Setting Up Photoshop
####################

.. index:: Photoshop

In this section, you will create a new Photoshop file and set up the gridlines.

Requirements
============
For the steps shown below, you will need:

* Computer running Photoshop (we are using Adobe Creative Suite CS4 for Windows 10)

.. index:: gridlines

Steps
=====

* First, create the file. From the *File* menu, select *New...*. Set the *Width* to **3200px** (8") and the *Height* to **4200px** (10.5"). Set the *Resolution* to **400 pixels/inch** and the *Color Mode* to **RGB Color**. Click **OK**.

.. note:: We use a page size smaller than 8.5" x 11" to avoid our printer shifting the margins slightly, which would result in misalignment between printing on the front and back sides of the same sheet of paper.

.. note:: We use 400 pixels/inch instead of our usual 300 because otherwise we could not place our small individual files exactly on the pixels we want.

Now add the gridlines:

#. To add 1/4" gridlines, from the *Edit* menu, select *Preferences*, then select *Guides, Grid, & Slices..*. Set the gridline to be every **1 inch**, and *Subdivisions* to **4**. Click **OK**.

#. To make sure the gridlines are visible, from the *View* menu, select *Show*. Make sure that **Grid** is checked.

#. To enable snapping to the grid, from the *View* menu, select *Snap To* and make sure that **Grid** is checked. Snapping to the grid will make it easy to place individual cover files.

Next
====
Now you are ready to add individual images to the new file.

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1

   02_layingOutMultipleCovers.rst
   03_testPrinting.rst
   04_nextSteps.rst