We’re excited to announce that new contextual task bars are now available in Photoshop Public Beta. We know that finding the right tool, at the right time, can sometimes slow down a great workflow. Our new contextually aware task bars aim to help by providing common tools, actions and next steps right on the canvas where you’re working. We are currently launching five bars for importing new documents, making selections and using the Type Tool. Learn more below: Open Image or File This bar will appear when you open an image or file in Photoshop (i.e. not a new, empty document) New Document Workflow This bar will appear if you open a new, blank document from the Photoshop home screen If you choose to select “import image”, your image will be placed in the document as a Smart Object and the Free Transform bar will appear to help finalize placement Type Tool Workflow This bar will appear when you select the Type tool from the tool bar and draw a text box on the canvas Selections Workflow Once a selection is made, a selection edit bar will appear with options to refine the selection or create a mask Tips and Other Menu Functionality Pin bar position You can pin and un-pin any bar from the “more menu”. Pinning will hold your bar (and all subsequent bars) where it was placed on the canvas until un-pinned from the “more menu” performed Reset bar position The context bar moves with you as you work on the canvas, keeping relevant tools at your finger tips. If you would like to reset the position, you can do so from the “more menu” Hide bar You can always hide the bar if you’d like to remove it completely, or temporarily, from the canvas. If you’d like to re-open the bar at any point, go to Window > Contextual Task Bar We need your feedback! Please let us know what you think and how we could improve the new Contextual Task Bar.

OMG just fixed it!! You can always hide the bar if you’d like to remove it completely, or temporarily, from the canvas. If you’d like to re-open the bar at any point, go to Window > Contextual Task Bar And this is the link to where I found how to fix that: https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-beta-discussions/contextual-task-bars-now-in-photoshop-beta/td-p/13658736

N

Noelle Shamroukh

Adobe Employee

Answered

Contextual Task Bars Now in Photoshop (Beta)

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
March 17, 2023
70 replies
102148 views

We’re excited to announce that new contextual task bars are now available in Photoshop Public Beta. We know that finding the right tool, at the right time, can sometimes slow down a great workflow. Our new contextually aware task bars aim to help by providing common tools, actions and next steps right on the canvas where you’re working. We are currently launching five bars for importing new documents, making selections and using the Type Tool. Learn more below:

Open Image or File

This bar will appear when you open an image or file in Photoshop (i.e. not a new, empty document)

New Document Workflow

This bar will appear if you open a new, blank document from the Photoshop home screen

If you choose to select “import image”, your image will be placed in the document as a Smart Object and the Free Transform bar will appear to help finalize placement

Type Tool Workflow

This bar will appear when you select the Type tool from the tool bar and draw a text box on the canvas

Selections Workflow

Once a selection is made, a selection edit bar will appear with options to refine the selection or create a mask

Tips and Other Menu Functionality

Pin bar position
- You can pin and un-pin any bar from the “more menu”. Pinning will hold your bar (and all subsequent bars) where it was placed on the canvas until un-pinned from the “more menu” performed
Reset bar position
- The context bar moves with you as you work on the canvas, keeping relevant tools at your finger tips. If you would like to reset the position, you can do so from the “more menu”
Hide bar
- You can always hide the bar if you’d like to remove it completely, or temporarily, from the canvas. If you’d like to re-open the bar at any point, go to Window > Contextual Task Bar

We need your feedback!

Please let us know what you think and how we could improve the new Contextual Task Bar.

Correct answer danielm77292327

OMG just fixed it!!

You can always hide the bar if you’d like to remove it completely, or temporarily, from the canvas. If you’d like to re-open the bar at any point, go to Window > Contextual Task Bar

And this is the link to where I found how to fix that:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-beta-discussions/contextual-task-bars-now-in-photoshop-beta/td-p/13658736

Show previous replies

P

Paul30041580x0f1

Participant

Are they supposed ot flash on and off constantly?

calm_determination0D44

Inspiring

I like the new contextual task bar in photoshop but it is always in my way and not where I want it. I will have one image open, move the task bar to where I want it, open another image and it's back right back to where I don't want it, in my way. Anyone know how to get the bar to stay in one location? If I can't keep it in one location that is out of my way, there really is no reason to even use the thing cause it becomes an annoyance instead of a benefit. Thanks!

kajsidogpilot

Inspiring

I'm thankful I'm not the only one and was going to make this thread if I hadn't found your post.
It's maddening it often wants to be in the middle of the image I'm trying to look at.

T

ThereforeGames

Participant

Please allow us to dock it as if it were a normal panel.

K

keep_matt

Participant

Looks a cool feature but my task bar keeps constantly blinking on and off, very distracting, so have had to hide it. Hopefully this will be fixed in an update

Skwirlijvieux

Known Participant

I have no use for this thing at this time. I might learn to like it if I could make it vertical and tuck it into the left side of my screen along with my brushes, gradients, tool presets and tools panels.

Skwirlijvieux

Known Participant

Make it dockable and vertical and let me stick it over here and I'll try it. Right now it's just one more jimcrack I don't need.

P

paulh11942775

Participant

I may be missing something but it does not appear to have the same properties as other windows - i.e. to be "dockable" with history/info/layers, etc etc. When I want to make an operation, I automatically look over there - currently I use TK8 Combo which has most of the same selection options but I could imagine the contextural taskbar being a good replacement if it could be docked and still changed to provide the relevant context for whatever one was doing

M

michellem81595204

Participant

So far I don't like it. Just gets in my way. I had to turn it off.

T

Tristan I

Participant

So far i'm liking the Contextual Task Bar. I agree that customisation would be great.
The only frustration i have right now is likely a bug, but it is causing my screen to jump around a lot when i confirm transformations or when i select/deselect items.

ChaseHLU

Participating Frequently

While I do see the benefit of it, at first blush for me, I dont care for it right now.
Im a near 30 year vet of Photoshop, so my life in the app revolves around keyboard shortcuts that are faster, so imagine my surprise in the Beta when I went to use a brush and a context box popped up that gave me more mouse clicks instead of just fast shortcut. Confused me and got in my way.
I do see the advantage of the Contextual Task Bar showing you more options you may not be aware of that said tool could do. That I do enjoy and I do enjoy the fact that I can park it in the top toolbar, where for my workflow, it fits. Still have to see if I actually benefit from one more step to an end result.

S

suetep

Participant

Looks amazing. I like it. This will definitely help my workflow. I think it would be nicer if it could be customized, too.

Pete.Green

Community Manager

Glad you're liking the tool so far for your workflows @suetep. Customization is on the team's list of future improvements to this. Thanks for the great feedback!

A

AndrewBuckle

Known Participant

Pete, actually seeing this now in my release version of Photoshop ... as well as the beta. Can't see any notes about it on the ';whats new' page for Photoshop, nothing listed at all for April.

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded