Photoshop Fundamentals and the Workspace
Know the interface model
Photoshop's workspace is built from a document window surrounded by panels, the options bar (context-sensitive to the active tool), the toolbar, and the application frame. Candidates should understand that the options bar changes with tool selection, that panels can be docked, collapsed, or floated, and that workspaces (Essentials, Painting, Photography) save panel arrangements without changing the document itself.
Tools, modes, and the tool group logic
Many tools hide related tools behind a long-press on the toolbar. Know the distinction between foreground/background colors (the small swatches, swapped with X, reset with D) and how they affect brush, gradient, and shape tools. Understand that the Move tool honors the active layer, that selection tools live apart from painting tools, and that screen modes (Standard, Full Screen with Menu Bar, Full Screen) affect display only.
Preferences and performance concepts
Basic awareness of Preferences (scratch disks, history states, interface color) and the History panel helps answer workflow questions. History states are limited by preference, are not saved with the file, and are lost on close - a frequent trap.
Worked rule of thumb
When a question asks "which panel controls X," map the concept to its home: color and swatches to Color/Swatches, step-by-step reversibility to History, layer organization to Layers, precise numeric transforms to Info/Properties. If a stem describes a tool behaving unexpectedly, suspect the options bar setting before anything else.
Traps to watch
Questions often confuse view changes (zoom, screen mode) with document changes (canvas size, image size). Zooming never alters pixels; screen modes never alter the file.