Blend mode keyboard shortcuts

[Ash]

Apps: All
Platforms: Windows, macOS and iPad (requires keyboard)

Keyboard shortcuts have now been added to change the blend mode of the current layer(s), or paint brush tool.

Holding Shift with + or - will go to the next or previous blend mode in the list. Additionally, you can use any of the shortcuts in the attached table to change immediately to a specific blend mode. These can also be customised (as well as assigning shortcuts to other blend modes where a default shortcut hasn't been given) within preferences.

This will change the blend mode of the currently selected layer(s) (in all apps, all platforms including iPad with keyboard attached), unless you are using the Paint Brush Tool (Pixel or Photo persona) in which case the shortcuts will change the blend mode of the current brush.

Please leave any feedback or notes of unexpected behaviour for this new functionality in this thread.

[Patrick Connor]

Known Issues

• AFP-5956 - Blend Mode Shortcuts: Add is missing a shortcut on macOS
• AFP-5962 - Blend Mode shortcuts discrepancies
• AFD-6375 - Unable to set a keyboard shortcut for Erase blend mode on Mac and iPad
• AFD-6376 - Some blend mode keyboard shortcuts are unexpectedly different between macOS/iPadOS and Windows
• AFD-6416 - Blend Mode shortcuts missing on runup if you've customised shortcuts in previous version
• PD-301 - Windows and iPad Blend Mode Shortcuts is missing Next/Previous Blend Mode
• PD-304 - Shortcuts not working when layer is selected in layers panel
• PD-379 - Unable to use NumPad keys to move between Previous and Next Blend Modes

Further known issues will be added to this list as they are reported to us by customers in this thread.

[NotMyFault]

Any reason why passthrough and erase are missing in the list?

Is it possible to change blend mode of multiple selected layers at once?

[Ash]

4 minutes ago, NotMyFault said:

Any reason why passthrough and erase are missing in the list?

No - we'll add them!

 

4 minutes ago, NotMyFault said:

Is it possible to change blend mode of multiple selected layers at once?

Yes, this should be the case now?

[NotMyFault]

 

2 minutes ago, Ash said:

Yes, this should be the case now?

Yes (need to check) but I got irritated by the singular „layer“.

Some functions work only on a single layer despite multiple being selected, I’m glad that e.g. „rasterize and trim“ was uplifted in V2.

On 2/7/2023 at 4:43 PM, Ash said:

This will change the blend mode of the currently selected layer

[EricP]

this is a GREAT enhancement, so useful. Thank you

And it works on multiple selected objects/layers

[debraspicher]

Quote

This alone is great. Thank you!

[Gnobelix]

Great this function. Thank you!

Cheers

[Frozen Death Knight]

I like it. Though, I wish that holding down the keys would make you keep switching blend modes without needing to release the key. There are many blend modes, so if you wish to go to the bottom of the stack or to the top you will have to repeatedly press the keys in rapid succession.

Also, I would like it if there was a new mouse menu shortcut showing all the blend modes as a list and pick from that. For instance, holding down shift+R click could help accessing it for both the brushes and selection tools. As a tablet user I prefer having menus for these kinds of options whenever possible.

[Old Bruce]

On 2/7/2023 at 7:43 AM, Ash said:

Holding Shift with + or -

Here on Mac OS 11.7 with my extended bog standard Apple US Keyboard I have to use - and = (not +) on the number-pad.

[Hangman]

On 2/7/2023 at 3:43 PM, Ash said:

Holding Shift with + or - will go to the next or previous blend mode in the list. Additionally, you can use any of the shortcuts in the attached table to change immediately to a specific blend mode. These can also be customised (as well as assigning shortcuts to other blend modes where a default shortcut hasn't been given) within preferences.

On Monterey (for me at least), none of these keyboard shortcuts were set by default... The keyboard shortcut Blend Mode preferences were blank for all three apps...

Clicking Serif Defaults did add the shorcuts, though there are a couple of small discrepancies between the shortcuts actually set and the shortcuts in @Ash's post, namely, the Serif Defaults set...

