This week’s episodes of Deke’s Techniques seem to be inspired by a springtime impulse to get organized. (I guess. No one really knows what goes on in the Mind of Deke.) But anyway, in the free movie this week, Deke reveals a secret handshake in Photoshop that allows you to set your icon-represented panels to return to their cryptic icon state after you’re done using them.

The feature (a simple checkbox) spring-loads (ha! I told you!) the panel so that it collapses after you’re done with it. So, after I’ve chosen a desired color from the Swatches panel, for instance, I can ensure that it reverts back to the little grid symbol, leaving the bulk of my screen real estate dedicated to my actual image: 

Not to spoil things for you, but if you’re in a hurry, here’s the checkbox you want to turn on: 

Of course, Deke’s got some other observations on how to implement this feature (but really, I just gave most of it away). Also, for members of lynda.com, Deke’s got an exclusive movie this week in which he shows you how to create a custom toolbox in Illustrator that has only the tools you use most often. If you’re not a member of lynda.com, you can get a free week’s trial membership by heading to lynda.com/deke and signing up. There are plenty more Deke’s Techniques (as well as a host of other tutorials) to be had.