Load Files into Stack {A Quick PS Tutorial}

I don’t have a new release this week. (My next release will be a fun collaboration on September 1st. Keep an eye out for a sneak peek coming soon!) I’ve been really busy preparing my 6 year old for first grade. And I’ve been reveling in time with the kiddos during the last few weeks of summer. It has also been really hard to find time to work on new designs with a 6 month old around lately.

With 2 small kiddos and a baby in my house, everything I do has to been done as quickly as possible. I know a lot of scrappers are in the same boat! On the rare occasion that I do find time to scrap, I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve to make things go more quickly. One of my favorite trick is to streamline the process of gathering up the elements and papers I want to use on a page. For this, I use the Photoshop Load Files Into Stack Script. The script is included with the full version of Photoshop, and if you aren’t already using it, you really have to give it a try!

This script works so well for me, because I can load all of the papers, elements and alpha that I am considering using onto the page right from the start. Since I am a one kit per page type of scrapper, it’s easy for me to choose the patterns, solids and elements I’m considering using on a page, right from the beginning and have them all their waiting for me to pull up on my layout.

I have written a little tutorial to show you how to use the Load Files into Stack script if you aren’t already in love with it like I am. It’s such an easy option to use! My instructions are all written for PC users. I apologize for not having the Mac experience it takes to create a tut for both users!

To begin, with Photoshop open, choose File/Scripts/Load Files into Stack.

This opens the Load Layers dialog box. Click the Browse… button.

Navigate to the folder with the files you would like to have opened. I am using my On a Sunny Day kit for this tutorial. I like to choose my papers first. Highlight the items you would like to open. To select more than one item, hold down the Ctrl key while you click on multiple items. When you have finished selecting, click the OK button.

This will bring you back to the Load Layers dialog box. The papers that I’ve chosen are listed in the box. Now you have the option to click the Browse… button again to choose more items. I like to pick up elements next.

Click the Browse… button again, navigate to the elements folder, and highlight the items you would like to open. When you are finished selecting, click the OK button.

As you can see, all of the items that I have chosen are listed in the Load Layers dialog box. You can continue to browse and add alpha, more elements, etc. until you have chosen everything you want to start with. When you are done selecting, click the OK button.

Now just sit back and watch the script do it’s work. When the script has finished running, you will see all of the items you have chosen layered in your document window. This is a good time to save and name your document as this is the new file on which you will begin your layout. The file should be correctly sized at 3600x3600 px and 300 dpi, as the file size will be set to the largest item you chose, which will usually be the papers. If there is a larger file selected, at this point you will need to create a new document, correctly sized, and drag all of your layers on to the new document, and save it as your layout.

I like to start with a fresh, empty canvas by hiding the layers. To do this, first highlight all of the layers. Choose: Select/All Layers or hit Alt+Ctrl+A on your keyboard.

When all of the layers are highlighted, choose Layer/Hide Layers. This will leave you looking at a blank screen.

Now you can start scrapping!!

Because you have used this script to load your papers, elements and alphas, the layers will all be correctly named for easy selection. However, I like to be able to see clearly what is on each layer. So to make things easier I change a couple of the layer thumbnail options. This is a super easy and quick thing to do.

Right click on one of the layer thumbnails on the layers panel. Check the two boxes next to Large Thumbnails and Clip Thumbnails to Layer Bounds. This will give you a clear and large view of the item on each layer so that as you scroll down your layers panel, it will be easy to see the elements you want to use at a glance.

I hope that this tutorial has been easy to follow and that it will help to streamline your scrapping procedures! Happy scrapping!!