Customizing workspaces and keyboard shortcuts for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator can significantly speed up the design process.
Several weeks ago, I received an email from Ecommerce Developer reader Paula Biles, who suggested a tutorial series on quick tips and shortcuts in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. What a great idea. So this will be the first installment of my new "Quick Tips & Shortcuts" series aimed at helping you speed up your design process, and ensuring that you're on the path to becoming a Photoshop and Illustrator expert. If you have topics you would like me to cover, be sure to mention them in the comments at the end of this article.
In today’s installment, I will be showing you how to set up your own custom keyboard shortcuts and save a default workspace that is tailored to your needs.
To begin, I will show you in Photoshop how to view and modify keyboard shortcuts. In fact, on your next big Photoshop project, write down the actions you do most frequently. Then, use the default keyboard shortcut for those actions or assign your own.
Next, I will show you how to set up a default workspace to keep Photoshop looking the way you want. Once you have your panels and tools positioned where you want them, I will show you how to save your workspace so you can access it later. I will also explain how any modified keyboard shortcuts will be saved along with your workspace so you can assess them later.
Once I have showed you how to set up keyboard shortcuts and workspaces in Photoshop, I will explain some of the minor differences in completing this process in Illustrator.
By the end of this tutorial, you should have a better understanding of how to speed up your design process by setting up custom keyboard shortcuts and workspaces in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS4.
