How to Make a Border in Photoshop CS2

Use simple Adobe Photoshop tools to add borders to your files.

Drawing borders around the edges of images in Adobe Photoshop CS2 adds a framing touch to portraits, composites and other graphics. Just as a matte and frame set off a painting, a border treatment gives your files the crisp, refined look of artwork on a gallery wall. Adobe Photoshop CS2 offers several methods by which to incorporate this treatment into your images.

Instructions

Use a Stroke on a Layer

1. Set your file view to 100 percent by choosing "Actual Pixels" from the "View" menu or pressing "Control" + "Alt" + 0 (Windows) or "Command" + "Option" + 0 (Mac) on your keyboard. Press the "F" key once to place your file view in full screen mode.

2. Open the "Layers" palette by pressing "F7" on your keyboard or choosing "Layers" from the "Window" menu. Click once in the "Layers" palette on the layer on which you want to apply your border or click the "New Layer" button at the bottom of the "Layers" palette to add a new layer to your document and apply your border to it.

3. Set the foreground swatch in your "Tools" palette to the color you want for your border. To make this choice, click on the foreground color swatch in the "Tools" palette and set color values in the "Color Picker" or click on the "Color Libraries" button in the "Color Picker" and select a color from one of the libraries of prefabricated color choices.

4. Choose "Stroke" from the "Edit" menu. Set the stroke width to the pixel dimension of your choice. Remember that because Photoshop always calculates stroke width in pixels, the actual width of your border in inches will be the resolution of your file divided by the width value you enter in the "Stroke" dialog box.

5. Set the stroke "Location" to "Inside" so the entire border width will be visible in your file. Setting the stroke location to "Center" or "Outside" makes part of your border appear beyond the visible dimensions of your document. "Center" places half the border width inside the selection and half outside it; "Outside" applies the entire border width beyond the selection.

6. Set your "Blending Mode" to "Normal" unless you want to use another mode to achieve a special effect. Set "Opacity" to 100 or choose less than full opacity so your image shows through your border. Make sure "Preserve Transparency" is not checked unless you want your border visible only where your file shows image information at the edges of your document.

7. Click the "OK" button when you are satisfied with your input parameters. Your border appears on your active layer.

Use a Stroke in a Layer Style

1. Set your file view to 100 percent by choosing "Actual Pixels" from the "View" menu or pressing "Control" + "Alt" + 0 (Windows) or "Command" + "Option" + 0 (Mac) on your keyboard. Press the "F" key once to place your file view in full screen mode.

2. Open the "Layers" palette by pressing "F7" on your keyboard or choosing "Layers" from the "Window" menu. Click once in the "Layers" palette on the layer on which you want to apply your border.

3. Set the foreground swatch in your "Tools" palette to the color you want for your border. To make this choice, click on the foreground color swatch in the "Tools" palette and set color values in the "Color Picker" or click on the "Color Libraries" button in the "Color Picker" and select a color from one of the libraries of prefabricated color choices.

4. Click on the "Add a Layer Style" button at the bottom of the "Layers" palette and choose "Stroke" from the list of effects. When the "Layer Style" dialog comes up on your screen, set the "Size" to your desired border width either by dragging the input slider till your desired value appears or by typing the value directly into the input window.

5. Set the stroke "Position" to "Inside" so the entire border width will be visible in your file. Remember that the stroke effect only will apply to the portion of your active layer that contains pixels, not to an area that is transparent or masked off. Additionally, setting the stroke location to "Center" or "Outside" may result in part of your border appearing beyond the visible dimensions of your document, if your layer contains pixel information across its full width and height.

6. Set your "Blend Mode" to "Normal" unless you want to use another mode to achieve a special effect. Set "Opacity" to 100 or choose less than full opacity so your image shows through your stroke effect. Set the "Fill Type" to "Color" and click on the "Color" swatch to bring up the "Color Picker." When the "Color Picker" dialog appears on your screen, move your cursor over to the foreground color swatch in your "Tools" palette and click once to set the "Stroke" color to the color you already selected.

7. Click the "OK" button when you are satisfied with your input parameters. Your border appears on your active layer as an effect. You can turn the border off by clicking on the downward pointing arrowhead to the right of the effects icon on the layer to which you applied the stroke and turning off the eyeball next to the "Stroke" item in the effects list.

Use a Color Fill Layer with a Mask

1. Set your file view to 100 percent by choosing "Actual Pixels" from the "View" menu or pressing "Control" + "Alt" + 0 (Windows) or "Command" + "Option" + 0 (Mac) on your keyboard. Press the "F" key once to place your file view in full screen mode.

2. Set the foreground swatch in your "Tools" palette to the color you want for your border. To make this choice, click on the foreground color swatch in the "Tools" palette and set color values in the "Color Picker" or click on the "Color Libraries" button in the "Color Picker" and select a color from one of the libraries of prefabricated color choices.

3. Open the "Layers" palette by pressing "F7" on your keyboard or choosing "Layers" from the "Window" menu. Select your entire file area by pressing "Command" + "A" on your keyboard or choosing "All" from the "Select" menu.

4. Choose "Transform Selection" from the "Select" menu. Set the "W" field to the width of your document in pixels minus twice the desired size of your border. Set the "H" field to the height of your document in pixels minus twice the desired size of your border. Press the "Return" key on your keyboard or the "Commit Transform" button in the "Options" bar to accept the transformation.

5. Choose "Solid Color" from the "New Fill Layer" fly-out menu of the "Layer" menu. Name the layer and click "OK" in the "New Layer" dialog box. When the "Color Picker" dialog appears on your screen, move your cursor over to the foreground color swatch in your "Tools" palette and click once to set the fill layer color to the color you already selected. Click on the "OK" button to accept your color selection and complete the process of creating your border.

Tips & Warnings

• If you decide to add a border to an existing layer by applying a stroke, remember that this method permanently changes your layer and cannot be undone once you save and close your file. For this reason, consider saving your file under another name so your original document remains untouched.

• Borders can look very different depending on the resolution of your Photoshop file. An 18-pixel border is 1/4-inch wide in a 72 pixel-per-inch document. In a high-resolution file at 300 pixels per inch, a 1/4-inch wide border measures 75 pixels wide, and an 18-pixel border is only 1/16-inch wide.

References

• Adobe Systems: Adobe Photoshop CS2 User Guide