Taking Snapshots in Photoshop

Snapshots are duplicates of your image at a particular point in time, similar to saving a document under an alternate name. (Photoshop automatically names the snapshots something generic like Snapshot 1 or Snapshot 2.) However, snapshots are temporary copies, available only during your current work session. When you save your image and close it, you lose all the snapshots. So thinking of snapshots as a way of saving your history lists at various points in time while you’re working is best.

Snapshots are a handy way to alternate between versions of an image when you’re making major changes. For example, if you plan to apply several filters that will drastically modify your image, you may want to save a snapshot before you use the filters and save another one after you’ve applied them. You can then click either snapshot to switch from one version to the other quickly. The second you close a file, the snapshots you’ve taken disappear forever.

To take a snapshot, follow these steps:

1. Select the state at which you want to take a snapshot.
The state can be the most recent one with all your latest editing changes, or an earlier state.

2. Choose New Snapshot from the palette pop-up menu.
Or right-click (Control+click on the Mac) the state and choose New Snapshot from the context-sensitive menu. The New Snapshot dialog box opens. If you want to bypass this dialog box, just click the New Snapshot button to create a snapshot. Photoshop names your first snapshot Snapshot 1.

3. In the Name box, enter a name for the snapshot, preferably one that helps you remember the contents of that particular snapshot.
You can add or change the name of the snapshot later by double-clicking the snapshot name in the history list.

4. Choose one of the subtypes of snapshots in the From menu:
-->Full Document creates a snapshot of all the layers in the image at the currently selected state. (This is the default.)
-->Merged Layers creates a snapshot with a single layer, merging all the layers in the image at the currently selected state. Use this option to create a flattened version with the visible layers combined.
-->Current Layer creates a snapshot of only the active layer of the current state.

5. Click OK to create the snapshot.
If you no longer need a snapshot, select the snapshot and press the Delete key. You can also click the trash icon, or drag the snapshot to the trash icon, or choose Delete from the palette options menu.