Creating and editing Vector Shapes is a fundamental part of working with Photoshop  6.  Most of the basic layout and design of your website will, most likely, be created with Vector Shapes.  That being the case, it is important that you not only know how to create vector content but also how to organize it.

Working with Vector Content

If any one new feature of Photoshop  6 could be classified as “revolutionary” it would have to be the incorporation of vector shapes.  The Pen Tool , a tool that creates vector content, has long been used to create paths and selections, but that was about the extent of vector functionality in Photoshop.   For version 6, Adobe has introduced a range of Shape  Tools that utilize path information to create editable shapes.  The beauty of utilizing the Shape Tools is that vector content in your image remains completely editable at all times just so long as your document remains in the Photoshop native file format.  You can place as many vector shapes on the same Layer  as you wish and they will remain editable.  You can also apply Layer Styles  to Shapes and maintain them as editable. That having been said you must always keep in mind the differences between vector and bitmap image information and the benefits and drawbacks of both.   The vector tools are very useful but they are also limited to the creation of relatively simple illustrations.  You would never use vectors to display the complex color information of a detailed photograph.

Before we begin to discuss the expanded range of vector tools let’s take a look at the more traditional roles of the Pen Tool .