What brush am I using?

[Sarvasri]

When I use a brush I know which one I'm using because it's highlighted.

 

If I then use a selection tool - L and come back to the brush tool - B, the brush is no longer highlighted, now it's no longer identifiable. What brush am I using? How can I know?

 

Is there a way to know what brush is currently being used?

[Callum]

Hi Sarvasri,

 

Welcome to the Forums :)

 

There will be a dark square around the tool you currently have selected. (see attached)

 

C

 

 

[Alfred]

There will be a dark square around the tool you currently have selected. (see attached)

 

That only tells you which tool you are using (e.g. the Paint Brush Tool). It doesn't tell you anything about the brush stroke. ;)

[Callum]

That only tells you which tool you are using (e.g. the Paint Brush Tool). It doesn't tell you anything about the brush stroke. ;)

 

I missed the first line when I read this earlier I'm not sure how! 

 

 

This is a known bug with the Windows version which we have logged for our developers to fix in an upcoming version :)

[Sarvasri]

That only tells you which tool you are using (e.g. the Paint Brush Tool). It doesn't tell you anything about the brush stroke. ;)

So is there any way to identify which brush is being used after going somewhere else? Could this be something easy for the developers to include?

[Alfred]

So is there any way to identify which brush is being used after going somewhere else? Could this be something easy for the developers to include?

 

It should already identify which brush is being used. The fact that it doesn't (on Windows) is a bug.

 

This is a known bug with the Windows version which we have logged for our developers to fix in an upcoming version :)

[Sarvasri]

It should already identify which brush is being used. The fact that it doesn't (on Windows) is a bug.

When I select a brush and use it, the brush is highlighted in the brushes panel. I know for sure which brush I'm using.

Then let's say I use the lasso tool to make a selection. When come back to the brush tool, the same brush is available, but it is no longer highlighted in the brushes panel. I can see the "footprint" of the brush, but now I can't associate that brush with the panel. There is no selection. So I don't know which brush I selected last time because there is no indicator of which brush is being used right now. I am left guessing. This is on a Mac. Is the brush choice indicated somewhere else and I just don't see it? Try it and you'll see what I'm talking about.

[Alfred]

When I select a brush and use it, the brush is highlighted in the brushes panel. I know for sure which brush I'm using.

Then let's say I use the lasso tool to make a selection. When come back to the brush tool, the same brush is available, but it is no longer highlighted in the brushes panel. I can see the "footprint" of the brush, but now I can't associate that brush with the panel. There is no selection. So I don't know which brush I selected last time because there is no indicator of which brush is being used right now. I am left guessing. This is on a Mac. Is the brush choice indicated somewhere else and I just don't see it? Try it and you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

Well, I've tried it in both AD and APh on Win 10, and the brush doesn't lose its highlight in either app when I switch from the Paint Brush Tool to the Free Hand Selection Tool ("lasso tool") and back again. Maybe Callum was referring to something slightly different when he said it had already been logged to be fixed.

[uncle808us]

I have the same problem MacBook Pro Retina, Mid 2012 15 in.  OS X 10.11.6, El Capitan this is a real PITA. needs to be fixed.

[Sarvasri]

I have the same problem MacBook Pro Retina, Mid 2012 15 in.  OS X 10.11.6, El Capitan this is a real PITA. needs to be fixed.

Yes, mine is a 2011 MacBook Pro, El Capitan 10.11.6. This is definitely confusing. I always lose the brush highlighting.

 

I would like to see the brush identified somewhere. Highlighting is good, but a better method would be to show the category and brush name, plus a highlight. For instance, a box could show a breadcrumb trail similar to how it is done on some web sites and file systems. Then if I go to another category I would still know which category and brush is active. I could get back to it. Otherwise, I'm lost.

 

Do the developers monitor these posts? Should this go in as a suggestion somewhere?

[Alfred]

Do the developers monitor these posts? Should this go in as a suggestion somewhere?

 

I suggest that you post to the Feature Requests subforum.

