + A to select the whole document and then within the motion tool (keyboard shortcut: V), click either the "Align vertical centers" or the "Align horizontal centers" button (highlighted below). Click both to center the layer exactly in the center of the certificate.

You lot can as well drill down in the menus by going to Layer > Align Layers to Selection and clicking on the appropriate alignment choices there simply who wants to do that? Non me and in fact, I have an even quicker way than even selecting the move tool and clicking the icons.

Custom Keyboard Shortcuts

I'm not happy with moving my mouse and clicking on a push button. I'k lazy, so let's brand this process even faster by creating our own keyboard shortcut to middle the layer.

The keyboard shortcuts I use to center horizontally and vertically are:

  • Vertically: ALT + CMD + 1
  • Horizontal: SHIFT + CMD + 1

The of import thing here is these combinations aren't existence used past Photoshop for any congenital-in keyboard shortcuts and it's quick and easy to trigger with your left hand. They do feel a little odd at first but once you get used to these keyboard shortcuts it saves a tremendous amount of time over locating icons in the UI.

If you want to use a dissimilar keyboard shortcut, you lot can create your own past going to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts… only I find this works really well.

More Power!

This at present allows y'all to center one layer in the middle of another simply by selecting them both and using the keyboard shortcut. You tin also center layers by whatever marquee selection you lot brand yourself which can come in handy at times, peculiarly if you desire to center a layer along the 3rd column of a layout for example. But make the option (super easy if y'all're using guides for your grid) with the layer selected and striking the keyboard shortcut and y'all're done.

Take it even further and sign keyboard shortcuts to other alignment functions. I use the acme and left align functions almost as much as center and then I have keyboard shortcuts setup for those equally well.

Photoshop now includes smart guides which appear on the screen as you move layers around, informing you of the location of the layer relative to other layers.

You lot can position layers to be centerd vertically and horizontally using these smart guides but it can become confusing in a complicated document with many layers as it can exist difficult to tell if information technology is exactly in the middle of a item layer or if information technology is actually adjustment with another layer. This is why I however recommend using the method above most of the time.

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