Learn more about the Tools panel and its options : some of them appear in the contextual option bar.

The Tools panel appears on the left side of the Photoshop application screen.

These tools have more options than what is displayed in the contextual options bar.

To access these options, click the small treiangle in the lower right corner of the tool icon.

When you hover over a parameter, its name and other information are displayed.

For a general overview of other Photoshop tools, see the Tools Galery article .

Contextual Taskbar in Photoshop

uopdated in Photoshop 25.0 (September 2023 release )

The contextual taaskbar is a floating menu that presents the most relevant next actions within a workflow.

For example, when you select an objextr on the canvas, a contextual taskbar appears with suggested option for what to do next, such as Select and Mask , Feather , Invert , Create Adjustement Layer , or Fill Selection.

Go to Window > Context taslkbar to disable this feature as it is enabled by default.

Currently, you can view and use these panels in the following workflows :

Improved contextual taskbar for Shapes feature

When the enhance contextual taskbar is active, you can choose the fill color, as well as the strock color, width, and type.

Select/edit color, width, and stroke option from the context taskbar when using the Shapes tool

Improved contextual taskbar for the Transform feature

When the improved contextual taskbar is active, you can rotate objects on the canvas clockwise and counterclockwise, and display the image horizentally and cetivally.

To rotate objects on the canvas clockwise and counterclockwise, use the transform contextual task bar.

Workflow "New Document"

This panel appears when you open a new blank document from Photoshop's main screen or from File>New.

Open Image/File Workflow

This bar appears when an image or file is opened from the Home screen (i.e. it's not a new blank document) or from File > Open.

Text Tool Workflow

This panel appears when you select the Type tool from the toolbar and draw a text box on the canvas.

Workflow "Selected Areas"

This panel appears with options to refine the selection or create a mask after selection .

After seleting the desired area, you can also use the Generative Fill function .

Additional Options Menu

To open the More options menu, which lets you hide, rest, and pin taskbars, click the three-dot icon. These actions apply to all panels, so pinning a panel will keep new panels pinned in your workflow, and hiding a panel will hide all apnels until you show them again.

- Hide the panel : Removes all contextual taskbars from the screen.

You can also reopen them bhy going to Windows > Contextual taskbar.

- Reset the panel position : The contextual task panel moves as you work on the canvas, so you always have the tools you need at your fingertips. To reset the panel position, use the More option menu.

- Lock poanel position : Lock or unlock any contextual taskbar in the Advanced options menu. When you lock a panel ( and all subsequent panels ) it will stay in the same place - where it was locked. To unlock panel, turn off Lock panel position in the Advanced options menu.

Photoshop 25.0 introduces new capabilities to the contextual taskbar that make working with masking and Generative Expansion processes much easier.

Workflow "Masking"

This panel appears whenever you enter the Select and Mask workspace : create a mask from a selection or select a latyer mask thimbnail.

Use this panel to refine your mask by adding to or subtracting from the masked area, adjusting view mode options, and changing density and deathering options.

Generative Expansion Workflow

This panel appears when using The Crop tool with options for straightening and adjusting proportions.

if you expanding your canvas rather than cropping it, you can also use the Generative expand feature.

Additional text editing capabiilities directly on the contextual taskbar

What's new photoshop 25.5 (February 2024)

Simplify and streamline your workflows with advanced text editing capabilities in Photoshop right from the contextual taskbar.

The context taskbar .

Additional text editing capabilities directly on the contextual taskbar

Selecting and displaying tools

Select a tool

Do one of the following :

- Select a tool from the Tools panel. If there is a small triangle in the lower right corner of the tool, click and hold the mouse button to reveal the tool button, then select the tool you want to use.

Or,

- Use the keyboard shortcut assigned to the tool. The keyboard shortcut for a tool is displayed in its tooltip. For exemple, to select the Move tool , press the V key.

For more information about keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop, see Note

note. Pressing and holding a key combination temporarily enables a specific tool. When you release the key cibination, Photoshop re-enables the tool that was in use before the temporary switch.

Switch between hiddeen tools

By default, you need to cycle through hidden tools by holding down the Shift key and repeatedly pressing the key combination to bring up the tool.

To cycle through tools without holding down the Sift key, you can turn this setting off.

1. Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > General ( macOS) .

2. Uncheck the "Change tool with key" box.

Replacing tool cursors

All cursor have different hotspots n by default , where the effect of the operation on the image begins to appear. For most tools, you can switch to use precise cursors in the form of a crosshair around the hotspot.

