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

Participant ,
Jun 05, 2013 Jun 05, 2013

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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?

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Community Expert ,
Dec 23, 2016 Dec 23, 2016

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sasa_tg wrote:

This definitely is not highest priority for Photoshop software team but not even experimental support since 2013? Come on, they are not so poor on resources

First of all users here do not work for Adobe this is a Adobe User forum and this is not the Adobe Web site for request changes or additions to Adobe Photoshop Software.  Adobe has setup a web site for that. It is  Photoshop Family Customer Community and that is where you should suggest that Adobe to add a Finger Painting feature to Adobe Photoshop. 

You should also note Photoshop is a Image Editor and Web development  Application not a dedicated painting application.  Have you look at Adobe Photoshop Sketch as far as I know you can finger paint using that Adobe app on your IOS or Android devices the touch world.  You can share you paintings with your Mac and Windows machines from those devices.

I would be very surprised if Adobe would show any interest in adding a finger painting feature to Photoshop.  IMO if your interest is painting. I think you would do better looking for a dedicate Painting Application design from the ground up for professional artiest. However, I feel most professional artiest would have little interest in finger painting so all professional painting application may not have a finger painting feature. Some may.

JJMack

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Community Beginner ,
Dec 21, 2016 Dec 21, 2016

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We got suspiciously similar bogus excuses from Adobe when Photoshop

couldn't print properly. They claimed the problem was major printer

manufacturers everywhere--although every other program on the planet had no

trouble.

Adobe makes my favorite photo editing program, and after two decades of

experience with it, I won't change. Adobe knows they have the market by

the danglers, so they can't be bothered with touch screens and printers.

They are busy adding more wizzy features no pro will ever use.

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New Here ,
May 10, 2016 May 10, 2016

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~ I have the same issue ~

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Participant ,
Jun 06, 2013 Jun 06, 2013

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Can anyone help me with this??

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New Here ,
May 08, 2014 May 08, 2014

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The irony is that Adobe Photoshop's 5.1 worked just fine with touch on my ACER touchscreen laptop. I can't get the newest cloud version of Photoshop to behave the same way however. I'm having the same issue as you. Which REALLY sucks bc there are so many things I just can't do with my mouse. Would love to find a solution.

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Community Beginner ,
May 23, 2014 May 23, 2014

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Same problem with our Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro ultrabook. Still, there's a way to draw using the touch screen. You have to press down the left button on the touchpad (or mouse), then you can start to draw anywhere on the document using your fingers or a pen.

That is, however, very uncomfortable and the fact remains that you cannot utilize the tablet mode this way.

We hope to see support for this soon, as touch screens are becoming more and more important nowadays.

//edit

Just found an article that seems to solve our issues, or at least for Surface 3 Pro users. Seems like someone from the staff got his hand on this thread. Looking forward to it - hope it won't take that long to get shipped!

http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/20/adobe-touch-friendly-photoshop/

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Contributor ,
Jun 29, 2014 Jun 29, 2014

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Looks like the CC 2014 version of Photoshop added support for touch gestures (pinch zoom), but not touch painting. So, are there any alternatives to Photoshop that DO support touchscreen displays/the future? Besides MS Paint of course, which does 10-point touchscreen drawing just peachy-fine and is considerably less laggy than PS on large displays.

FYI the new touch gestures are hidden under experimental features, along with 200% UI scaling for 3200x1800 displays. From the release notes:

Photoshop now ships with the following experimental features that you can enable and try out:

Scale the UI 200% for high-density displays

Enable multitone 3D printing

Touch gestures

These features are not production-ready yet, so exercise discretion while using them. Do the following to enable an experimental feature:

Select Preferences > Experimental Features.

Select the experimental feature that you want to enable. For example, select Enable Multitone Printing.

Click OK.

Restart Photoshop.

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New Here ,
Jul 10, 2014 Jul 10, 2014

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Hi, I just recently started struggling with this problem, and I think I found the solution for you! This isn't really Photoshop giving you problems, more like windows trying to be too helpful without enough user controls. You have to use a registry edit. There are tutorials on how to get to it and how to change settings. Caution: This may have side effects since its a Windows wide change (such as pages or programs not panning anymore). However this seems like a easy toggle on off thing so if you don't like it, change it back to 0, restart, and you should be fine. 

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




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New Here ,
Feb 16, 2016 Feb 16, 2016

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I just had the same issue with a Lenovo touch screen, but just double tap to "click the brush down and release and the screen stays still and the finger paints. takes a bit of practice to not keep messing it up but it works without editing my registry !

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 19, 2016 Feb 19, 2016

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Same issue here, with a brand new Lenovo Flex 3 and an Adonit Jot Pro capacitive stylus. The stylus and trackpad can both draw in GIMP and other programs. The trackpad can draw in Photoshop, but not the stylus. The weird hack that shouldn't work, dragging the stylus in from the edge of the canvas, can also draw in Photoshop. But just placing the stylus itself on the canvas can generate right-click menus, but no actual left-click drawing.

So it really seems as if something in Photoshop is *blocking* the touchscreen drivers from some *specific* functionality within Photoshop.

I engaged in conspiracy theory for a bit, wondering if this was Adobe trying to look out for Wacom and their tablets. But that seems a bit of a stretch. Touchscreen laptops are a pretty small part of the overall market, and Wacom is even smaller, with not much from that going back to Adobe that I am aware of at all.

