Photoshop is ready to put your MacBook Pro Touch Bar to work
Swipe to make your edits.
When Apple replaced the physical function keys on the new MacBook Pro with a swipe-friendly Touch Bar, the company touted its ability to make edits with apps like Final Cut Pro and Photoshop a breeze. While the new laptop has been available for a few weeks now, today Adobe announced that its flagship photo-editing app is ready to play nice with the machine.
As part of an update to Photoshop that's available now, Adobe's custom support for the OLED touch panel means you'll be able to use that space above the keyboard to help with adjustments to your image and design files. The company says in addition to giving you quick access to tools, it's also handy for providing a contextual next step based on the task you've just completed. In other words, the app will display the item you're likely to need next to keep your workflow moving along.
Adobe also says that the Touch Bar makes adjustments that can be cumbersome with a keyboard or mouse a bit more comfy. It's easy to see how any behaviors that employ sliders would benefit from the integration. Touch Bar functionality inside Photoshop is divided into three sections: Layer Properties, Brushes and Favorites.
The Layer Properties tab will give you access to things like blend modes, scrubbing through the file's history, placing Smart Objects, clipping layers and more. For Brushes, a slider allows you to adjust color, size, hardness, opacity and flow with just a finger and a swipe. Last but not least, Favorites brings the items that you use most to the Touch Bar so you can get at them quickly. Tools like full screen mode and flipping the canvas horizontal or vertical are examples of the options here.
Adobe explains that it will "continue to evolve" Touch Bar support, so perhaps we'll see even more features down the road. For now, you can get started with what's already here by updating to the latest version of Photoshop via Updates from the Help menu inside the app. When you need a break from work, Doom and a piano are waiting for you.
