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What size screen are you using? How large physically, and what is its resolution?
Do you know what the UI is set to in Preferences?
Have you thought about creating a custom workspace? Arrange the panels you use including Layers and properties, and place them so they work best for your screen size. Then create a New Workspace. You might like to also creat a tiny Action that sets an resets your custom workspace and trigger it with one of the Function keys, so
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Is the subject any better now?
What size screen are you using? How large physically, and what is its resolution?
Do you know what the UI is set to in Preferences?
Have you thought about creating a custom workspace? Arrange the panels you use including Layers and properties, and place them so they work best for your screen size. Then create a New Workspace. You might like to also creat a tiny Action that sets an resets your custom workspace and trigger it with one of the Function keys, so you can move things around and tidy up the workspace.
One trick you can do is to minimise the panels you use frequently on a narrow toolbar on the right of the screen up against the layers panel, and any other panel(s) you like. Clicking on any on of them will open it like the Properties panel below. Clicking on the chevron (my green highlight) will close it again giving you your screen back.
Properties would open automatically when you start some functions like the new gradient tool, and you can click to close when done.
The defualt function key shortcuts are set up for small screens so you can open and close panels to get them out of the way, but some of them are redundent like F2 - Cut because you can do that with Cmd X. Others you might rarely use so you could pinch that F key to run actions.
Another thing you can do is to save custom shortcuts with custom workspaces. I switch between my custom shortcuts with my most used workspaces, and the default shortcuts wiithg a modified Essentials workspace. It's a powerful tool and incredibly useful.
This is how the Essentials workspace looks on my screen
Drag the properties panel out from its default position
Now slowly move the Properties panel up from below the lowest icon on the vertical toolbar, till you see the blue line, and release.
The properties panel will now be part of that vertical bar
You can drag out the left side of the bar to make it wider, and revieal the panel names.
You can add as many of the minor panels as you like. This my default workspace for instance. I use three large screens, so the major panels are always displayed on the outside screens
When you are happy, you need to save thew new layout as a custom Workspace. If you forget to do this, the next time Essentials is reset, or you need to reset Preferences, the panels will go back to their original positions.
I have tiny Actions that set and reset the three workspaces I use, and I trigger them with F5,6 and 7. You soon get used to being able to move everything back to its place with a single key press.
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