What's an SEO?

What's an SEO? Does Google recommend working with companies that offer to make my site Google-friendly?


SEO is an abbreviation for "search engine optimizer." Many SEOs provide useful services for website owners, from writing copy to giving advice on site architecture and helping to find relevant directories to which a site can be submitted. However, a few unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to unfairly manipulate search engine results.

While Google doesn't have relationships with any SEOs and doesn't offer recommendations, we do have a few tips that may help you distinguish between an SEO that will improve your site and one that will only improve your chances of being dropped from search engine results altogether.
Be wary of SEO firms that send you email out of the blue.

Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:
"Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."

Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.

Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or through the Google Sitemaps program, and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.
Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do.

Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or "throwaway" domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google's index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it's best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to "help" you.
You should never have to link to an SEO.

Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all" links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don't affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines -- at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.
Some SEOs may try to sell you the ability to type keywords directly into the browser address bar.

Most such proposals require users to install extra software, and very few users do so. Evaluate such proposals with extreme care and be skeptical about the self-reported number of users who have downloaded the required applications.
Choose wisely.

While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html. While Google doesn't comment on specific companies, we've encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.
Be sure to understand where the money goes.

While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they "control" other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn't work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you're considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.
Talk to many SEOs, and ask other SEOs if they'd recommend the firm you're considering.

References are a good start, but they don't tell the whole story. You should ask how long a company has been in business and how many full time individuals it employs. If you feel pressured or uneasy, go with your gut feeling and play it safe: hold off until you find a firm that you can trust. Ask your SEO firm if it reports every spam abuse that it finds to Google using our spam complaint form at http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html. Ethical SEO firms report deceptive sites that violate Google's spam guidelines.
Make sure you're protected legally.

For your own safety, you should insist on a full and unconditional money-back guarantee. Don't be afraid to request a refund if you're unsatisfied for any reason, or if your SEO's actions cause your domain to be removed from a search engine's index. Make sure you have a contract in writing that includes pricing. The contract should also require the SEO to stay within the guidelines recommended by each search engine for site inclusion.

What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?

One common scam is the creation of "shadow" domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client's behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor's domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.

Another illicit practice is to place "doorway" pages loaded with keywords on the client's site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO's other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content.

What are some other things to look out for?

There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It's far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:
owns shadow domains
puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
offers to sell keywords in the address bar
doesn't distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear in search results
guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
gets traffic from "fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware
has had domains removed from Google's index or is not itself listed in Google.
If you want know abot seo u can get information with google.

copyright from google Webmaster Help Center 

10 Fun Things To Do With Your Kids On A Hot Summer Day

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the kids are bored, and it is HOT outside. Keeping the kids cooped up inside all day usually works on Mom & Dad’s patience and nerves, so how do you find ways to keep them occupied and spend time with them without breaking the bank?

Never fear, here are some creative ideas to help you!

1. Make some homemade Popsicles.
Every kid loves Popsicles and it helps to cool them down after a hard day of playing in the dirt.
You will need: kool-aid, a pitcher, sugar or sweetener, toothpicks, plastic wrap, and an ice cube tray.
Cost: less than $7.
Have your kids help you prepare the kool-aid of their choice. Pour the kool-aid into the ice cube tray and place the plastic wrap over the tray. Have your kids gently poke the toothpicks through the plastic wrap so each ice cube has a toothpick. Then place the tray in the freezer. In an hour or so, your kids will have homemade Popsicles to enjoy that they helped to make. (You can also add small candies to the Popsicles as an extra treat!! Find a package of small, semi hard candy and pour a few in each tray before pouring the kool-aid in. Your kids will love the extra treat!)