Then I saw someone else in this thread had success with a registry edit. So it seems much more likely it's some accidental thing with Photoshop's own drivers that they haven't bothered to address yet.

In any case I have Windows 10, which appears to have a different registry to edit than the posting above - so that solution didn't work for me. Until a capacitive stylus works then I'll just have to use GIMP to actually be able to draw on my touchscreen. It's just so weird that it works in every other program than Adobe's. !

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New Here ,
Mar 16, 2016 Mar 16, 2016

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I was having the same issue recently after photoshopcc 2015 update. Luckily i still have photoshop CS5.1 and it seems my stylus and touch screen work perfectly well on that version. Adobe probably has to update the touch plugin or tweak something in photoshopcc.

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Guest
May 18, 2016 May 18, 2016

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Seems as if I'm not the only one pulling my hair out as to finding a solution. My the old version of Photoshop I previously had installed was for the most art compatible with my VAIO touch screen. As for since I've updated to Adobe Photoshop CC I'm no longer able to use this feature ,which I find extremely frustrating and resorted to downgrading to an earlier version of Photoshop. Adobe please for love of technical difficulties make this feature compatible for all later versions of possible.

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New Here ,
Nov 19, 2017 Nov 19, 2017

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Looking here for an answer to the question, How do I set up photoshop to work with a touch screen... it seems we are waiting on Adobe to add this facility.. then I noticed the date on the first post. June 2013! Really adobe, for a talented bunch of people this is perhaps taking a tad to long....

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Community Expert ,
Nov 19, 2017 Nov 19, 2017

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Photoshop is an image editor not a painting application though many may use Photoshop for painting with Pen devices.  IMO Adobe will never add a finger painting feature to Photoshop.  The is no way to tell which fingers are touching the screen in each location being touched.   There is no good reasons to add finger painting IMO. Adobe has touch application you can finger paint with you should check out Adobe Photoshop Sketch | Sketch and paint app

If you want to paint images use a painting Application.

JJMack

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Community Beginner ,
Jul 12, 2016 Jul 12, 2016

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I am trying to creat an miniapp as a temporary solution for all of us. Will let you know as soon as I know more.

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New Here ,
Aug 30, 2016 Aug 30, 2016

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Following this discussion hoping in a fix: it's a pity we cannot use some features in PS (as spot healing and cropping): the same features work in Camera Raw

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Explorer ,
Sep 12, 2016 Sep 12, 2016

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It would be great for Adobe to add this capability...

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Community Expert ,
Sep 12, 2016 Sep 12, 2016

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Photoshop Brush type tools have support for pressure sensitive input devices like tablet pens like surface pro pens.  If touch screen start supporting finger pressure perhaps the adobe will support one finger touch pressure for brush control. Adobe Photoshop supports touch gestures with current touch support and mouse for brush support without pressure sensitivity. Touch support is like having up to ten input location at once. You can not tell which location is which finger. You can only tell when only one finger is being used. I find with my fingers and 75 year old hands I get too many ancient touches to do fine work. Even using a web browser with touch I fine I go to many pages because of ancient touch.

Maybe some one will invent digital finger implants for pressure sensitive control.  Currently When digital pen come into close proximity to a touch screen touch is turned off and only pen control works. Pens are not supported by touch a feature. A Stylus can be use as a finger substitute with devices that only support touch. They may look like pens but are support like a finger no tilt or pressure is registered.

The problem I face is there is no way I can become young again.

JJMack

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Community Expert ,
Sep 12, 2016 Sep 12, 2016

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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.

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Community Expert ,
Sep 12, 2016 Sep 12, 2016

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Particularity with 75 year old hands.

JJMack

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Community Expert ,
Sep 12, 2016 Sep 12, 2016

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Yea!

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New Here ,
Dec 26, 2017 Dec 26, 2017

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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: , 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.

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Community Expert ,
Dec 27, 2017 Dec 27, 2017

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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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Explorer ,
Dec 29, 2017 Dec 29, 2017

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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

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Community Expert ,
Dec 29, 2017 Dec 29, 2017

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lyrgh  wrote

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.

You have many application to chose from that support finger painting.  Adobe most likely does not want to spent the tine, effort, and money to of developing a painting feature for Photoshop for it would not be as good as painting with a mouse and and  painting with a pen is a much better experience than painting with a mouse.    There are  PC that support inexpensive digitals pens. And cheap tablets to add pen support the pc.  You can use a Samsung note with it s-Pen with Photoshop with virtual tablet support. It does not cost much to add pen support to a pc.

If you can make a viable business case for adding finger painting feature give it to Adobe use Adobe feedback site.  Photoshop Family Customer Community  You will need to show that adding the feature to Photoshop will improve their bottom line not decrease it. The cost of adding any feature to Photoshop is very expensive.  Useful it may be reasonable it may not be. There are many better way to make selection and Adobe is working on more ways. Crude finger selection would not be most useful IMO You would do much better with a mouse using the lasso tool then using your finger or stylus. Using modifier keys.  A mouse is more precise you can position the cursor then start selection. You can not do that with touch screen support you can on a touchpad their touch support works like a mouse.

JJMack

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