P: Finger painting/drawing support for touch screen monitors. [2015]

Report · Dec 07, 2015

Whaaaaaat.I'm finding it incredibly hard to believe that every graphics program supports using the brush and pen through touch screens EXCEPT for Photoshop, the Queen of them all. Am I really going to have to draw in GIMP?I'm well aware that touch screens aren't nearly as ideal as graphic tablets but really, GIMP even supports pressure sensitivity and Photoshop doesn't support anything?Please, please incorporate this feature, it should have come standard years ago.

Report · Oct 12, 2018

JJMack wrote

Photoshop is working as designed. Touch screen gestures are supported in Photoshop. Touch screen Finger Painting is not support for Photoshop

Just because it's "as designed" doesn't mean it's how it should actually work. When I pick a brush and drag a cursor across the screen whether it's with a mouse or a pen, it should do the same [cursing removed] thing. Photoshop is a little expensive to not support touch screens. I guess I'll go back to Windows Paint which can do that.

Report · Oct 12, 2018

SeanBlader wrote
Just because it's "as designed" doesn't mean it's how it should actually work.
When I pick a brush and drag a cursor across the screen whether it's with a mouse or a pen, it should do the same damn thing. Photoshop is a little expensive to not support touch screens. I guess I'll go back to Windows Paint which can do that.

You mean Photoshop should not work as designed it should have bugs. Photoshop does have some of them.

Why should one devise be like a different device. Why would we need both devices. Photoshop's Brush support has more features for pens then it does for mice. The things is a touch stylus is not a pen device. And a touch screen is not a mouse.

You can install touch screen device software that you can use your touch screen like a mouse but when that mouse mode is the active mode while you can paint in Photoshop using your touch screen with finger or stylus you can not use Photoshop touch screen gestures. You can switch between Mouse mode and touch mode to do either just not concurrently..

A Touch stylus does not have buttons like pens devices and touch screens to not have button like mice. You can paint in Photoshop with touch devices the have buttons like touch pads. If a Touch screens had buttons like a mice and touch pad do you could paint with your touch screen support with you finger or touch stylus in Photoshop.

Paint application Paint brush support is not like Photoshop brush support. As soon as you touch the screen you are painting which is not like Painting in Photoshop. Where with a pen device or mouse you can position the cursor where you want to start painting before you start painting. With a mouse you need to click a button in Photoshop to start painting and with a Pen device you can position the cursor by position the pen near the screen or tablet surface before you touch the Screen or Tablet to start painting. Touch Screen lack the hardware support that Photoshop brush engine requires. Therefore Photoshop can only supports touch screen gestures.

Microsoft Surface PC have a Touch Screen and a Pen Device you can paint with the pen device on the screen but not you finger on the display however, you can paint with you finger on their touch-pad device. It all a matter of device support. You Finger does not have a pen button its not a pen its like a touch stylus.

Touch Display support does not has the support required by Photoshp's brush engine.

Adobe could create an additional finger paint feature and perhaps support more than one finger at a time, It would be expensive to develop and maintain and not be a good business case to gain more subscribers. .

JJMack

Report · Oct 12, 2018

Wow you went and said a whole lot of the same thing several times. "A pen is not a finger." That's just not relevant. A finger should work like a mouse drag with the primary button depressed.

JJMack wrote
You mean Photoshop should not work as designed...

No, I mean the design is wrong. I understand you've likely been in Photoshop for a very long time, you've probably been using it since the '90s and doing it on various platforms... I hope. But that doesn't mean this isn't the 21st century, and for software that's by far the most expensive in the industry, all I'm saying is it should be better. What you're literally advocating for is the old way. I had an image I wanted to handwrite on, I have a Windows touchscreen, and regardless of the way I want to get that done, whether it's a finger, a capacitive stylus, or a resistive pen, it should work. There's really no excuse to explain why it can't tell the difference and just work, except blatant capitalist profiteering and laziness.

Please don't defend that kind of business operation, otherwise some upstart is going to come along and eat your lunch. Don't believe me, go ask Tim at MySpace, or people who used to work at Atari, Sierra, 3DFX. Or go talk to Intel about their attempts at getting into mobile or into graphics cards. Or maybe go talk to Kodak, or what's left of them, when they disputed the usefulness of digital photography and with one decision ended their dynasty. There was a time where you'd go take a Kodak, not a picture. You're old enough, like me, to remember the "Kodak Moment." Ask your grandkids if they've even heard the word "kodak". By so easily dismissing touch, you're potentially throwing away a 28 year legacy of Photoshop with one decision.

Report · Oct 12, 2018

Adobe design is wrong in your opinion and you may believe your opinion is the definitive one. You should inform Adobe of that and give them your correct design on their Feedback site. Tell Adobe their design is wrong. Their feedback site is Photoshop Family Customer Community

Posting your opinions here is not going to accomplish anything. This is a user forum site not Adobe support or Feedback site. Its a user forum site that Adobe funds for their users so they can help each other out using Adobe applications. You are using the wrong site for design problem, bugs and change request.

JJMack

Report · Nov 14, 2018

I have a Lenovo Laptop (Windows 10) with Touchscreen. Gestures do work, but finger painting doesn't.

Report · Nov 14, 2018

Hi

Finger painting is not supported in Photoshop

Report · Nov 14, 2018

For completeness, there is a "finger painting" setting for the Smudge Tool.

Report · Jan 23, 2019

The currently photoshop doesn't have full touch screen support for some (most) laptops. (It doesn't seem to work on the Lenovo Flex 5 series) Photoshop supports normal and simple touch functionality like tools, resize, etc. But for pressure sensitive task like brush and liquify, it doesn't work. It makes sense that it doesn't work because most touch screens are not pressure sensitive. But I think is a good idea to still have the touch functionality enabled so tools like brush and liquify can be used on touch screen, and having their sensitivity adjusted manually.

Report · Feb 26, 2019

This is insane! My daughter asked if she could paint using her finger on my computer. I figured it was no big deal, but apparently Photoshop doesn't allow it. Until now, I always used mouse and keyboard, but it's very disappointing that Photoshop doesn't offer this simple functionality. Can anyone recommend a similar program that does allow painting/drawing with a finger or simple non-battery stylus?

Report · Feb 26, 2019

Gimp supports it. It's free. I figured it would. I just downloaded it to make sure and finger painting works no problem. You can probably use a stylus and get a little more precise. Not sure about pressure senstivity, but since its GNU, there might be a way via plugin or some hardware combo or something. Check it out.

Report · Feb 26, 2019

GIMP also lets you rest your palm on the screen and it still picks up a stylus fine without making a mess under your palm.. Sucks that a free piece of software supports this seemingly without issue but paid devs cant put it into PS.

Report · Feb 26, 2019

GIMP is great, but worth noting that (unless they've finally added it) it doesn't support CMYK or Pantone color, so it can't be used for (professional) print design. I haven't used it in a while so who knows, but worth checking before committing to it.

It really is astounding that PS doesn't support touch screen. I posted this original topic three years ago and even at that time it was astounding.

Report · Feb 26, 2019

PS is a more professional piece of software. Gimp is less so. He mentioned a child using it to finger paint, so the minutia of cmyk and all that was set aside.

Report · Dec 09, 2019

Hey, so I have an Inspirion PC that has a build in touch screen so I decided to try it out but soon found out that painting with it is basically impossible, I can click buttons and basically navigate in the whole of Photoshop but I just can ́t draw on the canvas...
I was able to draw on it only when I pressed outside of the canvas and moved into it, only then I was abe to draw meaning thatit can work it ́s just not possible to start drawing directly onto the canvas, it would improve my life and the things I made and given it is already possible to draw on it when you move from outside of the canvas it doesen ́t seem like that big of a thing.

Report · Jun 11, 2020

[moderator removed term used in an offensive manner] replying to you over and over again will never answer the question directly. I will. Photoshop purposefully doesn't allow touch screens to function normally because Adobe wants you to buy another one of their products where it does work (i.e. Illustrator). That's the real answer.

Report · Aug 21, 2020

Adobe ! WHY IS THIS NOT FIXED !? I have ASUS 524 touch screen laptop and cant use photoshop to paint with a stylus, or fix my photos !?

Report · Sep 28, 2020

I have an HP touchscreen computer and I use photoshop to create interior design concept boards and 3D renderings. I would like for Photoshop to integrate the benefits of using a touch screen into their design. I pay good money for a program that claims to be the best imaging editor of its time though it has yet to integrate touch into its design when tons of online designers have touch screen devices and it would save us a great deal of time using our finger rather than the mouse. PLEASE DO THIS ADOBE IT IS ABOUT TIME!! I understand you guys try and make this application for professionals therefore being innately not user friendly but this is about your customers, please help. Its the 21st century baby, time to act like it...

Report · Oct 05, 2020

My screen responds to touch input, so I'm wondering if there's a pen/pencil tool setting that would allow for me to draw with my finger, or use a simple stylus to draw my signature on the screen.

Report · Oct 05, 2020

Since I had an immediate need, I resorted to using Microsoft Paint. Then I brought the PNG into Photoshop to crop and drop the background.

Report · Oct 12, 2020

its a real shame!

today i bought a capacitive stylus and now i relized i cant draw in photoshop! 😒

I cant afford a digital stylus or drawing tablet or ..... they are expensive!

so please fix this issue !

Report · Oct 12, 2020

i think since its a digital stylus it will work

Report · Jan 15, 2021

Kind of a joke that you can finger paint and use a regular stylus with MS Paint but not Photoshop? Adobe really are running a clown school here.

Report · Feb 19, 2021

I am disappointed to find this out. I thought it was my computer update that I couldn't use my stylus or finger to paint or draw. I had to do so many updates, install and uninstall and just to find this out! Sorry not sorry.. So now I guess I'll have to go purchase an expensive digital pen. Why Adobe?

Report · Mar 04, 2021

Not sure if the original poster will see this, but I found a video which points out a free program which can solve this issue if you don't have the money for new equipment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljGDswyNhJ0

Report · Mar 04, 2021

are you married to photoshop because you vehemently defend its really sucky feature of not allowing a stylus on the touch screen. in 2021, the design is wrong,