2. Have a picnic!
But not just any picnic…make it special for your children. If you have boys, make them “Army lunches” or “Space lunches”. If you have girls, make them “Fairy food” or “Princess packs”.
You will need: see below for what you will need for boys or girls.
Cost: less than $15.
For army or space lunches, you will need: foil, brown paper bags, treats in small individual packages, and food! Just prepare their lunch like normal, a sandwich, chips, a small treat bag, and a drink - except wrap as much of the food in foil as possible. On the front of the bag, write a special name. For example, if your child’s name is Chris, write Captain Chris or Commander Chris. Make up a story or draw a map of your yard to show them where their base is. Then ship them off to battle or space outside to eat their goodies.
For fairy food or princess packs, you will need: colored plastic wrap, white or light colored paper bags, a fairy or princess treat, and food! Just prepare their lunch like normal, a sandwich, chips, a treat, and a drink. Except wrap as much of the food in colored wrap as possible. On the front of the bag, make sure to write a special name for your little fairies or princesses. For example, if your child’s name is Mandi, write “Mandirina” (or some other form of her name for a fairy name) or Princess Mandi. Make them up a story and a colorful map of your yard to show them where the magic forest or castle is. Then send them off on their journey.
These lunches are always hits and will keep them occupied for a good hour or two and will normally send them off into some military or magical adventure for hours!

3. Scavenger hunts.
No matter if you have a small yard or a large yard or no yard at all, you can quickly plan a scavenger hunt for your kids.
You will need: small items from your house (clothespins, plastic spoons, wrapped hard candies, etc) and a place to hunt.
Cost: Free!
Make a master list of all the items you have collected for your hunt. Have your kids hide their eyes while you or a partner hides the items outside or in a small park. Then give each child a small bag or basket for their hunt along with a list of the items that they are to find. (Make sure that the kids know the boundaries of the game if you are playing in a park or a large area so they don’t wander off!) Send them out on their hunt. Kids love to play hide-and-seek and this is just a different version that they will love. It’s a great way to get them up and exercising and gives them something active to do with their minds.
When they return, count the items and find who has the most. Have a treat for each child so no one feels left out or hurt. Happy hunting!

4. Play in the sprinkler.
This has always been a favorite of every kid I know, and I’m sure you probably played it when you were a kid!
You will need: a sprinkler and a water hose.
Cost: free – again - except for the water bill! (If you live in an apartment and they have a pool, go swimming!! Or find a friend or family member who won’t mind you soaking their grass for a while.)
Set up the sprinkler in a large, flat area so the kids have plenty of room to run and jump. Then, create a game or ask them to show you their best leaps and bounds through the water. This is another great way to get your kids up and moving while cooling them off and having fun.
Your kids will also love it if you play in the water with them. Don’t worry if anyone will see you, who cares?! It’s fun and it will remind you of when you were a child and cool you off as well.

5. Plant seeds or flowers with your children.
This is usually done in the morning or before lunch.
You will need: seeds or purchased flowers, an old spoon or small spade, and an area to plant in.
Cost: under $10 unless you go crazy!
Have your children pick a spot or give them an area to call their own. If you’re planting seeds, let them go wild. Give them an old spoon and a packet and show them how to plant the first one. Kids love to plant things and watch the seed grow. This is also a good time for you to work on your flowers or garden along side them. Not only will your kids enjoy this activity, they will have something they are responsible to care for by watering the seeds or flowers each day. They will love seeing the seeds and flowers grow day after day.

6. Make a collage of funny pictures
Pull out your Sunday paper or those old magazines you didn’t know what to do with!
You will need: old papers, glue stick, scissors, sturdy paper or poster board.
Cost: under $10.
Have your children pick out (or allow them to cut out) as many pictures as you think might cover their paper. Set a theme like funny pictures, pretty pictures, toys they like, flowers, etc. After they have cut or gathered all their pictures, give them a glue stick and let them go crazy. They will have a ball putting the pictures on the page and arranging them to make their own work of art. After their art is dry, have them find a place in their room to hang it so they will always have a reminder of the fun it is to create something!

7. “Custom Kool-Aid”
Allow your kids imagination and taste buds to run wild!
You will need: a two-quart pitcher, several different flavors of kool-aid, sugar (or a substitute), and glasses.
Cost: under $10.
Fill the pitcher with water and sugar to taste. Have your kids pick out two flavors of kool-aid. Pour both kool-aid packets in the pitcher and stir! Your children can now name their “custom kool-aid” and have fun drinking it! Who knows, you might even start a trend at home!

