Add keyboard shortcut for Opacity, Flow and Hardness brush settings.

[cgidesign]

Thanks for having a keyboard shortcut system within you applications.

To enhance its functionality I request to add keyboard shortcuts for Opacity, Flow and Hardness brush settings.

Reason:

Working with shortcuts is faster and more fluid than moving the mouse or pen to the UI tool bars.

As Opacity, Flow and Hardness are frequently used settings while painting, the missing keyboard shortcuts are disturbing the workflow.

Furthermore:

In my case I switched from keyboard use to a remote controller. This allows me to map the shortcuts from Affinity to physical nobs and wheels on the controller. This makes working in the Applications more comfortable for me. Unfortunately I can't add the mentioned brush settings, which causes the controller workflow to be disturbed like the keyboard workflow.

 

[loukash]

See affinity.help/photo2/en-US.lproj/pages/Workspace/shortcuts.html > Painting shortcuts

[cgidesign]

@loukash

thanks for trying to help. I use the hardness drag already as a workaround.

But I need to move my pen instead of letting the wheel on the controller do the adjustment (the controller can not replicate a mouse or pen move). So the painting process gets interrupted. Difficult to explain - but with the controller all adjusments are done by my left hand, painting strokes are all with the right hand. For me it is a very fluent process. With the workaround I need to mix the left hand and right hand for an adjustment. It is better than using the top bar but still an interruption.

Flow is not available - which is a pity because I change that (and size) most often

Opacity is not available - not so relevant for me as I don't change that often

Nevertheless, if I would not have found the workaround already your input would have helped me.

[loukash]

I see.

On the iPad, it is possible to change some properties with one hand using onscreen sliders while  drawing with the other hand. That's quite a useful feature, although the sliders are linear, so it's quite a p.i.t.a. to use for small widths.

Other than that, on MacOS it is possible to simulate pointer clicks and movements with global UI scripting, which can be triggered by keyboard shortcuts, either via Automator and its custom Services plugins, or even easier via 3rd party apps like Keyboard Maestro. 

Isn't there any such equivalent on Windows?
That still doesn't solve your Flow problem though which is apparently not included in the pointer gestures (yet).

Opacity should work by typing numbers while drawing.
Again, on Mac this could be in theory UI-scriptable by a macro that increases or decreases and then types a value when triggered by a keyboard command. I'm quite sure that with Keyboard Maestro, this would be possible, albeit complex to set up. I'm already using a similar macro for an audio editing app where a specific slider was "forgotten" by the developers to have a custom shortcut while the app's UI doesn't follow Apple's UI guidelines (like Affinity, it's multiplatform), so that the function can be only targeted by "click and drag" UI scripting based on the slider's luckily fixed coordinates inside the window bounds. It took me some time to figure it out, but since it's a function I use literally in every audio file I work on, it has already saved me thousands of clicks and drags.

[cgidesign]

Interesting to read about the Mac world.

2 hours ago, loukash said:

... one hand using onscreen sliders while  drawing with the other hand ...

I think this summerizes my usage of the controller quite well 🙂

 

[loukash]

1 hour ago, cgidesign said:

Interesting to read about the Mac world.

Last year while experimenting with Keyboard Maestro macros to control some then unassigned Affinity features like certain Layers panel commands, I vaguely remember that someone mentioned that there are similar macro scripting tools for Windows as well.

1 hour ago, cgidesign said:

I think this summerizes my usage of the controller quite well

While getting the v2 Universal License and installing the apps on the iPad, I also bought an Apple Pencil. All brush parameters can be assigned to the input device if the device supports them, e.g. by using pressure, angle, velocity, direction, etc.
This also always was a feature of the desktop app, and it works for example with Wacom pen tablets. 
But that's a per brush setting, not global. 

See affinity.help/photo2/en-US.lproj/pages/Painting/pixel_modify.html

 

[cgidesign]

Yes, the dynamics work for me as well. I could set them to 0 to 100% which then means Flow = 0 to 100 if Flow in general is set to 100%. But the issue hereby is, that it is difficult to draw with e.g. a constant value of around 50% pressure on the pen. I would say my hand and the pen electronics are just to nervous for that.

