gradient tool - bug? or not

[p_mac]

I wrote about this before and am wondering if this is normal.  It is not the way that the App Store AP 1.67 works.  I find this to be a very frustrating exercise.

I am inserting a video which I have trimmed to show what I think might be a bug.  Note that when I first use the tool with Linear highlighted I get the colour wheel, I then need to click on the layer in order to get the Gradient choice opened.  I repeated this with Radial and the same thing happens.  I have found that at times in other images that I need to continuously go to the layer and click on it before I get the gradient choice opened.  Very frustrating.  In my other post I thought that I was in error but there seems to be something strange happening.  

Please look at this and see what you think . Incidentally I have tried this on other images and it continues to happen.  

 

 

[p_mac]

I have noticed that a few people have viewed this post.  Has anybody tried this and found the same issue as I have.  I don't believe that when the fill layer is already highlighted that that one should be required to click on it in order to get the drop down that controls not only the colour but the opacity, location of point etc. 

I have 2 Macs a 2014 iMac and a 2017 MacBook Pro.  I have even tried to completely delete the beta and reinstalled it to no avail. 

Help is required please.

 

[smadell]

If you look at your workflow, once you have laid down the gradient on the Fill layer, one of the nodes remains active. Because this is the case, clicking the gradient color selection tool in the Content Toolbar gives you the color wheel - this is to set the color of the selected node. Once you click on the Fill Layer in the Layers panel, it deselects the nodes. Because of this, you get the typical Gradient color chooser so that you can first pick a node with which to work.

If you think about that way, it is not causing you to increase the number of steps you take; it is decreasing those steps.

I'll admit it will take some getting used to, having gotten accustomed to the "old way." But, if you think about it, it makes sense that you can set the color directly once the node is active.

[smadell]

So, I was thinking about it and I realized what another of your issue was. The gradient dialog box is the place where we typically have gone to set additional nodes (above and beyond the first and last one) and to set the mid-points between those nodes.

It turns out that once you lay down your gradient (with first and last nodes) the cursor turns into a variation on a Node tool cursor. If you position it over the gradient line, you can add additional nodes, and you can move all of the mid-points around. If you make an existing node active and press the Delete key, you can remove that node. So, a lot of the work can be done right on the gradient itself without going through the dialog box as an intermediary. I can see where this would be quite helpful in positioning nodes (as, for instance, in creating vignettes) and so forth.

[p_mac]

smadell, thank you so much for replying.  

It does appear they have really changes this tool and your explanation is very good.  However I am not sure that I like the direction that they have taken.  

I really would rather have the gradient dialogue box as it was.   I would much rather choose for myself the workflow rather then have it defined by the tool.  The other thing that I noticed was that moving the position of the gradient on the layer is very difficult as the closer you get to a node, movement is not really reliable. As well,  the ability to change the opacity is very important to me.   The visualization for me is better done within the dialogue box and having to continuously click the layer is annoying.  For me it just adds more steps to my workflow and interferes with my creative thinking   

‘But thanks again for your keen eye.

Edited April 23, 2019 by p_mac
Additional comment

[smadell]

I can’t say which method I like better. I don’t use gradients that often, truth be told. I can see benefits to both. It is a radical enough change that it will upset a few apple carts, of that I am sure.

[fde101]

12 hours ago, p_mac said:

I really would rather have the gradient dialogue box as it was.

I don't have it in front of me right now to verify, but I believe the new behavior is only for the fill/gradient tool, and that the box does in fact continue to work the "old" way when using the other tools.

[p_mac]

Sorry fde101, but that is a rather vague explanation and not very helpful?  Please clarify.

[fde101]

If you are using a tool other than the fill (gradient) tool, I believe you get the "old" behavior of that popup.

[MEB]

Hi p_mac,
In your video the bottom node is selected when you click the gradient colour well in the context toolbar. Press Esc to deselect that node and target the whole gradient instead (the colour well in the context toolbar should reflect this change) then click on it to reveal the usual gradient editor you were expecting.

[p_mac]

And so it has been explained above. 

To me this change is not a good one for me as I use the gradient tool often to create dreamy scenes and esc doesn’t do it for me.  

[MEB]

Please see my reply here. I don't know yet why this change in behaviour but will let you know as soon as I find out.