Participating Frequently

Question

How do I set up photoshop to work with a touch screen?

Forum|Forum|12 years ago
June 5, 2013
22 replies
286050 views

Hi,

I just bought a 15.6" Asus Q500A touchscreen laptop with Windows 8. I downloaded photoshop and the 'touch app plug-ins' through the Adobe Application Manager for creative cloud. When I open a file in PS and select the brush(or any other) tool if I use the touch screen to drag it accross the canvas nothing happens. It still works with my mouse though.

How can I get this to work properly?

D

Daisy25620107hyt0

Participant

This guy figured out how to get around the problem. It worked for me. You just have to download another program that'll make your pen/fingers draw on the canvas in photoshop.

https://youtu.be/ljGDswyNhJ0

Robert23622247h1zy

Participant

Unfortunately in Aug 2023, this video is no longer relevant as indicated in its most recent comments. The program solution suggested is no longer available with a paid program in its place. Even the video creator mentions, " i guess the software maybe is outdated. I moved completely to an iPad".

S

sadfudanshi

Participant

I have this exact same problem. i started out on photoshop in classes but they never taught me illustrator, so i use ps mainly for art. im on a touchscreen laptop without a mouse, and this makes it significantly harder for me to take my work out to the fullest. i agree they should provide touch friendly support. i cant afford a graphics tablet and it would take a lot to set up, so the touch is all i got. all i can do is pan and rotate, but even that isnt enough. if there was touch, i would be much happier.

JJMack

Community Expert

That video seems to that the software can turn touch support off and make you display like a mouse with a automatic left click when you touch the display. So you can finger paint but can not use gestures lihe zoom rotate scroll etc. you have a touch mouse. So you are drawing wit mouse support with a mouse that has less features than an actual mouse.

JJMack

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paulwasserman

Participant

I installed TouchMousePointer from jacksdrawing's video link above, and it answers the concerns raised in this thread perfectly on my Dell P2418HT capacative touchscreen. I can use my finger/stylus just like a mouse in Photoshop and Lightroom CC to draw and work with any available tool.

JJMack's point above is taken, but the finger/stylus as mouse function can be toggled on and off with a single tap on the task bar icon, allowing everything else including all touch functions to work normally, so nothing is lost. As far as full mouse functionality is concerned, the software also allows you to configure on-screen touch buttons for mouse clicks and such, but initially at least the simple toggle is working fine for me.

J

jacksdrawing

Participant

This video should help. It might look dodgy. However, I am telling you it works.

Link: Use touch screen for any software, like photoshop, zbrush, mudbox, maya ... - YouTube

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MikeD_34

Participant

jacksdrawing is right

this link is the answer !!!! it is awesome. I have an ASUS and it totally works !!!! its a little bit laggy but still cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TypXdzpPQyY

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_Ony

Participant

I'm curious how many people here have tried the registry edit I posted in 2014.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software\Microsoft\Wisp\Touch PanningDisabled=1

Did this not work for you guys?

JJMack

Community Expert

If touch screen support provided a left and right click touch area like track pad devices have you could finger paint in Photoshop like you can on touch pads. It a device problem not a Photoshop Problem. With a touch screen you can not position the cursor without touch clicking, The cursor is position with a touch which is also a left click. You can not control Photoshop paint brush position then start painting with a touch of the stylus or finger.. With a digital pen you can position the cursor without touching the display then you can start painting with a touch. Touch Screen device support is where the problem is,

JJMack

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BlueDancer

Participant

That is complete nonsense. Sorry to say it so straightforward... If you actually HAVE touchscreen, just open basic "Windows Painting" app and try it. Oooooo!! It will work So it is NOT problem of device, but developers...

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danielr22999604

Participant

Hi everyone,

I've made the following list and attached a video to summarize the information already contributed to this thread.

Photoshop CC does not support:

Brush tool drawing with fingertips or stylus on the touch screen

Photoshop fully CC supports:

Brush tool drawing with a pen and connected or integrated Wacom digitizer (AES or EMR)
Brush tool drawing with a mouse
Brush tool drawing with a touchpad
Touch screen gestures using fingertips (rotate, zoom)

To reiterate, you cannot use your fingertip to draw on a touch screen in Photoshop CC. You may still use touch input to select tools and menus, rotate the canvas, zoom, etc. This may be disappointing, but I hope it saves you some headache trying to find answers.

