Today’s Question: Is it possible in Photoshop to have a duplicate live screen open for an image to see an overall effect [at a lower zoom setting] while working on a small detail way blown up?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can open a second window for an image you’ve opened in Photoshop, then tile the windows so you’re able to see both and set different zoom settings for the same image in the two different windows.
More Detail: I’m sure most photographers who use Photoshop are well aware that you can have multiple images open at one time, and you can adjust the arrangement of those images on the screen. For example, you can have a tabbed display with only one image visible at a time, or you could have several images arranged alongside each other, so they are all visible at the same time. This same capability also applies to having the same image displayed multiple times, and at different zoom settings.
Once you have an image open, you can create a second window that displays the same image by going to the menu and choosing Window > Arrange > New Window for [filename]. Note that this command will include the filename of the current image at the end of the command. When you select this command from the menu, the current image will now be displayed in two windows (or tabs).
Next, go back to the menu and choose Window > Arrange, followed by the desired arrangement for the windows. For example, you might prefer “Tile All Horizontally” or “Tile All Vertically”, which will arrange the windows alongside each other either horizontally or vertically.
With the image displayed in two windows, you can have a different zoom setting for each. So, you can keep one window zoomed out so you can see the entire image area, with the other window zoomed in to evaluate detail as you’re working. Simply switch between the windows to determine which window will be affected by changes in the zoom setting.