That "well" thingy in PS6

[Doug Nelson]

True confessions time:
That highly-touted and I'm sure incredibly valuable new feature of PS6, the docking well (upper right corner, on toolbar) is a mystery to me. Maybe I'm just too staid in my ways, but I can't for the life of me see a use for it. I like my palettes out where I can see them, all the time (or at least within "tab" distance).

Am I full of baloney here? Is it truly wonderful and I'm simply missing the point? Do you use it? (assuming, of course, that you use PS6)

[chris h]

I think some Adobe programmer dreamed it up one lazy afternoon. Never noticed it until Eismann's book mentioned it.

[thomasgeorge]

In my humble and uneducated view, it is the digital equlivent vestigial organ. Tom

[DJ Dubovsky]

I tried it once until I found out they don't stay put like your palettes do when you reopen Photoshop. So I saw no need to take the time to dock anything there any further.
DJ

[Paul Rupp]

I agree, if it was such a "cool" new tool, why didn't they make it stay that way?? If I want to NOT see anything, I just hide it.

Works for me better that way.

Paul Rupp

[Mig]

I'm surprised to hear so many people who don't like this feature. I love it.

[CJ Swartz]

Hey, Mig!

I don't have version 6 yet, so tell me more -- how does it come in handy for you and why do you love it? What do you dock there and when?

[George]

I use the docking well all the time. When I am working on an image I dock the various palettes I have open in the well.

By doing it this way I have more monitor screen area to view the image. When I need a palette I click on it, use the function I need, then when I click back on the image it goes back into the well out of the way.

George

[Doug Nelson]

Is that handier than the tab key? I guess this is yet another area where PS has many ways to accomplish the same task.

[George]

I find it much handier than the tab key. I have Layers, Channels, History, Actions, and Info loaded in the well. When I open an image I move the tools list to the far left and use the other part of the screen for the image (19 inch monitor). If I need a palette say layers, I just click on the layers tab, just the layers palette shows up, I use it to select a layer and when I go back and click on the image the layer palette closes back to the well.

When I use tabs it opens and closes all the palettes I am using as well as the tools. When I open them I have to move the palettes around to get to the one I want, while the ones I am not going to be using are blocking part of the image. When I close them using the tab key, it closes the tools also, which prevents me from selecting tools using mouse or pen.

The palettes I put in the well, remain there until I change them. When I open Photoshop they open in the well.

I guess it is really a personal preference, but I have tried it both ways and this has proven to be the best way for me since it gives me more screen space for the image, while allowing me very quick access to a palette I want to use.

George