Photoshop Tip: Cropping for the Indecisive

PHOTOSHOP TIP: Cropping for the Indecisive
by Michael Frye

Have you ever cropped an image in Photoshop, but later changed your mind? You may have found that you can't get back the parts of the image you cropped -- they're gone for good. Luckily Photoshop gives you the option of hiding, rather than deleting, the area you want to crop. Then if you change your mind later you can retrieve the missing parts of the image.

Unfortunately this "Hide" option isn't available on normal background layers. When you open a scan or digital camera file in Photoshop, it automatically creates a layer called Background. The word is italicized and there is a lock symbol next to it:

If you use the crop tool on this locked background layer, you'll find that the "Delete" option is automatically selected, and the "Hide" option is grayed out and unavailable. So first you have to change this locked background layer to a normal layer.

With this layer selected (highlighted in the Layers palette), go to Layer > New > Layer From Background. You'll see a dialog box that looks like this:

Leave the Color, Mode, and Opacity options at their defaults, i.e. Color None, Mode Normal, and Opacity 100%. Give the layer any name you want. I usually just call it Background. Then click "OK".

Now, select the Crop tool from the Tools palette. The "Hide" and "Crop" options won't appear in the Tool Options bar (usually at the top of the screen) until you make an initial crop selection. Once you do that, click the "Hide" button:

Then refine your crop selection and press "Enter" to finish cropping. Now, if you change your mind later, how do you get back the area you cropped? Go to Image > Reveal All and the missing parts of the image will reappear.