Setting default colours with keyboard.

[DavidMac]

When AP opens a new document the colours always default to White Foreground & Black Background. In the keyboard shortcuts is the possibility to set Fill & Outline to black and white but this is not the same thing as Foreground or Background. When the keyboard shortcut is invoked the top circle in the colour selector is always set to white regardless of whether it is foreground or background. You will always get black and white foreground and background but which is which is a lottery dependent entirely upon the relative foreground background status of the colour circles in the colour selector at the time the shortcut is invoked.  So my question is can anybody think of a cunning wheeze or workaround to use the keyboard to set Foreground and Background to Black and White in a consistent manner such that one is always black and the other is always white?

It's got me stumped ......... 
 

[HVDB Photography]

Edit > Preferences    >> Keyboard shortcuts

 

I'm using ALT+X as a shortcut to reset 

 

 

 

 

 

[toltec]

Set

23 minutes ago, DavidMac said:

So my question is can anybody think of a cunning wheeze or workaround to use the keyboard to set Foreground and Background to Black and White in a consistent manner such that one is always black and the other is always white?


 

 

 Set it the way you want then go Edit > Defaults > Save.

 

Works for me 

 

You can press X to swap them (foreground / background), if it doesn't work for you.

[HVDB Photography]

1 hour ago, toltec said:

Set it the way you want then go Edit > Defaults > Save.

 

of course ...

[DavidMac]

Thank you for your replies but I think either I haven't expressed my question clearly or I haven't understood your answers.

I am well aware of the method for setting shortcuts in Properties>Misc that HVDB has shown above. This was my starting point. My difficulty is that this sets Fill which is not the same thing as Foreground or Background. 

Let me try and explain more clearly.

 

The attached image shows two examples of a palette before and after invoking the keyboard shortcut to reset fill to White. The same shortcut you have shown above. This always sets the top circle to White.

If you look at the top two palettes you will see that before invoking the keyboard shortcut the top red circle is foreground. This does not change - so after invoking the shortcut the foreground colour is set to White.

If you look at the lower two palettes you will see that before invoking the shortcut the top red circle is now background. Once again this does does not change - so after invoking the same shortcut the foreground colour is now set to Black.

Setting fill White with the shortcut functions does not change or set foreground/background status - simply sets the top circle to white regardless of its foreground background status.

This is not what I want to do. I want a keyboard shortcut that will consistently set foreground to black (or white) in the same way every time. 

 

I have looked at Edit > Save Defaults but, unless I am mistaken, it saves Fill/Outline status not, as far as I can see, Foreground/Background status.

Which unless I am being very obtuse takes me back to my original question. Any suggestions to set Foreground with a shortcut as opposed to setting Fill colour?

 

Thanks for your input so far.

 

David Mac

 

 

[toltec]

"Any suggestions to set Foreground with a shortcut as opposed to setting Fill colour?"

 

I seem to be missing something here. Defaults does not seem to remember foreground/background focus status, as you say (colors only) but X will set it, or swap it.

 

X swaps the focus from foreground to background, or vice versa,, is that not what you want ? i.e. if white is foreground but black (background) is in focus and painting, press x and white

(foreground) becomes in focus and painting.

 

Black in focus (painting)

 

Press X and white is in focus (painting)

 

 

Shift X swaps the wells

 

 

Sorry if that is not what you mean.

[DavidMac]

Hi Toltec

 

I am well aware of the X key to swap colours. I know perfectly well how to set Black as a foreground colour. These are the starting points I have been trying to develop from. But these only get half way there.

 

At present the best I can do is invoke the set fill white shortcut (D on my AP) which will always set the top colour well to white.

 

I can then look at the wells. If the top is background then fine - my foreground colour will have been set black.

 

If the top is foreground then hit X and the secondary black will become the foreground colour.

 

That's fine .........

 

.......... but not really what I was looking for ........ 

 

............  what I am really looking for is a keyboard shortcut(s) that will set Foreground or Primary colour to Black consistently every time from any pre-existing colour or foreground/background state without having to inspect and decide whether to hit X. 

Sorry it's very difficult to explain ........ 

[Alfred]

24 minutes ago, DavidMac said:

Sorry it's very difficult to explain ........ 

 

Not at all, David. I think you've explained it perfectly well!

 

Sadly, I don't see any way to set up a single shortcut to achieve what you've described.

 

[DavidMac]

 

4 minutes ago, Alfred said:

 

Not at all, David. I think you've explained it perfectly well!

 

Sadly, I don't see any way to set up a single shortcut to achieve what you've described.

 

 

I use an external I/O mapper which allows me to assign a short macro of several key presses to a single key. So I'd settle for a short string of multiple AP shortcuts if that would work ........ I had hoped to achieve this with a combination of the D, X and Shift X shortcuts ........ but I can't find one ......... 

[carl123]

You can possibly do what you want using AP macros

But you cant as yet assign a shortcut to a macro so not sure if that will be of any use to you

[DavidMac]

 

1 hour ago, carl123 said:

You can possibly do what you want using AP macros

But you cant as yet assign a shortcut to a macro so not sure if that will be of any use to you

 

Yes I am sure a macro could be made to do this but as you so rightly point out they can't be assigned to shortcuts. Such a pity. Short cut assigned macros would be so marvellous for so many things. I asked for this when they were first introduced. Fingers crossed it will happen one day.