[Jeff Hinkle]

It looks like you’ve got all your paths on separate layers. The path commands only work on paths drawn in the same layer. Select the layer you’re trying to exclude from, set the path command to “exclude overlapping shapes” and draw a second path in that same layer. That should do what you want it to do.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Might be QuickView is to blame. If the OS is displaying any preview of your file, even in Column view, it’s considered “in use” and can’t be deleted. Close all your Finder windows before rendering and you shouldn’t have any more issues. At least that’s what always hung me up. Now I do Cmd-Opt-W before I launch AE and haven’t had a “can’t delete existing file” failure since.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Keyframe Assistant is only for after you’ve created a keyframe and have it selected. If you’re trying to create a keyframe, click the little stopwatch icon for the property you’re animating.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Not sure I fully understand what’s happening. How are you zooming? With the Zoom tool (clicking or dragging?), or the keyboard shortcuts? And when it zooms in, the problem is it’s repositioning the entire image so its center point is centered in the window instead of centering on the area you clicked?

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Well, there’s View > Print size, where Photoshop will do its best to show you the size an image will be when you print it to paper. But for Photoshop to automatically display things at their real-world size? To the best of my knowledge, there’s no automated way to do this. To use your example, if you open a photo of a quarter, Photoshop doesn’t know A.) it’s a quarter and B.) how big it’s supposed to be. All it sees is a grid of pixels.

I suppose if you know your monitor’s native resolution (usually 72ppi or 96ppi) and set up a new document at that resolution, you could get 1 monitor inch to roughly equal 1 real-world inch, but you’d be locked into only viewing at 100% magnification, and anything you print will be jagged and pixelated. Plus you’d still have to do scaling of any element you brought into the document to get it to the right size.

By and large, Photoshop doesn’t care about inches, or any physical measurement. All it cares about are the number of pixels.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

It looks like those aren’t stored as individual files the way actions are. They appear to be written to a preferences file in ~/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CS6 Settings/New Doc Sizes.psp

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Be aware that any increase in size will result in a loss of resolution and sharpness. Depending on your source file and your final output needs, you can make a new document with the same dimensions but a lower resolution and place your original file in that document. If your original is, say, 5″x8″ at 300ppi, you could make a 5″x8″ document at 200ppi, drop in the original and then scale down until it’s framed the way you want.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Not sure what exactly you’re trying to do. Placing a ruler against the screen really won’t tell you anything as you’ll get different results based on your screen resolution, document resolution, level of magnification, etc.

Photoshop gives you lots of tools to determine how big things will be when they print. Rulers are the simplest of the bunch (Ctl/Command-R). Think of it as placing a digital ruler against your screen. You can see exactly how large your printed elements will be, with Photoshop compensating for resolution and magnification.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

If I’m understanding you correctly, you want a square hole in the first minute, then a rectangular hole the second? You can set a Hold keyframe at 00:00 for your Mask Path as a square, then at the 1:00 mark, change the shape of the mask to a rectangle. A second hold keyframe will be created and when the time indicator reaches that point, the mask will immediately change to the new shape without any in-between animation and stay that way until the end of the comp (or you change the shape again).

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Is the angle of the foot on the leg important? If not, just leave the sock as-is and paint out the sockless foot and edge of the heel poking out.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.