Cheers

Note that the pen used in the video uses passive EMR hardware, but has a capacitive nib, allowing it to also act as a stylus.

brian42

Participant

That is a really outstanding summary and listing of the problem. Now all that remains is for Adobe to fix it.

Which is a real head-scratcher because people have been upset about this exact issue for going on 5 bloody years now. Can ANYONE from Adobe respond with an explanation as to why there is resistance to making modern laptop touch displays work with the brush or pencil tool? Is there some other functionality of the application that will break if that happens?

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BlueDancer

Participant

EXACTLY! It is so long and no-one cares still. It is very sad that this high-end software does not such basic thing as brush of high tech laptops. VERY SAD. Please, please, please, add this feature - ability to draw by hand on laptop touchscreens!!! It would change a lot in workflow of graphicists!!! Thank you!

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djlightness

Participant

Okay, so, it's 2018 (5 years since this was first posted. I have a Lenovo Flex 5 and I'm still having touchscreen related issues that I have no way of solving. Can someone helpful actually answer?

JJMack

Community Expert

What issues are you having?

JJMack

aaaa5956089

Participant

I have the same problem on Lenovo Yoga 900

Would be great if Photoshop would recognize the first touch as a click that way I can draw masks faster this is stupid...

It is the most direct way of interacting with files, directly on the screen. Now its only possible on super expensive Wacom screens or on a Microsoft Surface.

It is not that difficult to program it works in illustrator just fine. You know that program made by ADOBE...

But when you try it in Photoshop nothing happens. You have pen input you have mouse input but why no touch for desktop?

Also: JJMack, If you don't have a touchscreen please get out of this thread...

I don't write in forums about beards to say that they are not useful or necessary BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ONE.

JJMack

Community Expert

Who are you to tell me not to post you are not a forum moderator. I do have a touch screen a touch screen device a Microsoft Surface pro 3. It is also a digitizer and has a pen. I can not paint with a stylus its a finger substitute. I can paint with the Surface Pen when it is close to the surface Microsoft pen device driver turns touch support off. Touch support is turned off not available for use pen and digitizer support is in control.

You need to understand how things work. Some application support finger painting maybe even with mutiple fingers. Photoshop support Finger Painting on a Touch Pad they can be used like a mouse one coursor point with a left and right button. Touch screen stylus do not have buttons. You can not position a coursor where you want it them press a button to start painting. With a pen you can hold it near the surface where you finfers are in contact with the surface, position the cursor then touch the pen to the surface to start painting.

JJMack

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lyrgh

Participating Frequently

On a technical note, putting a finger (or a simple stylus instead for that matter) on a touch screen gives you both XY coordinates as to where you placed your finger as well as a button_down event, when starting to touch the screen.

While moving XY is updated and when the finger is lifted a button_released event is triggered.

This is different from a mouse, that can update XY while not being in button_down state.

A Photoshop brush in its simplest form puts down a circle the size of the brush while button_down state is active and XY is updated (you move your input device). So drawing a line is actually painting a row of circles very close to each other. Of course the Ps brush engine has evolved a lot and can do so much more these days, from custom decals to tilt, rotate and what not.

In practical terms this means a finger on a touchscreen could either be used to move the cursor OR to paint. Yes paint, because if implemented that way when you put your finger down, it will draw a circle (or whatever your brush is), when you move your finger while keeping contact it continues drawing the brush decal along your movement. When you lift your finger it stops painting, has no clue where your finger is anymore, thus the cursor stays put. When you touch somewhere else and start painting again, the cursor jumps there and does draw again at the new location.

There is no reason preventing this behaviour with multiple touch events at the same time.

When a finger is lifted, the software has absolutely no way of knowing where it goes or what it does, so it can’t track which finger goes where in a ‘finger painting’ scenario. Not a contradiction to the above simultaneous touch events statement though.

So for simple brushes it seems reasonable.

I personally think it would be most useful and a reasonable feature request for drawing selections with say the lasso tool.

Unlike the brush engine where you wouldn’t be able to make use of many advanced features with just your finger(s), making selections and, combined with keyboard modifier keys, altering selections, seems like a perfectly usable workflow on mobile.

Cheers

Andi

Chuck Uebele

Community Expert

I have spoken with an Adobe engineer regarding this issue. I was informed that the PS interface is very sensitive for tablet use. Trying to get to to respond to touch would be very difficult due to this.

JJMack

Community Expert

Particularity with 75 year old hands.

JJMack

Chuck Uebele

Community Expert

Yea!

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