So, I prefer to set the general Flow for example to 50% and the dynamics to e.g. 10%. I then have a Flow deviation from 45% to 55% depenting on the pen pressure from 0 to 100 (took me some time to understand how the dynamics in Affinity work). If I then reduce the general Flow to 30% I get 27% to 33% Flow deviation, depending on pen 0 - 100. That concept works quite well for me. If I just could set this general Flow with the controller 😉

I think I found the macro solution you mentioned. It seems to be an open source programming solution. Frankly speaking, I would prefer to just get a shortcut in the Affinity apps, but will have a look into it anyway.

https://www.autohotkey.com/

[loukash]

43 minutes ago, cgidesign said:

it is difficult to draw with e.g. a constant value of around 50% pressure on the pen. I would say my hand and the pen electronics are just to nervous for that.

That's something you can control with the curve for each parameter:

• set value to 100 %
• controlled by pressure
• add 2 linear nodes to the curve

Make the curve look like this: 

In this example, the brush size will change from 25% to 100% exactly at 50% pressure.
Screenshot is from desktop v1, but you get the picture. I tested the same setting on the iPad v2 because I don't have my "antique" Wacom tablet handy, and it works as expected.

[Oasin]

Exact same situation as mine. One of the reason why I'm still bearing Adobe's subscription for PS. The controller and PS cooperates perfectly.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Oasin
Hide the controller's brand

[randomjames]

I agree. Keyboard binding for brush hardness and opacity would be very handy. I also have the controller you posted and to be able to set it up as I have for Photoshop would be great.

I actually made a post about this subject back in 2020: 

 

[rimau]

I honestly can not understand why adding the simple shorcut ability for brush hardness is such an issue. Current opacity shortcuts I can live with, but a basic shortcuts for -/+ opacity adjustments would be nice as well. This is really basic stuff. The drag approach, with two mouse buttons pressed is rather hilarious, and can't be defended in any discussion against keyboard shrotcuts. And the issue is getting annoying for more and more users as programmable controllers are getting more popular. Mapping the current drag system is virtually impossible for most (if not all) of these devices. Combine a programmable controller with a tablet, and there is now way for you to map these features for fast workflows.

In general just add an ability to map shortcuts to whatever you can, and let users use them or not. Many power users relay on their custom setups, that's how you win them. But do the brush settings first. ASAP.

And yes, I do love all 3 apps :)

[adamlogan]

I'm struggling trying to program the ctrl alt left mouse click drag concept with Keyboard Maestro and my Wacom Cintiq.

How do I get the macro to enter ctrl left mouse click and hold the keys long enough to let me drag manually to adjust then release the keys?

This is frustrating and baffling. Shift + [ or Shift + ] is all it takes in PS to manage hardness. I get the versatility of ctrl alt left mouse drag, but it's not easily captured when using computer graphic focused hardware and keybinding software.

Please add options to manage shortcuts for hardness and flow for the sanity of your users using pro gear (on a Wacom Cintiq Pro here).

[Lisaaa]

On 11/23/2022 at 11:28 PM, rimau said:

I honestly can not understand why adding the simple shorcut ability for brush hardness is such an issue. Current opacity shortcuts I can live with, but a basic shortcuts for -/+ opacity adjustments would be nice as well. This is really basic stuff. The drag approach, with two mouse buttons pressed is rather hilarious, and can't be defended in any discussion against keyboard shrotcuts. And the issue is getting annoying for more and more users as programmable controllers are getting more popular. Mapping the current drag system is virtually impossible for most (if not all) of these devices. Combine a programmable controller with a tablet, and there is now way for you to map these features for fast workflows.

In general just add an ability to map shortcuts to whatever you can, and let users use them or not. Many power users relay on their custom setups, that's how you win them. But do the brush settings first. ASAP.

And yes, I do love all 3 apps

Any news on this topic? Is it better in the new 2.5 update? I think the brush engine can improve a lot and that is where I am waiting for. You can import photoshop brushes, but they are not set the same and you can’t adjust them by hand enough to appear the same as in photoshop.

The affinity photo brush engine is too simple in my opinion. I love to paint pixel based, so I would love to use affinity photo for illustrating/painting. Not being able to adjust flow and opacity while painting is something I mis…

I think it has all to do with the same thing, the whole brush engine. With more options in the brush settings, also flow and opacity could be changed while painting with shortcuts. And also photoshop brushes would really be usable in affinity instead of being ugly and not the same.

#affinityphotobrushengine #affinitypainting #affinitybrushflow #affinitybrushengine 

[cgidesign]

Well, they have shortcuts for flow now, but implemented in way that it does not help with the requests here. Its like they just don't understand how remote controllers work.

I personally gave up and am now using Krita as the main tool for painting (that solved other limitations I had with APhoto as well).