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Known Participant
October 7, 2024
Question

List of all unused hotkeys/shortcuts in Photoshop

  • October 7, 2024
  • 3 replies
  • 733 views

Hi there, 

I am wondering if a script exists online to list all unused hotkeys in Ps? I can code but don't want to spend a day at it to find out it's not possible. It's quite frustrating hitting keys and photoshop telling me that key is already used. Most apps including AfterEffects can show you clearly what is available.  Has anybody tackeled this before?  I don't see much in the API. I suppose the .kys file could be parsed.

 

Thanks,

A

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3 replies

Trevor.Dennis
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 8, 2024

My goodness that would be a handy thing to have.  I take the view that there basically are no unused shortcuts.  The thing is, not to care about it, because you can overwrite some of the existing shortcuts, and save them in Custom Workspaces.  If you need the default shortcut, switch back to Essentials.  

 

 

There is a wee shortcut goldmine that you might make use of, that being the Funtion keys.  The defaults for the F keys are either redundant, or not useful unless you are using a laptop with a small screen.  You can use short Actions and trigger them with (example) F2, Ctrl F2, Shift F2, Ctrl Shift F2.  I use F5 to set and reset my triple monitor workspace, and F6 to to switch to a modified Essentials.  It never gets old having panels spread haphazedly about the screen(s) and having it tidy up with a single key press.

 

 

I am currently taking this a step further having just bought the Logitech G515 keyboard.  Anyone who has used any of the gaming keyboards with G-keys and apps like G-Hub, Synapse and iCue will know you can remap the G-keys to custom macros. Those macros can be shortcuts, scripts, or character strings.  These are app specific.

 

Well the G515 lets you remap every single key.  I am in the process of mounting the G515 above and behind my main Corsair K95 keyboard.  There is no problem having two keyboards btw.  Least ways not with Windows 11. It accepts input from either keyboard.   I have tested this to make sure, and it works perfectly.  I'll share what I have done when finished if anyone is interested.    I have been doing this with the Function keys for a while, mostly for functions hidden in drop down menus like convert to smart object, new smart object via copy, rasterize layer, Trim etc. etc.

 

AlEdRTEAuthor
Known Participant
October 8, 2024

Hey there, I have used the Corsair keyboards for many years but switched to a StreamDeck to do the same job - but be able to assign icons and text quickly. I prefer now to stick to the keyboard for some reason but I would recommend it above the gaming keyboards.

Check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2a99l8_KnY&ab_channel=SideshowFX

 

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 8, 2024
quote

Most apps including AfterEffects can show you clearly what is available.

By @AlEdRTE

 

After Effects and the other Adobe video apps use the newer, visually oriented, and much more capable and flexible Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box. The main problem here is that Photoshop is one of the apps that still uses the older Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box that dates back to (I think) the 1990s. 

 

Last year, Adobe Bridge switched over and adopted the visual Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box. But Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are still doing it the old way. If those product teams can be convinced (through, for example, a feature request that gets a lot of votes) that switching to the more modern Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box should be a higher priority than other potential enhancements, maybe this will become easier to do in the future.

Myra Ferguson
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 7, 2024

Here's a list of the default keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/default-keyboard-shortcuts.html

 

jane-e
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 8, 2024

@AlEdRTE 

 

I don't know of a list of unused shortcuts, but if you click the Summarize button in the Edit menu > Keyboard Shortcuts dialog, you will get a list of all Keyboard shortcuts, including the ones you have reassigned. Then you can scan through to find ones you don't use and reassign them.

 

The scripters may be able to write something if it's possible with a script. They are pretty amazing!

 

 

Jane