1.1 Exam Version, Format, and Practical Study Plan

Start with the scheduled examination

This is independent OpenExamPrep study material for Adobe Certified Professional in Visual Design Using Adobe Photoshop. It uses the currently posted 2025 Photoshop objectives, associated with the 26.x examination generation. A calendar year in a prep title is not an instruction to install the newest Photoshop release. Before booking, ask the provider which exam and supported application version you will use. Practice with that interface so a familiar concept is also an executable task.

Adobe’s program FAQ, checked October 18, 2026, lists 30 questions, 50 minutes, and a 700/1,000 passing score. The format combines selected-response questions with live application tasks. The score is not a promise that a fixed number of correctly completed tasks passes; do not infer task scoring or partial-credit rules from the scaled cutoff. Read the provider’s tutorial and candidate instructions for navigation and task submission.

Understand the six-domain structure

The current Photoshop objectives separate adding content from modifying it. They also place adjustments with layers and masks. Older five-domain outlines therefore do not describe the current outline accurately. Public percentage weights are not supplied on this objective page; a prep provider’s estimated weights are not official exam allocations.

Use this table as a workflow: decide the purpose, establish settings, organize content, create it, refine it, and deliver it. Several tools legitimately appear in more than one stage. For example, a selection can define a retouch target, an adjustment mask, or the region for a fill. Learn the result each operation creates in the document, rather than memorizing only its icon.

Build a practical study project

Create a fictional event campaign using an image you own or may reuse. Write a short brief stating audience, message, required sizes, color requirements, and deliverables. Build a layered poster, then adapt it for a web banner. Keep named source assets and a master PSD so later corrections remain possible. A realistic small project exposes dependencies that isolated tool demonstrations miss.

For the setup stage, enter dimensions and units deliberately. Use the output specification to choose profile, bit depth, and resolution. Make guides and save a workspace. For organization, name layers and groups, place at least one embedded and one linked asset, and inspect how each behaves when its source changes. Practice recovering from a missing link without flattening the file.

For creation, draw a vector shape and a path, create point and paragraph type, paint on a separate raster layer, and save a custom preset. For modification, compare selection methods on hard edges and hair, build a mask, apply a clipped adjustment, and repair a small distraction. Save intermediate versions so each operation can be repeated from a clean starting point.

For delivery, export a flattened image at the requested dimensions while preserving the editable source. Reopen both. Check whether the source still has text, masks, and dependencies and whether the delivery has the correct transparency, dimensions, and profile. A filename extension alone does not prove the contents meet the brief.

Use quizzes to diagnose workflow knowledge

After answering a concept question, execute its operation in Photoshop. If the answer concerns a mask, point to the active thumbnail before brushing. If it concerns a transformation, inspect the aspect-ratio link before dragging. If it concerns export, open the exported file rather than judging only the working canvas. These checks turn recognition into task fluency.

When a task fails, identify the state that controls it: active layer, layer type, selected channel, mask thumbnail, selection, tool mode, or option. A brush that appears broken may be painting a mask, a blank sampled layer, or a locked layer. Resetting everything indiscriminately can obscure the cause and alter unrelated settings. Restore only the state needed by the task, then confirm the visible result and the layer structure.

Prepare for the testing environment

Use the provider’s stated identification, equipment, accommodation, and scheduling requirements. Adobe offers direct OnVUE delivery and authorized-center options; prices and arrangements differ. Do not assume that installing Photoshop on a personal computer is the complete setup for every delivery channel. Obtain the provider’s instructions before examination day.

During timed practice, read each requested outcome before touching the file. Decide which layer or object should change, carry out the operation, commit modal dialogs or transformations, and inspect the resulting document. Preserve named assets and required editability. Speed should come from fluent, accurate operations rather than destructive shortcuts that remove evidence of the requested structure.

Your review checklist is specific: execute every current objective, explain when the tool is appropriate, identify its output layer or selection, and recover from a common setup mistake. Optional material on print automation or Neural Filters extends workflow knowledge; it does not replace the named current objectives. Neural Filters are explicitly excluded from the current filter objective.