The Photshop workspace consists of four main components: the menu bar, the toolbar, a toolbox, and palettes.

The menu bar contains controls for common functions such as opening and saving files, as well as specific functions, such as copying and pasting, calling up specific windows or palettes, and controlling the Photoshop workspace. As you progress through each lesson, the menu bar and menu items are detailed.

Photoshop's toolbox contains a collection of tools for creating, selecting, and manipulating images.

The toolbar, by default, lies just below the menu bar. When a Photoshop Tool is selected in the toolbox, the toolbar displays the available options for that Tool.

Palettes contain additional controls for other features in Photoshop, such as layers, colors, and styles, as well as other features that you will learn about as you progress through the manual. As you learn Photoshop, you'll find that you can manipulate the content you create in many ways. By default, there are four palette sets, each containing a collection of multiple palettes in each set (there is one additional palette set that can be accessed by way of the Window menu).