Skip to main content
F
FeedbackCommunityMember
Inspiring
December 7, 2015
Open for Voting

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

  • December 7, 2015
  • 34 replies
  • 30136 views

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.

    34 replies

    Show previous replies
    J
    J453
    Legend
    August 22, 2018
    Hi Chelsea, according to the Adonit site, they only support drawing into Photoshop on the desktop from Astopad with their device. http://www.adonit.net/jot-ready-apps/

    From another thread: https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/adobe-photoshop-cc-not-registering-touch-on-t...

    "I'm a user-interface engineer on Photoshop and have worked on our touch and stylus code.  Your laptop, like the Apple iPad, responds to capacitive touch but does not have a separate digitizer for stylus input.  The Adonit Jot Pro stylus works with your computer by essentially providing a very accurate means of "touching" the screen.  Unfortunately, Photoshop does not respond to single-point touch input on the document canvas.  In our product we have focused on discrete stylus input devices whose input is delivered independently from touch.  That is why "finger-painting" does not work in Photoshop.  Single-finger touch is recognized elsewhere in the Photoshop user interface and that is why you can select tools and change settings with the Jot."

    Unfortunately, it doesn't look like your Acer supports discrete stylus input the way a Surface and other Windows devices.
      F
      FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
      Inspiring
      August 22, 2018
      Acer T232 - a $500 monitor plugged into a $1000+ gaming laptop - and a total waste of money since PS CC 2018 is the whole reason I bought the monitor
      F
      FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
      Inspiring
      August 22, 2018
      Well, before looking all this up, I guess I naively assumed that THE photo editing and drawing program would work with a touch-screen monitor... So I did a lot of research, dropped a few hundred dollars on an "Acer T232HL" - 10-point multi-touch, and one of the most responsive touch-screen monitors available - and an "Adonit Pro 3" stylus for precision drawing. My new toys arrived via FedEx, and worked great!

      Fast forward to installing Photoshop CC 2018, and at first everything works fine. The program runs like it's supposed to, the monitor responds to the stylus just like my fingers, the program responds to touch input just like mouse input... Until I tried drawing. *Press+drag* ... Nothing ... *Double-tap+drag* ... Nothing ... *Long-press* ... Displays a non-functioning square area under the stylus ... *Long-press+drag" ... Displays the paint brush selection tool ... Retry everything about half a dozen times ... Still no progress ...

      I tried finding something in the settings that would change the way PS responded to touch input, but found nothing. I searched through the support forums and countless other threads by others experiencing similar issues, and still found no answers.

      Then... I contacted support by chat...

      The support rep I chatted with seemed relatively knowledgeable about computers, peripherals, drivers, and program interaction... but I spent the entire session reiterating the same points over and over again. Yes, my drivers are all updated. My stylus is completely manual, it has no drivers. No, it doesn't work now, you disabled the touch monitor when you disabled my GTX driver. Yes, the mouse can draw on the layer, no that wasn't the problem. No, the touch input still won't draw.

      Towards the end, the rep adjusted 3 minor settings in PS (that had nothing to do with my issue) and asked for the umpteenth time, "Does it work now?" No, it still doesn't work. I can see this session isn't going to resolve my issue. Can you please escalate my concern to a senior member of the support team and have them get back to me?

      The rep ignored my request for escalation and continued fiddling with pointless unrelated settings. I asked again to escalate the issue and had to go through a few more pointless steps (a debug log for Adobe?? It's a fresh installation!) before providing my phone number a second time. I was assured that "when they find the problem" they'll call me.

      Ha.

      If I get a call, I'll be surprised. If they have a legitimate solution to my problem, I'll die of a heart attack.

      Come on Adobe, get your heads out of your asses and just give us an extra settings tab so we can change how PS responds to touch. I want it to act like a mouse click. Others want pressure sensitivity. Few (if any) want a stylus to not have any drawing capability in a drawing program, but feel free to leave that as an option.

      Also, Adobe, how about some support staff who actually pay attention to what your customers are saying. That was the most ridiculous hour (or more) I've spent in a while.
        F
        FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
        Inspiring
        July 24, 2018
        Came here from trying to use my portable copy of Adobe Photoshop CS6 on a Windows 10 all in one touch screen computer at the NSW library.  I can't believe how mad this is that the most complex and expensive image software of them all (photoshop) can not support finger painting.  Just wondering when those at adobe will get their heads out of the sand, and realise it is 2018?  This is nothing short of absurdly ignorant and tardy on adobe's behalf.  
        brandiw89317594
        brandiw89317594
        Participant
        May 7, 2018


        The paint brush feature works with touchscreen in photoshop elements 2018. 
        Why not in CC?
        Peter Villevoye
        Community Expert
        Peter VillevoyeCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        February 5, 2018
        Is it, really ?? I always thought (when using and demonstrating Photoshop on the MS Surface Studio) that it was just a matter of a setting, which I needed to look-up and set correctly. (The Studio units I present on are always out-of-the-box, and I have not much time to get them up-and-running.) So as I finally took the time to look it up how to edit some images on a Surface Pro by touching, I end up in this thread and read the hilarious news that finger-painting is not supported !
        (BTW using the interface with your fingers does work.)

        And since the Photoshop Fix, Mix, and Sketch apps are not yet available for Windows, maybe the only tool to doodle in a Photoshop environment, is to download Photoshop Elements. This application is not for free but costs € 60 to 90, so I'm not going to download and test it. (The old Photoshop Express app is only capable of doing some color and lighting corrections.)

        Either Adobe is just dragging their feet here, or Microsoft has told them to cut the new MS Paint some slack. The next update will tell...
        F
        FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
        Inspiring
        February 1, 2018
        same!! can't believe it's not supported...sad
        F
        FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
        Inspiring
        January 17, 2018
        Just got a lenovo yoga, how can this basic feature not be supported in photoshop?
          S
          sandro_f
          Participant
          January 2, 2018

          Hey y'all

          I've just bought a Surface Book 2, which has a touch screen. I've seen that for example Illustrator and InDesign have a very own touch workspace, while Photoshop CC 2018 (almost) doesn't support touch at all. Sure, I can zoom, click on tools and stuff, but shouldn't I be able to just draw with my finger? I don't have a pen, a stylus or whatever you want to call it. I'd just like to draw with my finger.

          Is there any way how I can achieve this?

          Thanks.

          Sandro

            Ahmad_Yousef-ggdwkA
            Ahmad_Yousef-ggdwkA
            Participating Frequently
            January 2, 2018

            Photoshop does not support Touch. It has supports for graphic tablets pens with wintab device drivers. It has support for mice and keyboards. No where do I see touch support documented in Photoshop manual. Here is a link to Photoshop manual search it for touch, http://helpx.adobe.com/pdf/photoshop_reference.pdf  The closest thing  I found to touch support is the following:

            Use the Rotate View tool

            You use the Rotate View tool to rotate the canvas non-destructively; it does not transform the image. Rotating the canvas can be useful for any

            number of reasons, including facilitating easier painting or drawing. (OpenGL is required.)

            You can also use rotate gestures on MacBook computers with multi-touch trackpads.

            1. In the toolbox, select the Rotate View tool . (If the tool isn’t visible, hold down the Hand tool.)

            2. Do any of the following:

            Drag in the image. A compass will indicate north in the image, regardless of the current canvas angle.

            In the options bar, enter degrees in the Rotation Angle field. Click or drag the circular Set Angle of Rotation control.

            3. To restore the canvas to the original angle, click Reset View.

            For a video on the Rotate View tool and other workspace tips, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4001_ps. (Discussion of the Rotate View tool begins at the 5:10 mark.)

            Disable trackpad gestures (Mac OS)

            If you have a MacBook computer with a multi-touch trackpad, you can use the trackpad to flick, rotate, or zoom images. This functionality can

            greatly increase your efficiency, but you can disable it if inadvertent changes occur.

            1. Choose Photoshop > Preferences > Interface (Mac OS).

            2. In the General section, deselect Enable Gestures

            My Wacom Intuos 5 Touch device driver has some touch support for some Photoshop features.  I do not try to finger paint I use the Wacom pen for that.  I also do not get the strange finger paint in Photoshop when I use my finger to move the mouse cursor with the Wacom Intuos 5 touch support. Starting outside an image window or inside one,

            However if I add two finger support add tap to click I can finger paint and also use other tools.  However I'm not into finger paint so I do not configure Touch support that way for Photoshop.

            S
            sandro_f
            Participant
            January 2, 2018

            Okay, that's a bummer... Thanks anyway for your answer!

            A
            Alyssarose
            Known Participant
            November 11, 2017

            I have a Lenovo Yoga Laptop with Windows 10. When I touch with my fingers anywhere in photoshop it works except the canvas, meaning I can't draw anything. Is there a solution to this?

            for clarity I have a wacom tablet but I do not currently have it on me and I need to do a piece of artwork last minute, and it's very frustrating using the touchpad. I don't see why my touchscreen isn't compatible with photoshop, do I need some sort of stylus or something?

            JJMack
            Community Expert
            JJMackCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            November 12, 2017

            If  you mean you can not finger paint with your touch screen that is correct. Photoshop supports touch gestures not finger painting. You should be able to paint with a mouse  or touch pad  which have a left click button your finger lacks. Your Wacom will also work.

            Multi touch and single finger touch gestures though should work on canvas. Rotate,zoom. pan  scroll etc should work.

            Photoshop Touch capabilities and customizable workspaces

            JJMack
              A
              Alyssarose
              Known Participant
              November 12, 2017

              yes I used that, seems very ridiculous to me that adobe doesnt support touch screen ”painting” with a stylus or something when paint tool SAI supports it just fine. Thanks for answering

                Show more replies
                Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
                Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices