Photoshop Undressed! Recall dialog box settings
There is a neat little “trick” that you can employ to recall settings from a closed dialog box. It can not only speed things along but can sometimes save you an awful lot of time.
For example, say you didn’t use a B&W Adjustment layer and instead used a B&W adjustment (Image » Adjustments » Black & White). You spent considerable time creating a B&W effect that you really like but closed the dialog without saving the settings as a preset. How do you get back the settings? Well, if you haven’t closed Photoshop, just hold down Alt/Opt and select the command. The dialog will open with previously applied settings. You can then save the settings as a preset if you wish.
You can apply the same “trick” to, say, the Curves dialog. Having applied a curve adjustment and closed dialog, either hold down Alt/Opt and then choose Image » Adjustments » Curves, or press Ctrl+Alt+M, Cmd+Opt+M.
Try it with other commands, such as Levels, Channels Mixer, etc. However, you should really fall into the habit of using adjustment layers because, not only are they non-destructive, you can alter the settings ad infinitum because they are saved with your file (unless, of course, you flatten the file or save in a format that doesn’t support layers). That said, the “trick” is good to have as a fallback and, besides, not all adjustments are available as layers.
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