8. Fuzzy Floats
This treat is great for a hot day!
You will need: a two-liter of lemon-lime soda, a half-gallon of rainbow sherbet, straws, spoons, and cups.
Cost: under $10.
Place a small scoop of rainbow sherbet in each cup. SLOWLY pour lemon-lime soda into the cups. The soda mixed with the sherbet will foam with “fuzz” that won’t go down, so make sure to pour carefully and slowly! Fill the cup until the “fuzz” pokes over the top of the cup but doesn’t spill over the side.
Stick a straw and spoon in each float and enjoy! This treat is a low-fat, low-sugar way to cool your kids off after a hot summer day in the sun! (Mom and Dad will enjoy these treats as well, so dig in!)

9. Keepsake Handprints
This activity requires a flat place where you can leave the handprints to dry at least overnight.
You will need: flour, water, salt, cooking spray, a mixing bowl, a spoon, measuring cups, toothpicks, old newspaper, and food coloring.
Cost: around $15.
Put 1 cup of flour, ¼ cup salt in mixing bowl, four or five drops of food coloring, and slowly stir in ¾ cup water. Stir in water until the flour mix becomes dough. Knead the dough until it forms a ball in the bowl. Separate small pieces of the dough and roll into balls. Place the newspaper on a flat surface and spray with cooking spray. Press the dough ball onto the newspaper until it becomes flat but still round (or whatever the shape is you desire) making sure the dough is still about ½ to ¼ inch thick. Have your kids press their hand down into the middle of the flattened dough and gently press each finger to make sure all have the same indention. Gently lift hand out of dough, making sure no spots are too thin or stick. Then, use the toothpick to write your child’s name and the date in the dough around the handprint. Allow to dry at least overnight or until the dough is hard enough to lift off the newspaper.
You can also purchase small plate stands at any local craft store for around a dollar each to display these works of art. These make wonderful gifts for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, you name it! Or you can keep them as your own reminder of how small their hands once were!

10. Folded Paint Flowers
This activity is a little messy, so make sure that your kids have on old clothes.
You will need: sturdy paper (like card stock), acrylic paint, old newspaper, and a flat surface.
Cost: around $10.
You can purchase acrylic paint at any local craft store for around $.40 to $.60 each and they come in every color of the rainbow. Line the table or flat surface with old newspaper and have your children put on an old shirt that you don’t mind getting paint on (just in case)! Pre-fold your child’s paper and then flatten back out before putting paint on. Have your child pick out what color they would like their flowers to be. Squirt a small amount of each color on ONE side of the folded paper and then place a drop of white or yellow in the center of each color. Drop a line of green paint down the middle of the fold and make sure to drop some leaves in! Then have your child help you re-fold the paper. Gently and slowly press the paper together to allow the paint to spread to both sides of the paper. Hold gently pressure on the paper for about 10 – 20 seconds. Slowly peel paper apart and see the beautiful flowers you have created! Allow the flowers to dry and then have your kids hang them on their wall or window to enjoy!


You can make variations on any of these ideas to fit you or your children’s tastes. These are all fun, easy things that you can do with your children that they will enjoy as well. (These ideas have been tried and tested on my own children and nieces and nephews and have all been huge hits with little stress on Dad and me!) Happy playing!

Copyright@google :)

Intro to Photoshop : "Part I"

Photoshop Interface

The options bar contains settings for each tool in the toolbox. The options bar is content sensitive; it changes depending on which tool is selected. This is the only place where tool options are found, except for text and brushes, in which there are palettes with additional options.

Working with Tools

• You must first select a tool to use it.





• Some tools have additional tools beneath them; these are called hidden tools.


• small triangle at the lower right corner of a tool indicates hidden tools.


• To view/select the hidden tools, click and hold down the mouse button on a tool. The hidden tools will display in a fly-out menu.


• To reset a tool to its default settings, right click on the tool icon located to the far left of the options bar. Select Reset Tool to reset the currently selected tool or select Reset All Tools to do just that.

