Modifier Keys

[jonathanbeer]

Hi everyone,

 

The reception to Affinity Photo for iPad has quite rightly been phenomenal. It is, at last, a sign that the the iPad is getting the pro software that the hardware is capable of running.

 

The features I would most like to see going forward are a floating modifier key panel (like AstroPad has), and external keyboard support.

 

Modifier keys would allow for more accurate and efficient use of the clone tool (alt click to sample, click to clone) when manually cloning tricky areas that the automated methods cannot deal with.

They would also allow better access to manipulating the handles of vector paths rather than constantly switching between the Pen and Node tools (on that subject, we need the ability to manipulate the two handles independently which I think is vital for accurate paths).

A little spacebar key would let the user pan around the image without lifting the Apple Pencil off the screen... I could go on and on.

Basically they would allow one tool to have multiple states without needing to switch tools or lose the accuracy of the Pencil by requiring a clumsy finger gesture.

 

External keyboard support would be fantastic for quickly switching between tools, deselecting, re-selecting, quick access to the Fade command etc.

Increased efficiency for power users basically.

 

In summary, I'd love to be able to complete those finickity and tedious retouching tasks that we all have to do as quickly and painlessly as possible.

 

Thank you again for a really astonishing piece of software. I can't wait to see how it develops.

[MEB]

Hi jonathanbeer,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

Affinity Photo for iPad is compatible/supports third party wireless Bluetooth keyboards and the Apple Smart Keyboard. We do have keyboard shortcuts built-in but currently you can't customise them.

[jonathanbeer]

Thank you for getting back to me.

 

I've found the keyboard shortcuts in the documentation now. As you say, they're fairly limited at the moment, but I look forward to them becoming more comprehensive.

[wgphoto]

I think it would be helpful to have modifier keys as part of the interface as well, so that people who don't have/don't want a keyboard can still use the shortcuts. This would help with the brush/color picker situation right now where the apple pencil can't activate the color picker when the brush tool is being used. You have to use your finger. A more elegant solution would be to have the modifier keys there and have the same functionality as you're used to on the desktop version.

[My Strawberry Monkey]

I agree. Would love to see modifier keys. I have the 9.7 version and I hold with one hand, when I add a shape and try to constrain I need to use two hands. Would be great to tap shift key to lock and then drag shape all with one hand using the pencil.

 

 

[wgphoto]

I agree. Would love to see modifier keys. I have the 9.7 version and I hold with one hand, when I add a shape and try to constrain I need to use two hands. Would be great to tap shift key to lock and then drag shape all with one hand using the pencil.

 

 

IMG_0457.PNG

Instead of tap to lock, I'd suggest hold act just like it does on desktop, but to lock do a double-tap, as it is in remote control software like iteleport and such.

[davemacdo]

This could be a very cool context-aware feature. I think putting a Shift key on the screen doesn't make much sense, but a special "constrain proportions" button that only shows up while resizing is a perfect example of the sort of thing that is only possible when the whole screen is the interface. 

[Fernsie]

Yes this!

 

Modifier keys would be a great addition.

[Teelar]

Simply pressing a single finger down—while drawing—could act as a Shift key. Two fingers, Option key. Etc.

 

I do have a keyboard, and holding the Shift key does nothing while drawing, say, with the Pen tool, when it is most needed.

 

 

 

I do wonder, how does one constrain drawing in 45° increments as it stands now?

[jbikeler]

Hi jonathanbeer,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

Affinity Photo for iPad is compatible/supports third party wireless Bluetooth keyboards and the Apple Smart Keyboard. We do have keyboard shortcuts built-in but currently you can't customise them.

 

Hi MEB,

 

Are the keyboard shortcuts for AP iOS the same as the desktop shortcuts?

 

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/affinity-docs/Photo/shortcuts/Affinity-Photo-Shortcuts-Mac.pdf

[sophiajcaldwell]

Please add modifier keys! The pen tool is useless without the ability to modify points without clicking back and forth between pen and node. This and so many functions would be speeded up with the addition of modifier keys. This is a great app, but it could be mind-blowing with additions like these suggested in this thread :). I'm unable to use the app right now though because of stability issues (but I know you guys are working on it). Please keep up the good work.

