I know there has got to be a trick to this... I am trying to figure out how to produce even spacing between my pictures. The best example I could find was here Although this isn't exactly what I'm looking for... I think she used lines to turn one big photo into a mosaic. I am looking to create a block type lo with pictures and paper. Am I making any sense? I'm sure it's a simple shift key issue but I'm tired of eyeballing it and I know there is a better way. Thanks so much for the help

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Tagan

Don't know... I eyeball it. If I need to, I turn on the grid and zoom in so I can make sure it's perfect. Maybe there is a better way, but I don't know it!

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The FASTEST way to do this is to make a pattern. Don't panic, it's easy

First, don't crop your photo, you need the extra space: you'll crop it afterwards.

Then, create a square image with transparent background, roughly the size of the block you want. Select>All or Ctrl-A, then Edit>Stroke and choose White, 5-10 pixels, and Inside: OK. Then Edit>Define Pattern and name it.

Then on your photo go to Layer>New Fill>Pattern. Choose the new pattern you just created from the bottom of the drop down list in the dialog that pops up. Then resize it as needed. You can reposition the pattern by putting the cursor over the image with the dialog still open and see the Move cursor: just click and drag the pattern to move it around.

Finally, add a layer style>Inner Shadow to make the photos look on top, or a Drop Shadow to make the grid look on top. Up to you.

Then crop the image so your white lines are at the edge of the image (sometimes when you resize the pattern, it won't be neatly at the edge of the photo).

This will help you make patterns and Pattern Fill layers that are SO SO SOOOOOO useful! Plus, drawing all those lines on the grid is really tedious: use View>Gride then View>Snap to Grid. You CAN do that, but once you define your pattern, you can make lots of mosaic layouts with just a few clicks and have the spacing perfect EVERY time!

Let us know how this works for you!

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Emma the Pal
GALLERY Web Page

PSE3 has a "snap to grid" option that can keep your lines consistent. You can also change your grid lines options so that there are more lines. What I would do use the rectangular marquee tool and the fill bucket (doesn't matter the color; you'll delete it later) on a separate layer to draw in all the lines I wanted. Then I'd push Ctrl and click the layer to select everything on that layer (your gridlines). Then I'd go to the layer that has the picture, turn on the erase tool, choose a huge eraser, and erase everything. Since you've only selected the parts where your grid lines are, it will erase all but your pictures. You can now hide your upper layer, delete it, or move it to the bottom, and have fun playing with bevels and shadows on the remaining photo.

Oh, and make sure your photo is not named "background" when you erase. You want the grids to be transparent, not filled with white.

Hope that helps.
Christina.

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Appreciate everyone's comments.

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Tagan