Shortcut Keys

• Photoshop displays the shortcut keys for a function next to its menu listing


• Tool shortcut keys are displayed in parenthesis when you hover over a tool

Palettes


You can show, hide, and reposition palettes as needed.

• Showing and hiding palettes – choose Window > [palette name] to toggle the visibility of a palette.


• To toggle between showing and hiding all currently open palettes press the Tab key.


• To move a palette, drag it by its title bar.


• Palette Menus – most palettes have menus that contain additional commands and options. To display a palette menu, click the black triangle at the upper right of the palette.

Creating a New Document

• To start a new document go to File > New or Ctrl + N.


• Photoshop has several preset sizes defined for you or you can specify your own settings


• You can save your new document settings as a New Document Preset


• As a rough guide, use a resolution of 72ppi (pixels per inch) for web graphics, 96ppi for Power Point presentations, and 200 – 300ppi for print.

Saving Your Work


It is always a good idea to save a working copy of your layered files in the native Photoshop format (.psd) for future editing purposes. You will usually need to export a second copy of the file in an alternate format determined by your intended use. To save a file as a Photoshop document, choose File > Save As. In the ‘File name’ box give the file a name. In the ‘Format’ option box select ‘Photoshop (*.PSD; *.PDD).’ A Photoshop document will maintain its separate layers. Other image formats such as .gif’s, .jpg’s, etc. will create a flattened image. While working on your files save often. File > Save or Ctrl + S.



Image Mode


A color mode determines how Photoshop displays and prints an image. (redDaisy.jpg)

• RGB – good for online and multimedia images


• CMYK – good for images you are going to professionally print.


• Greyscale – (mime.jpg)


• Index Color – needs to be converted to RGB mode before it is altered. Photoshop converts images to indexed color mode when they are saved as a .gif. (somLogo.gif)


• To view the current color mode or to change the color mode of an image, select Image > Mode

Correcting Mistakes

• You can use the Undo or Step Backwards command to correct mistakes. The Undo command allows you to undo your last step while the Step Backwards command allows you to consecutively undo multiple steps.


• To undo your last step choose Edit > Undo or Ctrl + Z.


• To step backwards choose Edit > Step Backwards.

History Palette

• To undo multiple steps use the History palette and step back as many steps as you need to.
• The History palette remembers what you've done to your file and lets you either retrace your steps or revert back to any earlier version of the image. Every time you do something to your image—paint a brush stroke, run a filter, make a selection, and so on—Photoshop saves this change as a state in the History palette.
• However, by default Photoshop only lists your last 20 states (which can be changed in your preferences). When the number of states recorded in the History palette exceeds 20, the oldest states are dropped off the list.
• History states are cleared when you close a document (they will not be remembered when the document is opened at a later time).

Show Rulers

• To show or hide the rulers select View > Rulers or hit Ctrl + R.
• To change the measurement of the rulers simply right-click inside the ruler and select which measurement system you wish to use (pixels, inches, centimeters, etc.)

Rotate / Transform an Image (doctor.jpg)

• If your image is flattened into a background layer you will first need to rename it. To rename a layer just double click on top of the existing name, type in the new name, and hit Enter.


• Select Edit > Free Transform. A bounding box with handles will appear around the image.


• To rotate an image, move your mouse to the outside of one of the corner handles. You’ll notice that the icon changes to an arched, double-sided arrow. Click, hold and drag to rotate the image.


• To resize an image, move your mouse on top of one of the corner handles. You’ll notice that the icon changes to a straight, double-sided arrow. Click on the handle and drag it to increase or decrease the size of the image. Be sure to hold down the Shift key while making this transformation if you want to maintain the image’s proportions.

Crop Tool (scan.jpg)

• To crop an image, select the Crop tool and click and drag a rectangle around the part of the image you want to keep. When you release the mouse button, you’ll see a dashed line with selection “handles” on the corners and middle of each side. The area to be cropped away appears dimmed (shaded).