[pixel-girl]

Yes, mine is a 2011 MacBook Pro, El Capitan 10.11.6. This is definitely confusing. I always lose the brush highlighting.

 

The same here! MacBook Pro (a little younger than yours) and El Captain. And confusion also!

 

My brush lose his highlight also after a short jump to the second open document and back.

And – Murphy's law – I have still open two or more files :rolleyes:

 

Working with a few similar brushes and many tools I have frequently (and not only after a break) a second brush-question:

 

Which one is now (temporary) changed?

... simple because a brush lose his highlight also even where a little bit of settings has changed, e.g. the size(!). AP means, changing the size or opacity I crate permanently new (not saved) brushes. It is of course logical, but not the best usability-reason.

 

 

I would like to see the brush identified somewhere. Highlighting is good, but a better method would be to show the category and brush name, plus a highlight.

 

••• The name of category is not a problem: you see the name on the top of your brushes panel and you stay, whatever you do, in the same category (except you change it manually in the pull-down of the panel).

••• The name of brush as such is also not a problem. Mouse-over in the brushes panel and you see all the names.

 

The consistent and correct application of the highlighting is what we need. We can see the name of highlighted brush after mouse-over or in the title of setting-window after a click in the brushes panel.

After a change – of a tool, a file or of a brush settings – we see nothing :angry:

 

My usability-suggestion would be:

- to highlight a current brush in the panel after the change of tool or document or who knows what else (it is a bug!)

- to highlight a brush as a "current and temporary changed" in the brush-panel. Of course in different way than "current and original". (As a nice-to-have)

[R C-R]

Well, I've tried it in both AD and APh on Win 10, and the brush doesn't lose its highlight in either app when I switch from the Paint Brush Tool to the Free Hand Selection Tool ("lasso tool") and back again. Maybe Callum was referring to something slightly different when he said it had already been logged to be fixed.

The highlight loss definitely occurs on the Mac version here. In fact, it does not matter which other tool I switch to; the highlight goes away whenever I switch tools & does not come back when reselecting the Paint Brush tool. The only clue about that I get is the width setting in the Context toolbar, but that is not much help.

[Sarvasri]

••• The name of category is not a problem: you see the name on the top of your brushes panel and you stay, whatever you do, in the same category (except you change it manually in the pull-down of the panel).

••• The name of brush as such is also not a problem. Mouse-over in the brushes panel and you see all the names.

 

 

 

This is a problem for finding the brush you are using. If you go somewhere else in the brushes panel, unless you remember both the category and the brush, you have trouble finding it again. Yes, you can see the brush names, but you have to mouse over all of them one at a time to locate a name. And you would have to do that for every category. Not a good solution. Breadcrumbs is the best solution.

[Fahad Javed]

Hi everyone,

 

I have faced this issue especially when painting in Affinity Designer. If i am using multiple brushes in a single painting i cannot select them by sampling them from the paint on the canvas. Lets say if i have utilized 7 brushes in my painting,then there must be a way for me to select any of them by sampling them. This mechanism is actually available in the mypaint software that i have used a lot. In order to select a brush from a painting in my paint,you move the cursor over the brush stroke and press the 'w' key to sample and then select the brush[along with its settings] without selecting and remembering the brush from the brush panel. Here is a short video demonstrating this feature as i do many brush strokes and select those by sampling them. A similar feature should also be available in affinity designer and photo,as if we are using close to a lets say 25 brushes in a painting,do we need to remember each of them?. This feature will boost our productivity.

 

[dinosaura]

On 12/26/2016 at 12:37 AM, Sarvasri said:

Is there a way to know what brush is currently being used?

The question was from 2016! The problem (or bug?) is still there... (AD Windows desktop)

Is there at least one way to save the current brush as a new one?

 

[Polygonius]

On 1/9/2017 at 2:45 PM, Callum said:

This is a known bug with the Windows version which we have logged for our developers to fix in an upcoming version

Its in mac too. Even in 17103. As soon i switch a tool, the blue highligt in brush panel disapperars and will not re-appear when go back to the brush-tool. 

