Lore

Step and Repeat (Photoshop Offset-Duplication Technique)

Overview

"Step and repeat" is a two-part, keyboard-driven technique for evenly duplicating a shape or layer across an image to build a repeating pattern. It isn't exposed in any Photoshop menu — it's a combination of two Free Transform variants.

Mechanism

  1. Step — with the shape/layer selected, press Option+Cmd+T (Mac) / Alt+Ctrl+T (PC) to duplicate into a free-transform, then shift-drag the duplicate into its offset position and confirm. This records the spacing between original and duplicate.
  2. Repeat — press Shift+Option+Cmd+T (Mac) / Shift+Alt+Ctrl+T (PC) repeatedly; each press adds a new duplicate at that same recorded offset, propagating the spacing evenly across the canvas. Finish with Select > Deselect.

Application

Used in Portrait Slice Effect (Step-and-Repeat Masking + Shift-Move) to turn a single rectangular bar (drawn with the Marquee tool and filled white) into an evenly spaced series of bars covering the whole photo, which is then loaded as a selection to drive a layer mask (see Active Selection Auto-Loads as New Layer Mask).