• Alt Shift A to Lighten - in Ash's list Alt Shift A is shown as Linear Burn and Alt Shift G is shown as Lighten
• Ash's list shows the shortcut Alt Shift W for Linear Dodge - this Blend Mode isn't available on Mac, unsure if it is on Windows?

And for the OCD amongst us, Preferences orders the keyboard shortcuts as Alt Shift, Ash's list as Shift Alt, no biggy, just highlighting the difference...

[Chris B]

1 hour ago, Hangman said:

• Ash's list shows the shortcut Alt Shift W for Linear Dodge - this Blend Mode isn't available on Mac, unsure if it is on Windows?

 

It changes it to Add on Windows - there is no Linear Dodge

[Hangman]

1 minute ago, Chris B said:

It changes it to Add on Windows - there is no Linear Dodge

Hi Chris,

Is that the default shortcut on Windows? There is no default shortcut on Mac for Add, so just curious if there are slight variations between the Mac and Windows shortcuts in general over and above the discrepancies highlighted above...

[Chris B]

This is Windows:

macOS is indeed blank

[Hangman]

Thanks for confirming, does Ash's list need updating or are you not too worried about it as it's reasonably obvious...

[Chris B]

It probably does need updating as to not cause further confusion.

@Hangmanthe shortcut screenshot has been updated. I also logged the missing default for Add on macOS.

[jmwellborn]

I may be exceptionally stupid, but when I tried to use the Shortcuts Serif Defaults and then Shift plus = on the keypad for my Apple extended keyboard, I was sent to ADD.  Trying to use the same shortcut again, nothing happened.  Shift plus - on the keypad did nothing.  I tried this several times.  (Shift plus the plus or minus keys on the ABC side of the keyboard did the same thing.)  When I opened Preferences>Shortcuts and clicked on Apple defaults, at first I still couldn't make anything work.  And then, without my changing anything, it did.  I also have found that I can happily scroll through each Blend option while holding the Shift key down, and then clicking the = or - keys.  

Really nice once one gets the setup sorted out!

[Hangman]

5 hours ago, Chris B said:

the shortcut screenshot has been updated. I also logged the missing default for Add on macOS.

@Chris B, thanks for that, though the shortcuts for Linear Burn and Lighten are, I believe, still incorrect... Selecting Serif Deafults from Preferences shows Linear Burn having no default shortcut and Lighten having Alt Shift A rather than Alt Shift G.

[Chris B]

Sorry I was waiting for some feedback as there's still some differences between macOS and Windows.

[Hangman]

Hi Chris,

No problem and completely understand, hopefully the differences can be tweaked to match across both macOS and Windows...

[Chris B]

I've updated the Known Issues to mention the discrepancy

[Hangman]

@Chris B, is it need considered an issue that the Blend Mode shortcuts are not active by default, (they weren't for me at least) or is this not the case for most users?

[Chris B]

15 minutes ago, Hangman said:

@Chris B, is it need considered an issue that the Blend Mode shortcuts are not active by default, (they weren't for me at least) or is this not the case for most users?

I was not able to reproduce this on 3 or 4 machines in the office (first run of the beta) - I will keep my eyes on it because ideally we'd like a recipe.

[Hangman]

Just now, Chris B said:

I was not able to reproduce this on 3 or 4 machines in the office (first run of the beta) - I will keep my eyes on it because ideally we'd like a recipe.

It could have been unique to me for some reason, though unsure why at the moment. The Blend Mode keyboard shortcuts were not active by default for all three apps on macOS Monterey on the first run of the beta, initially I thought the keyboard shortcuts simply weren't working until I checked the shortcut preferences for all three apps...

Fingers crossed they were just feeling a bit shy on my system...

[Chris B]

Hey Hangman,

It looks like the missing shortcuts happen when you have previously modified any shortcuts within the app and ran the new build up - this isn't necessarily any of the new blend mode shortcuts either.

I simply added cmd+\ in 2.0.4 retail, installed an internal 2.1 retail build and all the blend mode shortucts were missing.

This is probably why it was missed on the machines I tested because they get ctrl reset often and we rarely run with any custom shortcuts.