In most cases, a tool's cursor looks like the tool's icon; the cursor becomes visible when the tool is selected. The Marquee tools default to a crosshair cursor +; the text tools default to an l-shaped cursor

; and the drawing tools default to a brush size icon.

1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Cursors (Windows ) or Photoshop Preferences > Cursors ( macOS ).

2. Select tool cursor options in the Drawing Cursors and Otther Cursors selections and click OK.

- Standard option : cursors look like tool icons .

- The exact version : crosshair cursors are displayed.

- Normal Brush Tip : The cursor outline corresponds to approximatly 50% of the tool's area of effect. Selecting this option will show the pixels that are most noticeably affected by the tool.

-Full-size Brush Tip : The cursor outline matches nearly 100% of the tool's area of effect,

covering nearly all pixels affected by the tool.

- Show crosshair at brush tip: Displays a crosshair in the center of the brush outline.

- Show only crosshair while painting : improves performance when using large brushes

The Drawing Cursors settings Control the cursors for the following tools :

Eraser
pencil
Brush
Healing Brush
Stamp
Patterned stamp
Quick selection
Finger
Blur
Increase clarity
Lightener
Dimmer
Sponge
Other cursor settings control cursors for the following tools :

Region
Lasso
Rectilinear lasso
Wand
Trimming
Fragment
Patch
Pipette
Feather
Gradier
Line
Filling
Magnetic Lasso
Magnetic pen
Free pen
Ruler
Color standard

Note. To switch between stadard and precision cursors for some tools, use the Caps Lock key on your keyboard.

Visible change in size and hardness of painting brushes

The brush size and hardness can be changging. As you drag, the drawing cursor reflects the changes. (OpenGL is required for preview.)

To change the cursor size, alt -click (Windows) or Control + Option (macOS) and drag left or right. To change the hadness, drag the cursor up or down.

Tool Options Bar

The Tool Options bar is located below the main menu bar, at the top of the workspace. The Options bar is contextual, meaning its appearance changes depending on which tool is selected. Some settings in the Options bar (such as drawing modes and opacity) apply to multiple tools, while others apply to only one tool.

You can move the Options bar around your workspace using the grip area and dock it to the top or bottom of your screen.

Tooltips appear when you hover over a tool. To show or hide the Options bar choose Window>Options.

The Options bar foir the Marquee tool in Photoshop with the new selection activated.

To return a tool's options to their default state, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac-OS) the tool's icon in the Options bar and choose Rest Tool or rest All Tools from the context menu.

For more information about adjusting the setting for a specific tool, search for that tool's name in Photoshop Help.

For more topics to explore, see the Discover panel in Photoshop

Tool parameter sets

Tool presets allow you to save and reuse tool settings. You can load, edit, and create libraries of toolm pmresets using the Tool Preset selector in the Setting panel, the Tool Presets panel, Manage Presets and Manage Presets .

To select a tool preset, go to the Tool Preset section of the Options panel and select a preset from the pop-up panel. You can also choose WINDOW>Tool Presets and select a preset from the Tool Presets panel.

Creating a Parameter Set for a Tool

1. Select a tool and set the options you want to save as a tool preset in the Options bar.

2. Do one of the following :

- Click the Tool Preset Button to the left of the tool in the Options bar.

- Go to Window><Tool Presets to open the Tool presets panel.

3. Do one the following :

- Click the "Create a new tool preset" button

- Select New Tool Preset from the panel menu.

4. Enter a name for the tool's parameter set and click the OK button.

Changing the list of tool parameter sets

Click the triangle to open the Tool Preset pop-up panel, and select one of the following options :

Show all tool parameter sets : Shows all loaded parameter sets .
Sort by Tools : Parameter sets are sorted by tools.
Show active tool preset : Only loaded presets for the active tool are displayed. You can also check the Active Tool Only checkbox in the Tool Presets pop- nup panel.
Text Only, Small Thumbnails and Names, or Large tThumbnails and Names : Determines how the option sets are displayed in the pop-up panel.

For information about creating, loading, and managing tool preset libraries, see Working with the Preset Manager.

Self-expanding keys for quick switching beween tools

What's new Photoshop 23.4 (june 2022)

Make quick edits in Photoshop with tool shrtcuts using self-disclosing keys.

Self-discovering keys allow you to temporarily switch to another tool by pressing and holding the corresponding keyboard shortcut (to use the Move tool as a self-discovering key, press and hold the "V" key on your keyboard). The default hold duration is 2200 milliseconds, but you can change it in Preferences > Tools.

Self-expanding keys pin Photoshop

Once you have made your changes, release the key and you can continue working with the tool you weere using previously.

Photoshop Tools, Options, and Tasbars