Viewing slices

You can view slices in Photoshop, the Photoshop Save for Web dialog box, and ImageReady. The following characteristics can help you identify and differentiate between slices:

Slice lines

Define the boundary of the slice. Solid lines indicate that the slice is a user slice or layer-based slice; dotted lines indicate that the slice is an auto slice.

Slice colors

Differentiate user slices and layer-based slices from auto slices. By default, user slices and layer-based slices have blue symbols, while auto slices have gray symbols.

In addition, ImageReady and the Photoshop Save for Web dialog box use color adjustments to dim unselected slices. These adjustments are for display purposes only and do not affect the final image's color. By default, the color adjustment for auto slices is twice the amount of that for user-slices.

Slice numbers

Slices are numbered  from left to right and top to bottom, beginning in the upper left corner of the image. If you change the arrangement or total number of slices, slice numbers are updated to reflect the new order.

Slice badges

The Web Content palette uses a number of badges, or icons, to indicate certain conditions, and these icons also appear in the document itself:

• User slice has Image content
• User slice has No Image content
• Slice is a layer-based slice
• Slice is linked
• Slice includes a rollover effect
• Slice contains the active rollover state
• Slice is a nested table
• Slice is a remote trigger
• Slice is a remote target

To show or hide slice badges (ImageReady):

1. In the Web Content palette, open the palette menu and choose palette options.
2. Check the Show Slice Badges box.

To show or hide slice boundaries:

Do one of the following:

• Choose View > Show > Slices. To hide and show slices along with other items, use the Extras command. For more information, see Working with Extras.
• (ImageReady) Click the Visibility icon , located to the left of the slice in the Web Content palette.

Note: If you've turned off a slice's visibility with the Slices Visibility icon, ImageReady doesn't output that slice when you choose Save Optimized. This is similar to layer visibility functionality.

To show or hide auto slices:

Do one of the following:

• Select the Slice Select tool, and click Show Auto Slices or Hide Auto Slices in the options bar.
• Choose View > Show > Slices. Auto slices appear with the rest of your slices.
• (ImageReady) Choose View > Show > Auto Slices.

To show or hide slice numbers (Photoshop):

1. Do one of the following:
• In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Guides, Grid, & Slices.
• In Mac OS, choose Photoshop > Preferences > Guides, Grid, & Slices.
2. Under Slices, click Show Slice Numbers.

To show or hide slice numbers and slice symbols (ImageReady):

1. Do one of the following:
• In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Slices.
• In Mac OS, choose ImageReady > Preferences > Slices.
2. Under Numbers and Symbols, select a size for display symbols:
• None to display no numbers or symbols
• The small icon to display small numbers and symbols
• The large icon to display large numbers and symbols
3. For Opacity, enter a value, or choose a value from the pop-up slider to change the opacity (transparency level) of the numbers and symbols display.

To show slice lines only (ImageReady):

1. Do one of the following:
• In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Slices.
• In Mac OS, choose ImageReady > Preferences > Slices.
2. Under Slice Lines, select Show Lines Only.

To change the color of slice lines:

1. Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Guides, Grid, & Slices; in Mac OS, choose Photoshop > Preferences > Guides, Grid, & Slices.
• (ImageReady) In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Slices; in Mac OS, choose ImageReady > Preferences > Slices.
2. Under Slice Lines, choose a color from the Line Color pop-up menu.

Changing the color of slice lines automatically changes the color of selected slice lines to a contrasting color.

To change slice color adjustments (ImageReady):

1. Do one of the following:
• In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Slices.
• In Mac OS, choose ImageReady > Preferences > Slices.
2. Enter a value, or choose a value from the Color Adjustments pop-up slider for User slices, Auto slices, or both. (The User slices option controls color adjustments for both user slices and layer-based slices.)

The value determines by how much the brightness and contrast of unselected slices are dimmed.