Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2

There are four main panels that appear in all Lightroom modules. They can be manipulated as needed to allow you to control the size of the center workspace, as well as to only reveal the set of tools required for the task at hand. These four panels are called the Left Panel Group, Right Panel Group, Module Picker (top), and Filmstrip (bottom).

While you can click and drag the inside edge of the Left and Right Panel Groups and the Filmstrip to resize them, you can also choose to show or hide any (or all) of the four panels. The center workspace automatically expands and contracts to fill available space as you alter the panels. Of course, as with most things in Lightroom, there’s more than one way to get the job done.

The quickest option is to use the keyboard shortcuts:

• F5 = Hide/Show Module Picker
• F6 = Hide/Show Filmstrip
• F7 = Hide/Show Left Panel Group
• F8 = Hide/Show Right Panel Group

If your head is already full to the brim with keyboard shortcuts, you can access the same controls by going to the Window > Panels menu. You’ll also find the keyboard shortcuts listed there in case you forget.

For all you hands-on folks, you can simply click on the outer edge (note the light gray arrow in the center of each outer edge) to hide that panel and click it again to show it. If you right-click (Mac: Control-click) the edge you can access additional menu options, which include:

• Auto Hide & Show, which means the panel will hide when your cursor is moved away from it and then automatically reappear when you move your cursor back over the edge of the panel.
• Auto Hide, which means the panel will automatically hide when you move your cursor away from it, but you’ll need to click the panel’s edge to make it show again. It will remain open until you move the cursor away from it. This is my preferred way to work, as I find the Auto Hide and Show option to get in the way of normal operation.
• Manual, which means you need to click the panel’s edge to show or hide it.
• Sync with Opposite Panel, which is a new feature of Lightroom 2. It allows you to configure one panel and then apply those settings to the opposing panel (i.e. Top and Bottom, Left and Right).

If those options aren’t enough there are two shortcuts for controlling multiple panels at once:

Tab = Show/hide both the Left and Right Panel Groups

Shift+Tab = Show/hide all panels

Now that you have a handle on how to manage the larger panels, let’s take a look at what you can do with the smaller panels contained within the Left and Right Panel Groups.

To cut down on the amount of scrolling you do in a day, as well as to only reveal the tools you need for a given job, you can expand or collapse each individual panel by clicking on each panel header (not just the arrow). As an alternative, you can Ctrl-click (Mac: Cmd-click) any panel header to expand or collapse all the panels on that side in one fell swoop.

A really neat trick is to Alt-click (Mac: Option-click) any panel header to engage what is called Solo Mode. With Solo Mode enabled you’ll only be able to open a single panel within the larger panel group at a time. This makes it very easy to switch between panels with a minimum amount (if any) scrolling. As soon as you expand a new panel the last one you were using automatically collapses. Alt-click (Mac: Option-click) any panel header a second time to disengage Solo Mode. Adobe Photoshop

Note that while the Navigator, Histogram, and Preview panels within the various modules can be collapsed or expanded individually, they are not included in Solo Mode or the expand all/hide all commands.

One last panel option I want to call to your attention is the ability to completely remove a given panel from the panel group so that you no longer even see its header label. If you right-click (Mac: Control-click) any panel header—except the ones noted above—you can simply uncheck any panel from the context menu that appears and it will disappear from the group. Just re-check that panel in the menu to bring it back. You can also restore panels from the Window > Panels menu.