[dinosaura]

On 11/30/2018 at 5:41 PM, Polygonius said:

As soon i switch a tool, the blue highligt in brush panel disapperars and will not re-appear when go back to the brush-tool.  

Same thing if I simply change the size of the brush. The best thing would be like in Photoshop: right-click to change the size of the brush, and it is still highlighted in the brushes panel. :)

[Polygonius]

On 11/30/2018 at 10:09 AM, dinosaura said:

The question was from 2016! The problem (or bug?) is still there..

Other questions and suggestions too... it seems some things must remerberd from time to time

 

[simonlayfield]

 

On 3/21/2017 at 2:07 AM, Sarvasri said:

This is a problem for finding the brush you are using. If you go somewhere else in the brushes panel, unless you remember both the category and the brush, you have trouble finding it again. Yes, you can see the brush names, but you have to mouse over all of them one at a time to locate a name. And you would have to do that for every category. Not a good solution. Breadcrumbs is the best solution.

I'd be keen to know if there's any plan for this experience to be enhanced. I can't quite work out from this thread if it's a bug or if this is expected, but if you need to retroactively find the name of a brush used on a path it's basically...well, it's a serious challenge.

Here's that experience in a video:

https://www.loom.com/share/febf4dfd5e0d478e8309cdb4351b5cba

Am I missing something? Is there a way of knowing which brush was used on a path either by name, or by seeing it selected in the panel (which isn't ideal if you have to rummage through a large number of brushes to find the one that's selected but hey ho - better than nothing).

 

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by simonlayfield
Further clarification

[IsabelAracama]

It keeps deselecting on a mac... randomly. Desperating to find which one I used before... or even which one I am currently using.

[R C-R]

3 minutes ago, IsabelAracama said:

It keeps deselecting on a mac... randomly. Desperating to find which one I used before... or even which one I am currently using.

I reasonably sure this happens because a brush is basically just a saved set of brush-related properties (size, hardness, flow, dynamics, etc.), so any change to any of them while using it effectively creates a new brush with a different set of properties. Thus, it is no longer the original 'parent' brush & the original is deselected to indicate that (& that if that brush was selected again it would revert to its default properties instead of whatever they are now).

This is all quite logical from a programing standpoint but of absolutely no help in determining which 'parent' brush was the last one selected. 

Short of making major changes in the brush logic, I am not sure there is any really good way to resolve this, but I have a few (half-baked) ideas about that:

1. Add a step to the history panel that records the brush's name on selecting it. May not be very useful when brush names are not very descriptive.
2. Instead of completely deselecting the 'parent' brush, give it a colored outline or partially transparent fill, or some other indicator that it is the last one selected. This would persist until another brush was selected.
3. Add a 'show last brush selected' & a 'reselect last brush' button to the Brushes panel. Ideally, the first would be a momentary toggle that highlighted that brush & temporarily switched to the correct brush category if needed. The second would automatically switch to the correct brush category & select that brush.

Also, the current brush should never be deselected if we just switch to a different tool, & then back to the Brush Tool. 

[IsabelAracama]

Any of those would at least ease the pain. I don't think a brush tool can be left to work like this anyway. Thanks for the input! I feel understood

[R C-R]

2 minutes ago, IsabelAracama said:

I don't think a brush tool can be left to work like this anyway.

I think the biggest problem is not so much how the brush tools work now, which has some merits, but more the lack of any "show or reselect last preset brush" features.

[pixel-girl]

@R C-R

Dear RCR, no, it isn't logical from a programing standpoint. Its bulls**t! 🤮 From any standpoint.

Imagine you are a print designer, you have every day a lot of different documents to design and every time you briefly change the line spacing or switch for a moment between italic and roman, you don't know which paragraph format you have changed ??? What can you do? Run back to Adobe? Howling? Or you eat your keyboard bevor and run anyway? 🤪