| Switching tools using the keyboard from Photoshop CS6 Essential Training Photoshop CS6 has a vast array of tools to help you create, improve, and alter your images. Switching between tools can be as simple as the press of a button, since every tool has a keyboard shortcut. For example, the Move tool’s keyboard shortcut is v, the Marquee is m, and the Lasso is l. If you don’t know the keyboard shortcut for a tool, simply hover over it and the tool tip will display the shortcut.
Some of the tools have additional tools nested beneath them, and you can identify these by the small triangle in the lower right-hand corner. To reveal the nested tools, just click on the tool and hold. All the other tools will then be displayed.
Keyboard shortcuts make switching between tools much quicker than clicking with the mouse. So if you type m, you’ll go to the Marquee tool. If you type l, you’ll go to the Lasso tool, and so on. But what if you want to access one of the nested tools using a keyboard shortcut? Hold down the Shift key, and then the shortcut key. Pressing Shift+l will cycle through all the Lasso tools. If you prefer to toggle through the tools without using the Shift key, you can change that in Preferences. On a Mac, it’s under Preferences > General, and on Windows, you’ll find it under Edit > Preferences > General. Then just uncheck the option Use Shift Key for Tool Switch. With that option unchecked, you can just tap the shortcut key to cycle through the different tools.
Using the keyboard shortcuts to switch between tools is a great time-saver. Don’t worry about learning the shortcuts for all of the tools right away. Eventually, you’ll learn which you need, and soon using them will be second nature.
If you’re interested in more Photoshop tips, check out Julieanne Kost’s full course, Photoshop CS6 Essential Training. |
No comments:
Post a Comment