Using the Info Palette in Photoshop

The Info palette displays a variety of information, depending on what tool you’re using. For example, if you’re using the Measure tool, the information in the Info palette duplicates the measurements shown in the Options bar. Choosing other tools modifies the Info palette’s display to reflect the functions of that tool. Here is some of the information you can find out by keeping the Info palette visible on your desktop:

-->When using most tools, the Info palette displays the X and Y coordinates of the cursor, as well as the color values of the pixel directly beneath the cursor.

-->When making a selection with the marquee tools, the Info palette shows both the X and Y coordinates of the cursor, as well as the width and height of the selection.

-->When dragging with the Crop or Zoom tools, the Info palette shows the width and height of the marquee used to define the cropping or zoom borders. The Crop tool’s current angle of rotation is also displayed.

-->With the Line, Pen, and Gradient tools, the Info palette shows the X and Y coordinates of the starting position for the line, path, or gradient you are defining, as well as the distance (D) of the line you’ve dragged, the change in X and Y directions (DX and DY), and the angle (A).

-->When you use a transformation command, the Info palette displays the percentage change in the Width, Height, and Angle, Angle of Horizontal Skew (H), and Angle of Vertical Skew (V).

-->When you use a color adjustment, such as Levels, the Info palette displays before and after color values beneath the mouse cursor.

-->After you’ve made a selection with the Lasso or Magic Wand tools, the Info palette also shows the Width and Height of the selection. Choose Palette Options from the Info palette’s pop-up menu (click the triangle in the upper right to open the pop-up menu).

Here you can define a second color readout in addition to the default readout, using a different color model if you want. In addition to the regular color modes, the default Actual Color option displays values in the current mode of the document. Proof color displays values based on the setting chosen in View➪Proof Setup. The Total Ink option displays the percentage CMYK ink under the cursor based on the settings in the CMYK Setup dialog box in the Color Settings (Advanced). You can also define a measurement increment for the mouse cursor (in inches, pixels, millimeters, and so forth) independently of the increment you’ve selected in Preferences.