How do I resize an image and change it's aspect ratio?

[James Diedrich]

I tried to resize an image and change it's aspect simultaneously.  The menu told me to hold the shift key when you want to have different numbers for height  and width.  The problem I'm having is that when holding the shift key down I can't enter numbers but only the symbol above the number.  What am I missing here?

[jane-e]

@James Diedrich 

After you choose CMD+T for free transform, look in the options bar for a link icon between the width and height controls. When the link is enabled, the image is changed proportionally. When the link is disabled, the image is distorted when scaled. To do the opposite, hold down the shift key.

Jane

[Trevor.Dennis]

If you want to take it a step further, have a look at Edit > Content Aware Scale.

You can also protect a particular object.

It's one of those functions that you don't need often, but when you do, it's a life saver.  It goes way back before anyone even thought of Ai as well.

[Bojan Živković]

You are missing the link icon (scale proportionaly) in the options bar. When it is checked or active, typing a number in either the Width or Height field will cause Photoshop to automatically populate the second field (either Width or Height) with the calculated proportional value.