Adding Fun and Useful Effects - Photoshop Elements 13: The Missing Manual - page 720

If you don't like the result, press Ctrl+Z/ ⌘ -Z to undo it and try again. Once you like
the way the gradient looks, you don't need to do anything special to accept it; just
save your image before you close it.
When the Gradient tool is active, the Tool Options area offers the following settings:
▪ Gradient . Click the arrow to the right of this thumbnail to choose a different gradient.
▪ Edit . Click this button or the gradient thumbnail to bring up the Gradient Editor ( Editing
Gradients ) .
▪ Mode . You can apply a gradient in any blend mode (see Image Views ) .
▪ Opacity . If you want your image to be visible through the gradient, reduce this setting.
▪ Reverse . This setting changes the direction in which Elements applies the colors so that,
for example, instead of yellow to blue (from left to right, say), you get blue to yellow.
▪ Transparency . If you want to fade to transparency anywhere in your gradient, turn on
this checkbox. Otherwise, the gradient can't include transparent regions.
▪ Dither . Turn on this checkbox and Elements uses fewer colors but simulates the full col-
or range using a noise pattern. This can help prevent the gradient's colors from banding
(having hard-edged transitions), creating smoother transitions between them.
▪ Gradient types . These five buttons determine the way the gradient's colors flow. From
left to right, your choices are Linear (in a straight line), Radial (a sunburst effect), Angle
(a counterclockwise sweep around the starting point), Reflected (from the center out to
each edge in a mirror image), and Diamond. Figure 13-20 shows an example of each
type.
Gradient Fill Layers
You can also apply a gradient using a special kind of Fill layer ( Adding Fill and Adjustment
Layers ) . Most of the time, this method is better than using the Gradient tool, especially if you
want to be able to make changes to the gradient after you apply it.
To create a Gradient Fill layer, go to Layer→New Fill Layer→Gradient. The New Layer dia-
log box appears so you can set the layer's blend mode ( Image Views ) and opacity. When you
click OK, Elements fills the new layer with a gradient, and the dialog box shown in Fig-