How to bring back tool palette when using type tool.

[pixel8]

I often turn palettes off and on when working. Lately I've been doing a lot of type and I keep getting caught out on this annoying little quirk. I was wondering if there is something that i'm not seeing.

It happens when I have used tab to hide the palettes with the type tool selected. I click in an area of type but when I go to use the menu to bring back the tool palette to change tools, (which I have to do as keyboard shortcuts don't work when using the type tool for obvious reasons), the menu command for the tool palette is greyed out.

This is very annoying as I keep getting caught and the only way I've found to escape the loop is to save the file, which is sometimes not an ideal solution.

[MrJelly]

Try binding an Fkey for your palette?

[pixel8]

That sounded like it might work but I came up against a brick wall. When I looked in the keyboard shortcuts I could not see any to show/hide the palette. Even though there are some hotwired into photoshop like the F7 key for the layers palette.

So I went to the tool shortcuts and thought I'd change the Grabber Tool from H to an F key but I got an alert saying that I can only use A-Z for tool shortcuts.

So where does Photoshop keep the default F key shortcuts that it already uses?

[lasa]

I couldn't duplicate the problem for some reason?...but when ever things seem stuck between tools or tabs I'll press "escape" then normally I can keep going...

Good luck,

Lasa

[MrJelly]

I beleive it's listed as "Tools".

[pixel8]

Maybe it's just a Mac thing but 'escape' does the trick thanks for the suggestion.

[pixel8]

While doing a screen grab to demonstrate, (before I tried escape) a different problem reared it's head again. You might remember a while back opening files from my digital camera some of them were randomly rotated. It had nothing to do with the exif info as that checked out OK. There was no rhyme or reason.

The problem sort of went away except for the occasional rotated image. Then last week for the first time I made an alpha and closed it but when I opened it, it was rotated. Wierd huh. Anyway when I took two screen grabs of the above problem one of the pdf's opened rotated 90º. It doesn't happen very often any more but it is quite strange. Deleting all the pref files made no difference.

it's a bit like my photoshop has a digital versision of Parkinson's disease. some days its worse than others.

Heres a screen grab of how the two identical screen grabs opened in photoshop...

[lasa]

Oh... you have a MAC,.. I'm so sorry...(kidding)

It probably has nothing to do with your problem but I do know that somedays if I have not turned off PS all day it starts acting weird... tools start not working correctly etc.
I turn the beast off and on...back up to speed.

Your MAC might need a Exorcism, grab some holy water and any WINDOWS cd.. lol

Lasa

[pixel8]

UPDATE:

Bad news the escape trick is not satisfactory because it undoes any typing I've done. Bugger.

Does Photoshop in windoze have a menu bar? If so is the "tool palette" opion greyed out when the type tool is active and a text box is drawn?

[kevinf]

I have had similiar conundrums with the text tool as pixel8. I'll begin typing, and run under a tool palette and reflexively press tab to hide them. Then I go "D'OH" because I have no idea how to exit back out of the no palettes mode and set the type down into its layer. Pressing escape to back out of typing simply erases everything you were writing!

I know using dual monitors and moving the palettes to their own screen is one option, but I would also like to know how to back out of typing mode without losing any changes as happens by pressing escape :)

[pixel8]

kevin, as long as you can still see the tool palete you don't have a problem, just click on a different tool, like the hand tool for example.

My problem arises when I have the tool palette hidden and forget about it while typing. I can see no reason at all why the option to bring the tool palette back via the menu bar is greyed out. It looks like a bug.

Someone also clued me into a good shortcut a while ago where you can scroll with the hand tool while in text mode. Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar or Cmd+Shift+Spacebar

[tfoster]

Lasa- the Mac bashing is not necessary and not particularly helpful...

[Keil]

try hitting enter on the num pad, that works for me

[lasa]

tfoster..you've got to be kidding...but if I offended you I am sorry.

Lasa

[pixel8]

Kell, brilliant, 'enter' on the number pad. PerfectSuperdoopersolution.


lasa, don't worry about foster, he's only recently been promoted to forum policeman and is a bit over enthusiastic. ;}

[lasa]

I thought no way an ENTER is an ENTER so I tried it. Sure enough the num pad enter applies the text while the regular ENTER returns the carriage. Very cool.

But pixel8 don't forget my ESCAPE solution, it could come in handy someday when you need to "lose" all the work you've done...lol

Lasa

[tfoster]

tfoster..you've got to be kidding...but if I offended you I am sorry.

Lasa

I was kidding...

[sPECtre]

Also, CTRL/command+return (the enter from the main keypad) commits the type tool.

We're platform agnostic, here PCs love Macs, Please stop snide remarks, or you'll be forced to do a marathon exquisite corPSe :D

Another solution, CTRL/Command+A, CTRL/Command+C, escape, then the text is saved and you can fix your palette problem.

You could try to create an action with an FKey, and an "insert menu item" to show/hide the character palette

Pixel8, is your avatar a single black pixel, that's all I can see...

[frayedknot]

sPECtre - it looks like he doesn't have an avatar, just his nickname as a 'period'...

[tfoster]

...or maybe a *pixel*? ;}

[lasa]

Sorry but I don't understand "just his nickname as a 'period'" ? ..pixel"?
Lasa

[Keil]

its a pixel... as in a single.. never mind...

that enter thing has been so useful to me, I largly do web design and you spend so much time moving text around, and ive found the fastest way to select a block of text to move it it so use the type too to select it hit enter and then move it around. I spend a long time trying to ctrl click on text by trying to aim at a letter broke my workflow.

damn that sounds whiny

[lasa]

Period? Pixel? Single? Just say it, what does it mean?
Lasa

[MrJelly]

"Period" is another word for a full stop, which appears as a single pixel. Ha!