• Don’t worry about getting your crop selection perfect because you can move, rotate and resize the crop area by dragging the handles.
  1. Click and drag inside your crop area to reposition it
  2. Use the arrow key on the keyboard to move/reposition the crop selection 1px at a time.


• To complete / accept the crop, press Enter or double click inside the rectangle.


• To cancel out of cropping mode press the Esc button on your keyboard.


• Constrain proportions - to make a crop selection a perfect square hold down the Shift key when making your selection.


• Crop to a specific size – specify the dimensions in the options bar. In the options bar you will see fields for Width and Height. Enter a size for each followed by the unit of measurement you want to use (for example, use “in” for inches, “px” for pixels, “cm” for centimeters, “mm” for millimeters, etc.).


• Clear the Width & Height – After you enter a Width and Height in the Options bar, those dimensions remain there. To clear the fields, just click on the Clear button (in the options bar). This clears the Width and Height fields for the Crop tool.

Automated Cropping and Resizing (scan.jpg)
Photoshop has a great little automation tool that will take a scan, that contains multiple images, and straighten and copy each image into its own separate window.
• Scan in or open an image which contains multiple images.
• Select File > Automate > Crop and Straighten Photos

File Size and Dimensions
• To view the size and dimensions of a file, select Image > Image Size.

Resize an Image (doctor_lg.jpg)
• To resize the whole image, select Image > Image Size and change the width and/or height as needed. To maintain the images proportions make sure the Constrain Proportions check box is checked. (Tip: shrinking your image will result in some blurring. How much depends on how much you resize the image. You can counter this by sharpening the image).
• You can change the image size using the Resize Image Wizard – Select Help > Resize Image.
• To resize a layer (not the whole image), select the proper layer then select Edit > Free Transform. Move the handles as needed to resize the image. Holding down the Shift key will keep the image in proportion.

Sharpen a Photo (doctor_lg.jpg)
• Unsharp Mask gives you the most flexibility. Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask

1. AMOUNT - controls the overall amount of sharpening applied to an image


2. RADIUS - Photoshop sharpens an image by looking for edges in the photograph and enhancing those edges by darkening one side of the edge and lightening the other side. Edges are sharp color or contrast changes in an image. The Radius setting controls the width of pixels along an edge that are modified when you sharpen the image.


3. THRESHOLD - The larger the value you give to the Threshold setting, the more contrast an edge must have before it is sharpened. When you set the threshold to 0, everything in the image becomes a candidate edge for being sharpened. At a setting of 0, an image can easily be made to look too grainy. When the threshold is set to 10, Photoshop finds and sharpens an edge only if there is a difference of at least 10 points (in the range from 0 to 255) in the pixel values along that edge.
   

Enlarge Your Canvas Size
• To increase the image area (canvas size) without increasing the existing image select Image > Canvas Size.
• Select the Crop Tool from the toolbar

1. Using the crop tool select your entire image (you may need to zoom out). Once you've created a cropping rectangle with the Cropping tool, you can expand the crop past the boundaries of the image (this lets you eyeball how much and where you want to increase the canvas).


2. To expand the crop, select any of the side or corner points and drag them outside the image area.


3. After you press Enter, the canvas size expands to the edge of the cropping rectangle.


4. Note: if your image contains a background layer (remember, background layers are special layers), then the added canvas will be filled with whatever color is currently set as your background color (which can be found in the toolbox). If your image does not contain a background layer then the added canvas will be transparent.

• Another way to enlarge the canvas is to select Image > Canvas Size. This option will give you precise control of how you enlarge the canvas.


Choosing Foreground and Background Colors

• When you select any of Photoshop’s painting or drawing tools, the color applied to the document will be the foreground color.


• Photoshop also uses the foreground color to paint, fill, and stroke selections.


• Use the Eyedropper tool , the Color palette or the swatches palette to set/change the foreground and background colors.


• You can also click directly on the foreground or background color swatch to get the color picker dialog box.


• When you use an eraser tool on a Photoshop layer, by default, the pixels are converted to transparency. However, when you use an eraser tool on the Background layer something different happens. Since the Background does not support transparency, it replaces the erased pixels with the current background color.
  A. Foreground color box
  B. Default colors icon – sets the foreground to black and the background to white
  C. Switch colors icon – swaps the foreground and background colors
  D. Background color box

Remind Yourself with Notes

• You can add notes and reminders to a Photoshop document using the Notes tool .


• To add a note, click once on the image with the Notes tool and type your message.


• If you type more than can fit in the box, Photoshop automatically adds a scroll bar on the side.


• You can change the note's color, author, font and size in the Options bar.


• Double-clicking on a note opens it (so you can read it) or closes it (minimizes it to just the Notes icon).


• To delete a note, right click on top of it and select Delete Note.


• If you want to delete all the notes in an image, press the Clear All button in the Options bar (the Notes Tool has to be selected in the toolbox).


• If you can't see notes in your Photoshop file but you suspect they're there, make sure the Annotations item is turned on (View > Show > Annotations). When this is off, no Note icons will show.
  

Working with Text

• Point Type - select the Horizontal Type tool, click within the image and begin typing.


• Paragraph Type - click and drag with the Horizontal Type tool to draw a box to contain your text. Your text will flow within the frame, wrapping it to the next line automatically.


• When you are done entering text click the Commit button on the Options bar. Committing the text simply takes you out of text-editing mode.


• Once you have existing type, clicking or dragging with the type tool has one of two outcomes.
  1. If Photoshop find any text near the spot where you clicked, it assumes you want to edit that text, and therefore, selects that text layer and puts you into edit mode.
  2. If no text is in the vicinity of where you clicked then Photoshop figures that you want to create a new layer of text.


• Double clicking on the thumbnail of the text layer will select all text on that layer and place you in edit mode.


• You can access additional formatting options by displaying the Character and Paragraph palettes.
  

Spell Check your Document

• To spell check a layer choose Edit > Check Spelling.
  

Image Magnification

• Images have pixels and computer screens have pixels. When you display an image on your screen, Photoshop has to match image pixels to screen pixels. The percentage in the title bar of the document window tells you how Photoshop is matching those pixels.

• To display a file at 100% choose View > Actual Size, or double click the Zoom tool .
  
• At 100-percent view, each image pixel is represented by a single screen pixel. This view has nothing to do with how big the image will appear in print (or even on the Web, because different monitors have different resolutions).
  
• At any percentage other than 100%, you're probably not seeing an accurate view of your image. At 400 percent, the image is magnified four times. At 50 percent, it's reduced by half, so you're only seeing half the pixels in the image because you're zoomed farther out and Photoshop has to downsample the image on the fly.

Zooming In and Out
Photoshop gives you great flexibility in viewing your images. You can view different areas of the artwork at different magnifications.

• Use the zoom tool to enlarge or decrease you image view. This does not change the actual image size.
• To zoom in select the zoom tool . The pointer becomes a magnifying glass with a plus sign in its center. Click at the center of the area you want to magnify.
• To zoom out select the zoom tool , then hold down the Alt key (Option key for Mac). The pointer becomes a magnifying glass with a minus sign in the center. Click the center of the area you want to reduce.
• Alternate ways to zoom in and out: to zoom in use Ctrl + + (hold down the Ctrl button and hit the plus key). To zoom out use Ctrl + - (hold down the Ctrl button and hit the minus key).
• You can also make a selection with the Zoom tool. The pixels within the selection are magnified to fill the screen.
• To view your document at 100%, double-click the Zoom tool.
• To make the image fit your monitor, double-click the Hand tool

Navigator Palette – getting around your image

• If the Navigator palette isn’t open, select Window > Navigator
  
• The red frame indicates the viewable area of the active image (what part of the image is showing).
  
• Moving the red frame pans the contents of the active window.
  
• The magnification slider lets you change the zoom level dynamically.

Hand Tool

• If an entire image is not visible in the document window, you can navigate the image (bring another area of the image into view) by using the scroll bars or the Hand tool .
  
• With the Hand tool simply click within the image and drag to change which part of the image you are viewing.
  
• Be careful that you do not confuse the Hand tool with the Move tool !
  

