Comments With a painting tool selected, Control + Option (Mac) – drag left/right in order to decrease/ increase brush size. Control + Option (Mac) – drag up/down to decrease/ increase brush hardness.
On Windows, Control + Alt + Right Mouse -drag left right to decrease/ increase brush size and up/down decrease/ increase brush hardness.
I prefer these shortcuts – even though they are a bit more complex than tapping the left or right bracket keys, as many international keyboards do not have brackets. Of course you can always customize the keys used to increase/decrease brush size and Hardness under Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts – choose “Shortcuts For : Tools”, scroll down (almost the bottom of the list) and enter any single character to set a new shortcut for Decreasing/Increasing Brush Size.
Julieanne, that is an excellent tip, but I find on my Windows 7 PC, running PS CS5, that I do not need to include the Shift key for adjusting either the brush size or the brush hardness.
You are absolutely right Gregg. Thanks for letting me know!
Bracket Keys Stop Working (sometimes)
If I select a tool, like the Burn Tool, the brackets keys work fine for adjusting the brush size. But if I change the Range (like to Midtones) or the Mode in Clone Stamp, the brackets keys stop working. I have to select another tool, then come back to that tool. Then the brackets keys work fine again.
What am I doing wrong?
Steve, the bracket keys are working for me when I change the Range. Is it possible that you are changing both the Range and the Exposure? If there Exposure field is highlighted then then they don’t work (because the focus is set in the text block). Tapping return or enter should move the focus out of the exposure filed. If this isn’t the issue, then I would suggest that you post the issue to either of these forums to see if other customers are experiencing the same problem and if so, if they have found a solution.
http://forums.adobe.com/community/lightroom
http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family
I am having a problem with adjusting the brush size in quick selection tool using cs6. When i use the brackets to increase or decrease size i get a weird x or multiple ovals instead of the circle getting bigger or smaller. I checked the Key command and it is set to [ ] the brackets.
It might be due to the drivers for your video card. I would go to the Adobe Forums (http://forums.adobe.com) and search for brush curser or video card drivers…
thanks!
That’s great. I programmed Contol + Option onto one of my Wacom ExpressKey, and it works a charm – very efficient. Thanks for the helpful tip!
The bracket keys work to readjust the brush size but I can’t get anything to work for dragging the size adjustment. I’m using Windows 7 x64. When I use Ctrl + Alt and right click my mouse or Wacom pen tablet I just get a small double black and white pointer. No brush size indication. I just downloaded and install PS CS6 a couple of days ago.
Is there something I can set to make this work, or even better, I would like to just press the Ctrl key or Ctrl + right click.
Thanks
Ron, it might be your video card – here is a tech note with more information.
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cs6-gpu-faq.html
If not, I would post the issue to either of these forums to see if other customers are experiencing the same problem and if so, if they have found a solution.
http://forums.adobe.com/community/lightroom
http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family
I figured it out. Hold the Alt down then either right click the mouse or Pen. The cursor needs to be over the picture, it won’t work if off to the side. When using a Pen tablet, the cursor will first change to a color sample circle then to the brush size outline. Moving it left or right changes the size while up and down changes the opacity.
when holding cntrl + option, I can change size by dragging left/right, but up/down changes opacity… any way to switch it to hardness? Cant find the controls in any of the shortcut menus. Thanks
Go to Preferences > General > Vary Round Brush Hardness Based on HUD Vertical Movement
Is there a way to use tools without the use of the keyboard? For example, I can’t use the Clone Stomp Tool without being required to use the ‘Alt’ key. Is there a work around for this?
when i am useing the brush tool when i click on the brush i want to use and place it over my work area there is a outline of the brush so u can see where to place it then all of a sudden it changes to where i put the brush over the work area and its only a little x how do i get it to the outline of your brush i do not know thank you
You might have the Caps Lock key enabled on the keyboard which is displaying precise cursors. If that’s not it, check your Preferences for Cursors and if that still doesn’t help, it might be that you need to update your video card drivers. This link might help describe how to update your drivers:
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/gpu-opengl-support-photoshop-cs4.html#main_Update_the_video_display_driver