CS2: Layer Properties Problem!!!

[Benarius]

I just realized, when looking at 100% that I've been actually getting the results of the flattened image. (recognisable from the features)

So what this realy means is that the layered styles I am working on is not what I get on the end. This makes it realy difficult. The good thing is to know that the flattened is the real deal. At least one of the two is right....lol.

BUT I AM EVEN MORE CONFUSED NOW...HOW CAN I ACTUALLY GET THE RESULTS WHEN WORKING WITH LAYERS TO STAY WHEN FLATTENED???

The layered (left) is actually not showing really what I see. Weird. I must be doing something wrong.

[Ascension]

Whoa, yer right. Can you zip it and upload it to somewhere like a free host? I'll grab it and see what's up.

[Benarius]

For those intrested to have a look at the original file.

http://www.freefileserver.com/648368

Notice, when resizing image to 1000 or 500 (from 2000), the same thing happens, too.

EDIT: Something intresting I noticed right now. It never occured to me as I mostly switched between 25% and 50% and 100%. Now I switched from 25% to 25.1% and then it happened. It looks like the flattened image. I just realized that looking at the layered work with 25% gives you a false image. At 25,1% it starts more like it realy is. So I adjusted the layer levels to come close to the desired results and flattened. Still some change, but not as big anymore. I come to the conclusion that is a matter of size. But how else can you work on such a large file without zooming. It is very hard. I think I need a bigger screen.

[ravells]

The problem layer is layer 5. If you merge everything under that the image appearance doesn't change, but when you merge layer 5 down, it changes significantly. It's not the blending mode but the layer style which is causing the problem.

I tried saving level 5 as a png and then importing it back into the main image and merging it down, but no joy....I'll keep at it.

This zoom level thing is really strange too (but I think it's unrelated to the layer 5 problem), but I think that just may be a factor of how PS interpolates data it will show given the zoom level you're working at....I'll keep fiddling.

[ravells]

OK, so it looks like PS displays a calculated layer style differently at different zoom levels than it does the same layer with the layer style effects 'baked into' the layer. But they still look exactly the same at 100% zoom. I don't think there is a work around to this, but just one of the magical photoshop characteristics we have to know and love

Sorry Benarius, I'm out of ideas. I thought that there might be a display resolution in the PS menus that might have had an effect on this, but I couldn't find one. (I'm using CS2 btw).

[Ascension]

I'm with Ravs in that there's a display problem but from what I can tell styles don't even factor into it. Here are two screenshots, showing a flattened image and an unattended one in each...the first one is at full 100% zoom and the second one is at "fit on screen" at 49.9% zoom. You'll notice that the little mountains along the bottom appear to change when "fit on screen" as in the second screenie but look exactly the same at full zoom irregardless of layered or flattened as in the first screenie.

I also went thru and put each layer style on its own layer, then flattened, and had the same result...so I won't bother putting up screenies of those. I'm using CS so I don't know if the whole thing has something embedded into it due to being a CS2 file that is making it weird but I'm suspecting that it is just a plain ole Photoshop problem...version be damned.

You might want to look thru the Adobe boards and see if there is anything there on display problems, and if not then post this up with screenshots as well as the link to your psd file. Or learn to live with it since it's just in the zoom display.

[Benarius]

Thanks heaps to all of you for taking your time looking at it.

Yep, learning to live with it is what I have to do. Anyway, knowing that it displays it strangely helps a lot. I probably also will need to look at some of the professional map making tutorials. The technique I applied was realy just a matter of tweaking and twisting and a bit of luck...lol. But it worked, almost.

Regards

Benarius