Adobe has released an update to Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 for Mac that enables native support for the 2016 MacBook Pro's Touch Bar, a horizontal OLED display strip that replaces the MacBook's function keys. Now with Adobe's custom Touch Bar controls for Photoshop, the display won't just be great for playing games on, but it'll also be a nifty set of tools for image manipulation aficionados.
Here is a list of commands that can be performed on Photoshop using the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar.
Adobe Photoshop Controls On The Touch Bar
The new update will provide access to controls based on three categories: Layer Properties, Brushes and Favorites. Adobe's implementation of native Touch Bar controls for its image manipulation software also includes a History Scrubber to return to a previous state of the current project. Each change a user applies to a particular project renders a new document state on the History. Users may scroll through the Scrubber and tap the document state they'd like to return to accordingly.
Layer Properties
For Layer Properties, the Touch Bar will also have controls for layer opacity and visibility. Players may also cycle through different blend modes right on the Touch Bar, while turning a layer into a clipping mask can also be performed on the display.
Brushes
For Brushes, users can pick colors, brush sizes, brush hardness, brush opacity and brush flow right on the Touch Bar.
Favorites
Favorites includes a Screen Mode where users can toggle between normal and full screen modes. The Touch Bar will also let the user create a new layer or rotate them.
How To Update Photoshop To Get New Touch Bar Controls
Users may update Adobe Photoshop via the Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) Updater. However, the Touch Bar controls are still a "technology preview," in Adobe's own words, so expect to hit a few snags here and there, but the controls are nonetheless available should users want to explore them in detail. Adobe says that its Touch Bar implementations will "continue to evolve," likely suggestive that more complex features are to be added in the future.
The Touch Bar only comes with the pricier 13 and 15-inch 2016 MacBook Pro models. A refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro sans the Touch Bar is also available.
For consummate graphic designers, photo editors and artists out there who have a MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar, will these new controls significantly aid your creative process? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
