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Posted on 06/11/24 4:16:12 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5301 Reply  |
A new(ish) discovery
HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS - A NEW DISCOVERY Keyboard shortcuts are one of the keys to mastering Photoshop but they have always eluded me. I have posted on several previous occasions on my inability to be able to remember or even find them. I am a complete keyboard klutz and, despite several attempts over many years, at learning to touch type in typing school and more recently online, I have remained a clumsy two fingered typist all my life. I have posted before on my bizarre gamer's keypad which rests under my left hand with all the modifiers and main photoshop tools mapped to a keyboard so simple and perfectly fitted to my hand that even I can actually find what I need without looking while I use the pen in my right hand. This has stood me in good stead for years enabling me to work easily but the problem still remains that I need to find so many other functions in menus, often buried two or even three submenus deep. 
Then came the arrival of the much contested Contextual Toolbar which irritated a huge number of users by infuriatingly popping up in the image when you least needed it! Now it can be pinned, tucked out of the way but always ready, adapting to the tool in use. To keyboard phobic users like me it has become a real asset if you are ready to give it a proper try. One solution for Wacom pen users has always been the onscreen radial menu. Wacom has had these for a long time but the limitation of just eight segments (with submenus if needed) made me feel they were no better or quicker than the existing PS drop down menu system. I have now discovered, and been using for about nine months, a third party radial menu that suits my idiosyncratic style (or lack of) perfectly. With one simple key tap of my left hand (or pen or mouse click) I can pop up a radial menu directly under the cursor that puts just about everything I need just one click away without having to look elsewhere. 
It's completely user configurable in size and type size and can be two or three rings. You can put whatever you like on it. What you see her is simple my particular tool choice for my manner of working. The fact that it pops up under the cursor, and therefore often in the image, is not an irritation because, unlike the old context menu, it only pops when I want it to and ask it to, and then it's ready for selecting right under my pen. It may look a bit confusing but, after just a couple of days of use, I could find everything I need instantly. It has simplified and streamlined my work flow in a way I had never imagined possible. I only use it for Photoshop but it is app aware so you can build specific menus for specific apps and it will pop up the menu for whatever app is in the foreground. It can also open apps, web links, etc. from the desktop. Learning curve for configuration and setup is about ten minutes. Bad news is it's only for Mac. It's called CirMenu and is on the AppStore. I am only posting because it has truly simplified and streamlined my Photoshop workflow. You know me. No perks or other goodies come my way for posting this. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 07/11/24 08:24:49 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6926 Reply  |
Re: A new(ish) discovery
Now that looks interesting! Personally I use keyboard shortcuts for everything – but as a pianist I'm used to my fingers doing things almost subconsciously. |
Posted on 07/11/24 5:28:38 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5301 Reply |
Re: A new(ish) discovery
I would love to be able to do what you do. I am well aware it's by far the quickest and most direct way to work but, after years of failure to acquire the appropriate skills, I have to find alternatives. This is without doubt the best so far. It's such a simple trick to learn that even an old dog like me can handle it. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |