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jay fresno
Inspiring
October 28, 2018
Answered

Shift key to constrain proportions

  • October 28, 2018
  • 7 replies
  • 7621 views

In InDesign and Photoshop CC 2019, the Shift key behavior is reversed so that objects scale proportionally without the Shift key. This doesn't seem to work the same way in Illustrator. In Illustrator CC 2019 I still need to hold down Shift to scale proportionally.

It seems like the Shift key should be consistent throughout the suite.

Did Adobe NOT change the Shift for proportional scaling in Illustrator?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Ton Frederiks

To rant a little more, it is not consistent in the application, it is only for layers:

"Photoshop now transforms most layer types (such as pixel layers, type layers, bitmaps, Placed Smart Objects) proportionally by default. Shapes and paths, that is vectors, still transform non-proportionally by default."

7 replies

SPROCK3T
SPROCK3T
Participant
November 29, 2018

I'll save you some time.  Adobe doesn't read these posts. At all.

If they did, we'd see it.  At the very minimum, we'd see their software getting better, not worse don't you think?

If you thought this was a place to give them some honest feedback about how to improve their software, I'm afraid you are mistaken.  It seems like this would be a great venue for collecting good, solid feedback so they could make their software better, but unfortunately, this isn't the case. These forums are set up only a place for us to vent.

There is an upside to it. Not responding to users advice about what could be improved is helping us all to look to other software.  Perhaps we all have put too many eggs into the Adobe basket. 

Affinity should be sending gift baskets to Adobe for their nonsense.  Adobe has left the door wide open for us to see what else is out there.

So go through the door, try some other software, but really give it a try.  It won't have the same shortcuts and it will feel a lot different for a little bit, but so did Photoshop until we all got used to it.

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 14, 2019

    If you want to post where the Adobe engineers actually do read what you write then go here: Adobe Illustrator Feedback .

    N
    nathana53006134
    Participant
    November 9, 2018

    I can't get things to scale proportionally in indesign (cc 2019) whether i hold down shift or don't. What's the answer? There must be some way to do it that doesn't involve coding.

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 9, 2018

    nathana53006134  wrote

    I can't get things to scale proportionally in indesign (cc 2019) whether i hold down shift or don't. What's the answer? There must be some way to do it that doesn't involve coding.

    Please post this question in the InDesign forum:

    InDesign

    magnum opusd80002177
    magnum opusd80002177
    Participant
    November 2, 2018

    It's extremely frustrating when you've used the shift key to constrain scale/transform content for over 10 years and Adobe just decides, "Hey, let's just roll this out to one program and not the others."

    This is why 90% of the designers I talk to say they don't update their software for months—the updates seemingly ALWAYS carries some weird change to default/classic workflows.

    changeshiftback​

    barbara_a7746676
    Community Expert
    barbara_a7746676Community Expert
    Community Expert
    November 2, 2018

    If I wasn't teaching I would do the same and wait until the bugs are worked out before installing a new update.

      AshutoshChaturvedi
      Community Manager
      AshutoshChaturvediCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      October 29, 2018

      there has been no change to Illustrator's behaviour

      Bill Silbert
      Community Expert
      Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 29, 2018

      there has been no change to Illustrator's behaviour

      We can all be thankful for that. Hopefully any future changes to Illustrator will not be as ill-advised as this Photoshop one is.

        barbara_a7746676
        Community Expert
        barbara_a7746676Community Expert
        Community Expert
        October 28, 2018

        The new Shift key behavior seems to be a change only in Photoshop.

        N
        Community Expert
        Nick GioiaCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        October 28, 2018

        Check this out. Might help with the changes and new features to Photoshop cc 2019. Not sure why they did it to photoshop and not Illustrator cc 2019.

        New and enhanced features | Latest release of Photoshop CC

        Ton Frederiks
        Community Expert
        Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        October 28, 2018

        I noticed that behaviour in Photoshop and thought it was something gone wrong and tried to reset the preferences (and that did not help).

        I did not see it in InDesign, luckily.

        If it was an intentional change, it is one of the most stupid changes I have seen.

        Why change something that has been there since the first versions of these applications?

          J
          jay fresnoAuthor
          Inspiring
          October 28, 2018

          Adobe sometimes changes things that have been in an application for a long time because they think that it will make it easier for new users to learn the application. Of course, that makes it more difficult for experienced users.

          In any case, I'm trying to figure out if this new Shift-key behavior is consistent throughout the suite or just for certain applications.

          Changing the behavior in Photoshop and not the other applications makes it inconsistent, and inconsistency makes it more difficult for everyone, both new and experienced users.

          Ton Frederiks
          Community Expert
          Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          October 28, 2018

          Yes, luckily it is only Photoshop.

          To make it more user friendly, someone must have been thinking.

          Luckily there is a very intuitive, user friendly  way to get the old behaviour back.

          According to the What's New file:

          How do I turn off the new proportional scaling by default behavior while transforming layers?

          To revert to the legacy transform behavior, do the following:

          1. Use Notepad (Windows) or a text editor on Mac OS to create a plain text file (.txt).
          2. Type the text below in the text file:

            TransformProportionalScale 0

          3. Save the file as "PSUserConfig.txt" to your Photoshop settings folder:
            • Windows: [Installation Drive]:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings\
            • macOS: //Users/[User Name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings/

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