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RobertSmits
Inspiring
June 6, 2019
Under Review

P: azerty keyboard shortcut for \ (backslash- show and hide overlay mask) - make it assignable

  • June 6, 2019
  • 43 replies
  • 4533556 views

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2628101

I am having an issue with displaying layer overlay, as I am working on a WIN10, PS CC machine, but I am based in Belgium (and using azerty keyboard) and therefor, I cannot reach the \ shortcut.  For me, that is ALT GR+<, which PS does not recognize.  It is driving me crazy! I have read articles and understand the menu shortcut is hidden (that is why I have just spent the last hour searching for it in vain, before I found this article).

 

I have also had to change "change brush size" in order to use my wacom intuos pro tablet some years ago (from "[" or "{" and "]" or "}" to "(" and ")". Does someone know how I can display the mask overlay (in ruby red, as Adobe calls it) for my machine?  Reading the above, I don't fancy changing my keyboard just for PS and having to change it afterwards every time, as I often switch between browsing, emails, PS and LR.

 

My question is thus : Make the backslash key for showing/hiding the mask overlay assignable to another key in Photoshop.

43 replies

January 25, 2020

Hi, 

 

I was wondering if this is possible? I've had a look in redefine key settings and can't seem to find anything for it. Can it be done by editing a notepad document or something?

 

All the keys I use I have clustered around the F key which still allows me to reach the modifiers but the tilde is just too far for my pinky to reach without moving my whole hand.

 

Hopeful, thanks.

Bojan Živković11378569
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 25, 2020

I do not undrstand what is the problem. Which Adobe software is in question? What exactly you are trying to do, can you try one more time to explain?

Inspiring
January 21, 2020
Same here. 
Indeed, all the keyboard shortcut system is #$@# !
It's bad to say, but this is something that's way beter on Gimp.

Inspiring
January 1, 2020
As with everybody else in this thread, The absence of shortcuts is particulary annoying for those of us who do not use and american qwerty keyboard (And since the keyboard is one of the largest footprints on the physical desktop, a second keyboard is not practicable  .... quite apart from the confusion as to which keyboard you are currently using!)  And as with one of the other folks here, if you are using a tablet not having keyboard shortcuts means taking you eye off what you are doing in order to invoke functionality from a drop down menu -> massive productivity/creativity hit

DoraYuki
Participating Frequently
December 22, 2019

>https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/whats-new/2020.html
>New Shortcuts
>Paint and erase with the same brush
>Use the ~ tilde key (below the escape or Esc key) to toggle between painting and erasing with the same brush tip.

 

The above does not work properly.


On the Japanese keyboard layout, the below the "Esc" key is the "E/J" key.
"E/J" key is used for Japanese input.
Pressing "E/J" switches to erase but does not return to paint.

When I enter Japanese, it switches to erase without permission and is in trouble.

 

Photoshop 2020(21.0.2) (Winows10 64bit Japanese)

silk-m
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 22, 2019

Hi,

No problem with US keyboard, can you do "へ" with JIS keyboard?

--Susumu Iwasaki
DoraYuki
Participating Frequently
December 22, 2019

"Tilde" key on "Windows JIS keyboard" does not work.

Neomania
Known Participant
November 5, 2019

The new feature for toggle brush and erase needs the "Tilde". On a german keyboard (Mac) it is combined with alt+n. But "alt" triggers the color picker. I couldn't find the shortcut in the keyboard shortcut panel. Where can I change the shortcut "~" to (for example) "^"? The symbol on the same position on a german keyboard.

Chuck Uebele
Community Expert
Community Expert
November 5, 2019

This has been reported to Adobe, and they are working on a fix for it. Hopefully they will have it soon.

Khalliys
Participating Frequently
November 4, 2019

Als jemand, der Photoshop viel zum Malen benutzt, habe ich mich sehr über dieses neue Tastenkürzel in Photoshop 21.0.0 gefreut - das hat mir schon lange gefehlt. Leider, leider ist es auf der "Tilde-Taste" jedoch völlig nutzlos, denn diese gibt es auf einer deutschen Tastatur nicht. Für das ~ Zeichen müssen wir "alt gr" und "+" drücken, was in Photoshop einfach nur in das Bild zoomt. Ich konnte in den Tastenkürzel-Einstellungen nichts finden, um diese Funktion auf ein anderes Tastenkürzel zu legen.
Scheint so, als hätte man hier wohl vergessen, dass verschiedene Tastatur-Layouts existieren?

Chuck Uebele
Community Expert
Community Expert
November 4, 2019

I don't think there is a key for this yet with the German keyboard, but it has been brought to Adobe's attention and they are working on it.

Khalliys
Participating Frequently
November 4, 2019

That's what I thought, thank you for your response and I'm glad to hear that 🙂

Inspiring
August 23, 2019
Hello David,

I'm french and I do have an issue with your \ shortcut aka the masking preview or Rubylith preview.
My photoshop tells me to type CTRL + \ but this shortcut does NOT work, because on azerty keyboards, you have to type ALT GR + \ to get that \ sign. And Photoshop does NOT recognize CTRL + ALT GR + \.

This is an important issue because a huge number of users all over the world cannot use this shortcut (probably happens with other shortcuts...).

Could you please let us assign this shortcut in shortcuts preference as a workaround ?

Thank you
Participating Frequently
June 7, 2019
Have any of you tried an external QWERTY keyboard?
It should work parallel with your regular keyboard. It will on a. PC.
Check this out at Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EOWBHC/...
c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 7, 2019
There is also the issue of keyboard shortcuts in dialogs/the Properties Panel. 

In Selective Color Adjustments (and Adjustment Layers) one could select Whites, Neutrals and Blacks via shortcut before the composite shortcut was changed to cmd-2, now one apparently can only select them manually. 

Which is naturally inconvenient. 
So I would like those shortcuts to become editable, too. 
Inspiring
June 6, 2019
David, look in this forum all requests for the same problem for all keys that are not available on other than the... American QWERTY keyboards. ------[]  <>etc... And this for all Adobe software, this is a real problem for us... Among other things when one wishes to use a WACOM Tablet where shortcuts for functions are needed to define the workings. Then please send a good team and solve these problems once!

Yves Crausaz, Suisse, retraité actif dans le monde de la photo et des arts graphiques.