[Taluyaq]

Modifier keys are a standard for every serious graphic/photo editing software for decades and they will not be gone any time soon. There is yet no sophisticated method to replace them and if so this would introduce a steep learning curve and break compatibility with professional user's skills as well as with Serif's very own desktop apps. AP's approach of tapping back and forth shows that they also have no breakthrough on this up their sleeves. But that's totally unnecessary, anyway—just add modifier keys to speed up workflow and made it more familiar to pros who are used to use them. I attached a thumbnail how this is implemented in ProtoSketch, just for inspiration.

[jonathanbeer]

Just had a random nosey in the tutorials videos, when I noticed one for On Screen Modifiers. I'm man enough to admit I let out a little squeal of excitement!

 

It's an interesting implementation. Contextual modifiers for the appropriate tools, rather than generic ones replicating a keyboard. 

 

I've not played around with them much yet, but the main modifiers I wanted are there... set source when cloning, and a quick switch to the node tool from the pen tool. Also, 'ignore snapping' to enable independent control of a node's two handles. 

I haven't experimented to see if these modifiers can be triggered from a hardware keyboard yet, but this is a huge step forward for efficiency in Affinity Photo for iPad.

 

I am really excited for the future of Affinity Photo and photo retouching on the iPad.

[Voxen]

Modifier keys are badly implemented in my opinion.

For exemple using the paint brush, if I use modifier keys I don't have access to brush settings anymore since the panel is hidden. So this makes this feature almost useless.

Modifier keys panel should be a separate, pin lockable, panel.

 

[Glenn]

Sorry Affinity, but I totally agree (as a newcomer to Photo, coming from long experience with both desktop and iPad apps)…

 

I think Teelar’s idea of second, third finger press for main modifiers, which could be applied across the board, is a true solution.

 

The provision of some modifiers is really useful, just the implementation seems really un-necessarily cumbersome.

 

Hate to say, but my impression is it’s almost like Affinity are determined to be different, but (as well as being truly, thankfully inventive in so many ways) often ending up over-complex and non-intuitive on the way.

 

The tutorial on Modifiers I think just demonstrates this. How can two taps to get to the Color Picker for example be any simpler (on the fly, as it says) than using the one found in the Color palette? Particularly as it means hiding the brush options, involving a third tap to get back to them. Ditto with the other tools: their modifiers being two taps away and hidden in the process….
On top of this, in that tutorial, the clumsy-looking two-finger gradient control (that even the tutor seemed - to me - to find not easy)?

 

Sorry again for seeming so negative - (I’m sure there’s others who’ll completely disagree with all this) -  but honestly wishing to be constructive, and thought a newcomer’s fresh pair of eyes on an app brilliant in so many other ways, might be of interest.

[Voxen]

I agree with Glenn.

 

Also, ergonomically speaking, having the modifier keys at the bottom/center of the screen is bad.

The panel should be located on the left edge of the screen, along the toolbar with the option to move it to the right edge for left handed people.

 

Having such an app available on iPad is just awesome.

However it should be polished a bit to have better ergonomics and shortcuts.

[jonathanbeer]

So a few months after the introduction of the on screen modifier buttons am I using them? No.

 

They are hidden away, in the wrong place, take too long and are too fiddly to get to.

 

They need to be in a floating panel that can be positioned wherever is most ergonomic for the user. The very nature on an iPad means it’s being supported and gripped differently all the time. The UI needs to work with this rather than being rigid like a desktop app. 

 

Make no mistake... this is incredible software. But some small UI tweeks could help users unlock that power by making it much more efficient to use. 

[Patrick Connor]

Please see my reply here

 

[wgphoto]

It would be good for Serif to give people who don't own or don't care to use a keyboard a way to access these common modifiers on screen... not hidden. A critical one that comes to mind is the brush to color picker switch which happens on desktop with a modifier and drag. Right now, this kind of sucks on the iPad version as you have to use your finger to access color picker when using a brush. Or use the hidden modifiers, which sorry, kinda suck. Photoshop is right around the corner and it will have modifiers, it has to. I think Photo does too.