Move Tool

• The Move tool physically moves the content of the currently selected layer.
• The Auto Select Layer option in the Options bar selects the layer of the item you click on in the image.

Microsoft Word for Windows Shortcut Keys

Special characters

• An ellipsis… "Ctrl+Alt+period"
  
• Non-breaking hyphen "Ctrl+Shift+hyphen"
  
• Option hyphen "Ctrl+hyphen"
  
• Non-breaking space "Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar"
  
• Copyright © "Ctrl+Alt+c"
  
• Registered ® "Ctrl+Alt+r"
  
• Trademark ™ "Ctrl+Alt+t"

Selecting text

• Paragraph "Triple click"
  
• Entire doc "Ctrl+a"
  
• Block of text "Ctrl+Shift+F8 (keyboard) or Alt+drag (mouse)"
  
• Column in table "Alt+click in column"
  
• Entire table "Alt+double-click any cell"

Paragraph formatting

• Increase indent "Ctrl+m"
  
• Decrease indent "Ctrl+Shift+m"
  
• Hanging indent "Ctrl+t"
  
• Remove hanging indent "Ctrl+Shift+t"
  
• Left para "Ctrl+l"
  
• Center Para "Ctrl+e"
  
• Right para "Ctrl+r"
  
• Justify para "Ctrl+j"
  
• Reset paragraph to style "Ctrl+q"
  
• Single line spacing "Ctrl+1"
  
• Double line spacing "Ctrl+2"
  
• 1.5 line spacing "Ctrl+5"
  
• Add/Remove 12 pt before "Ctrl+0 (zero)"

Styles

• Make Style Box Active "Ctrl+Shift+s"
  
• Apply normal style "Ctrl+Shift+n"
  
• Apply heading 1 "Ctrl+Alt+1"
  
• Apply heading 2 "Ctrl+Alt+2"
  
• Apply heading 3 "Ctrl+Alt+3"
  
• Apply list bullet "Ctrl+Shift+l"
  
• Start AutoFormat "Ctrl+Alt+k"

MS Word 2003 Keyboard Shortcuts

• CONTROL + A "SELECT ALL"
  
• CONTROL + B "BOLD"
  
• CONTROL + C "COPY"
  
• CONTROL + D "FONT"
  
• CONTROL + E "CENTER ALIGNMENT"
  
• CONTROL + F "FIND"
  
• CONTROL + G "GO TO"
  
• CONTROL + H "REPLACE"
  
• CONTROL + I "ITALICS"
  
• CONTROL + J "JUSTIFICATION ALIGNMENT"
  
• CONTROL + K "INSERT HYPERLINK"
  
• CONTROL + L "LEFT ALIGNMENT"
  
• CONTROL + M "INDENT LEFT MARGIN OF ALL LINES"
  
• CONTROL + N "NEW FILE"
  
• CONTROL + O "OPEN A FILE"
  
• CONTROL + P "PRINT"
  
• CONTROL + Q "REMOVE ALL FORMATTING FROM PAR"
  
• CONTROL + R "RIGHT ALIGNMENT"
  
• CONTROL + S "SAVE CHANGES TO FILE"
  
• CONTROL + T "HANGING PARAGRAPH"
  
• CONTROL + U "UNDERLINE"
  
• CONTROL + V "PASTE"
  
• CONTROL + W "CLOSE"
  
• CONTROL + X "CUT"
  
• CONTROL + Y "REDO"
  
• CONTROL + Z "UNDO"
  
• CONTROL + 1 "SINGLE SPACING"
  
• CONTROL + 2 "DOUBLE SPACING"
  
• CONTROL + 5 "1.5 SPACING"
  
• CONTROL + SHIFT + SPACEBAR "NONBREAKING SPACE"
  
• CONTROL + SHIFT + HYPHEN "NONBREAKING HYPHEN"
  
• CONTROL + SHIFT + ASTERISK "SHOW/HIDE"
  
• CONTROL + ] "INCREASE POINT SIZE"
  
• CONTROL + [ "DECREASE POINT SIZE"