Known Participant

Question

Where is the gradient options interface? Photoshop 2024

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
November 1, 2023
3 replies
5875 views

I am trying to create a gradient that fades to transparency and it was simply in older versions...now in 2024 there appears to be no way of doing this. No way of accessing the gradient options after you select the tool to make adjustments to create a transparent gradient. I don't know if I am going insane or if Adobe itself went insane.

macOS

beckyb25311252

Participant

Agreed, absolutely infuriating. Adobe stop making these dumb changes!

Conrad_C

Community Expert

You no longer have to open a stack of dialog boxes to see the gradient options. Now, if a Gradient Fill layer is selected, the gradient options are all immediately available in the Properties panel. In addition, if the Gradient tool is also selected, you see on-canvas controls so you can change angle and stops right on the document itself.

If you want to fade to transparency, as in older versions just change one of the Opacity stops. Now it’s right up front, not hidden away in a dialog box.

Long-time Photoshop users might not think to look in the Properties panel because it’s relatively new, but it’s where Adobe is starting to make lots of options visible so it’s a good idea just to keep it open all the time.

To answer your other question, if you want to apply a Foreground to Transparent gradient, it’s readily available as one of the default Gradient presets. Just click or drag and drop to apply it to the current layer, or drag to add a new Gradient Fill layer to the document.

It’s worth learning how the presets panels and the Properties panels work, because they work that way now for all preset types, such as gradients, shapes, swatches, patterns, etc.

T

Tran5F95Author

Known Participant

Ah, the issue was that the property panel did not automatically appear when double clicking the palette itself, nor did it appear as an option when control clicking (right clicking)...unlike the TEXT property panel appears. I hope Adobe is paying attention here.

The property palette should not be hidden away and need to be found in the top menu bar, it should be automatic as that is common sense UI. Otherwise, users will assume that it does not exist if they cannot even right click on a tool to get the properties panel to make adjustments. So the property panel is as expected funcationally and a good step, now all Adobe needs to do is give the user a away to know and activate it by right clicking at the very least, but ideally it should just come up if double clicking on the tool.

Conrad_C

Community Expert

The property palette should not be hidden away…
By @Tran5F95

It’s not hidden, I just tested this. I simulated a fresh installation by deleting Photoshop preferences. When I started Photoshop, the Properties panel is one of the panels that is in front in the default Essentials workspace. You can see this by selecting the Essentials workspace and choosing Window > Workspace > Reset Essentials to make sure it’s back at its default.

It could be hidden if someone upgraded and used the option to bring forward the previous version’s preferences. For example if someone has been using Photoshop for many years, they may have a customized workspace from before the newer panels existed, so if they bring forward their old preferences they might not realize there are new panels unless they look at the Window menu.

…and need to be found in the top menu bar…
By @Tran5F95

It already is. The Properties panel is just another standard panel, so if you lose it, you can always go to the menu bar and choose Window > Properties.

@Tran5F95 wrote:

…ideally it should just come up if double clicking on the tool.

That might be a good idea, but so far no Photoshop tools work that way. And the Properties panel is not related to the current tool, it is related to the current selection/layer. That is why, in the Properties panel, gradient options apper when a Gradient Fill layer is selected, and type options appear when a type layer is selected.

The panel that provides tool options is the options bar at the top: When you select a different tool, the options bar changes to show options for that specific tool.

T

Tran5F95Author

Known Participant

So... in another confusing twist. Somebody thought it made sense to save an actual "Foreground to Transparent" gradient swatch in the "Legacy Gradients" section...but NOT to let the user create them on the fly in the normal interface... OK Dokey...

Semaphoric

Community Expert

I agree that Adobe made an error in hiding legacy gradients (and Shapes, etc.) when they transitioned from the old Preset Manager to the current panels, but once you get past the bother of setting it up the way you like, it's a more flexible and efficient work flow.

S

Sittle

Known Participant

No, it's not more flexible and efficient. The vast majority of users have used this program for a very long time and expect it to function a certain way. When Adobe changes that workflow, it becomes LESS EFFICIENT FOR THE MAJORITY OF USERS.

Give your head a shake, stop justifying crappy changes to things that never needed changing.

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