P: Please can you allow FULLY customizable keyboard shortcuts?

[Lee James]

I'm sure I can't be the first person to point out that one area in which Photoshop is seriously lacking is keyboard shortcuts.

Currently, there are many severe limitations to how you can customize shortcuts, such as:

• Tools can only be single keys
• Other shortcuts cannot be single keys
• All shortcuts must include Shift
• Actions can only be F keys
• Useful keys like Tilde and Backslash cannot be used

You might say: "Why does it matter?" But this kind of customizability is essential for cramming all the controls we use the most into those 12 keys under the left hand, so you don't have to keep moving your hands around constantly. The more shortcuts you can assign to a single key, the more power you have at your fingertips.

You might say: "Tools are special - they need to be a single key". But not everyone uses tools the same, or has the same definition of a tool. For example, some might say that showing/hiding extras was important enough to warrant a single-key command. (Adobe InDesign lets you do this by hitting "W".) You might also say that "Switch foreground/background colors" isn't exactly a "tool" and its control could take a backseat to more important tools.

As well as not being able to full customize controls, even more frustrating is that some of the most essential commands cannot be remapped AT ALL! Commands such as move up/down a layer, or fill layer with foreground/background color. My only option was to remap these to my mouse, using Logitech software, but Photoshop should let you assign them as keyboard shortcuts.

Photoshop has added so many features over the years which, to me, does not seem particularly essential. But what could be more essential than the actual CONTROLS we use to control it?

Please could Photoshop allow full control of the remapping of keyboard shortcuts (ideally also allowing the scroll wheel to move up/down through layers).

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Would the PS Team consider giving users more options in assigning Keyboard Shortcuts to Tools? All we can use right now are the letters of the alphabet. It would be most helpful if we could assign F-Keys to Tools.

*Note that InDesign has the ability to remap any combination. :)

Thank you!
Linda

[s_mahn]

Please allow us to add/edit keyboard shortcuts in Bridge. There are some PS related ones in the Tools menu (including the add-on Dr Brown's Services) that I'd like to hot key.

Thanks

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I'm not sure why this has never been added to Bridge like many of the other Adobe apps (e.g. Photoshop) but I'd like to request that users be able to create / add custom keyboard shortcuts in Bridge.

A bit of research online shows an OS workaround for those on Macs however for those using Window's there doesn't seem to be an option.  Besides, it's better to have this as a native feature and have it match up with the workflow in other Adobe apps.

I've been working on a compositing project where I've got over 100 final shots and I've had to individually 'load the files into Photoshop layers' one by one via the Bridge menu.  This has been very tedious to say the least.  Having a keyboard shortcut for this would have been really nice.

[grauenwölfe]

I just wish you guys (Adobe, obviously) would at least add a shortcut for "Purge Cache for Folder". Just that one command would add so many years back to my life.

That would be so good for the planet and you'd have so much fun implementing it! May even help combat famine, disease, and Global Warming. So you have my permission to go ahead and get that sorted for the next update release.

[Guest]

Jim, I snooped around a bit, and this page might be a good place to start.

http://xahlee.info/kbd/programable_keypads.html

Hope this helps.

Phil Pool

[Lee James]

Thank you for the suggestion, though it's not for me.

I do like the idea of having more keys, but I still need access to all the normal keys, and the ability to quickly start typing, so moving my left hand over to some other device would defeat the object.

Basically I like my keyboard, and it works great for all other applications. But Photoshop is needlessly oppressive when it comes to allowing shortcuts.

I've also just realized that there is no way to use keys to move up and down through layers. You can move between visible layers, but if you want to show a hidden layer, you need to use the mouse.

[BJamieson2215]

I've been using Bridge more and more as a way to target a subset of open images for batched actions. I'm growing weary of having to navigate through the drop-down menus. I think this would be a great idea!

[Carson Jones]

I run Batch, Image Processor, and Load Files into Photoshop Layers almost everyday and it's ridiculous that Adobe haven't allowed for keyboard shortcuts in Bridge.  Honestly, I don't think Adobe have anyone on their Dev team that has ever worked in a production environment for any length of time.  Super frustrating to have requests like this ignored for so long.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

in 2020 this feature is still being requested.....

[PECourtejoie]

Yes, this would be very useful.

I merged the threads, and am surprised that the other votes did not add up, and do not show on the original threads.

[Thibaud R]

Yes, that would be really great !

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Yes please, it would be fantastic to have a little more autonomy in deciding on our preferred workflow. At this point it's pretty clear that Photoshop usage spans a wide variety of disciplines and use cases and Adobe can't cater to everyone, so it would be preferable to let users customize it themselves. Many PS users use it professionally and are power users, so small inconveniences add up to a loss of productivity if they impact something you have to do every day.

As a digital painter for example, I like to be able to adjust my brush blend modes on the fly but the key combination is not usable with one hand, I'd like to use the number keys for something other than opacity (I have pen pressure for this), and the brand new new ~ toggle to switch the brush to 'clear' is not supported for my keyboard locale. These are just a few of the many examples I could offer (why can't we hotkey specific brushes or brush folders, why can't I toggle the color picking target with a hotkey, why can't I flip my brush with one, why can't I enable or disable color jitter, and so on)

These seemingly arbitrary restrictions cause me to have to resort to purchasing extensions just to use features that are already in Photoshop but too inaccessible to be practical.

[PECourtejoie]

Shoot, looks like I merged the wrong thread, will check if there is a way to undo this...

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I also feel that not giving users full shortcut control, either restricts their speed or forces them to go in roundabout  ways to get control. Even if it's considered unfriendly for new users, there should be an option in preferences to unlock a fluid keymap for advanced users that value small keyboard distance from their left hand resting position. These things really add up and it's strange that full keymap control is not supported until now.

[deomis]

For myself, I solved this problem using AutoHotkey scripts

[Dominik Sourcé]

This would be one of the most critical improvements for professional PS users. Please make it happen!

[Yuze22572920ze2j]

Make the keys such as "0-9" and "a - z" possible to be shortcut to EVERYTHING, even to the menu,

How is this feature not avalible yet? In the clip studio, I use "a" and "s" to zoom in and out, "q" for brush, "w" for rubber, "1" and "2" to adust brush size, "5" to flip horizontally.  While my thumb can be use to press "x" and "space".  Since I do paint alot, by using this layout, my left hand wont need to move left or right on the keyboard as often as in the potoshop (or press alot ctrl or shift, since it rly hurts little finger alot, if u press them often ). Plus I do play alot league of leagend, csgo and tf2 so I am so used to this kind of keybind. So please implement this feature to the photoshop, beacause this is realy useful and helpful to the people similar to me, as a gamer + painter. btw im not professional in either two of them. 😄

[tonymungiguerra]

I'm a bit shocked that this doesn't have more votes. These limitations are so arbitrary. I'm unsure why PS, ID, & AI don't all just have the after effects mapping system. It's a graphic of a keyboard and you map commands to each key. Just that allowed any command be mappable to any key/key combination. It's super intuitive and super customizable. No brainer.