From the course: Using Wacom Tablets with Photoshop

ExpressKeys

From the course: Using Wacom Tablets with Photoshop

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ExpressKeys

- I'm now going to show you how to customize your Wacom tablet shortcuts using the Express Keys and Radial menu. To set this up, we first need to open your Wacom tablet preferences, located in the Wacom Tablet Properties on your Windows machine in the control panel. Or, here on my Mac, I'll go to my System Preferences, to the very bottom to Wacom Tablet. Once inside this dialogue box, we can access the different properties using the icons at the top, and the tabs down below. The Express Keys, located on the side of your tablet, allow you to create shortcuts access with just the push of a button. We're going to start by clicking on the functions icon at the top and the Express Keys tab down below. You can see the default settings here, with Touch On/Off at the top, Settings second, and so on. To customize, simply click the drop-down menu to view options. We can choose Clicks, Keystrokes, Show Items, and more. I'm going to leave my top button set to Touch On/Off, as this comes in handy when using my tablet. By clicking the button, I can turn my touch settings on or off. For the second button, I'm going to set a keystroke shortcut. When using a keystroke shortcut, it is important to remember that we are in the general settings for the Express Keys, meaning that this will be available in the Finder window, and all apps, unless we specify an Express Key for a specific app, which we'll do in Chapter 3, Customizing. Simply click the drop-down, choose Keystroke, and this will bring up a second dialogue box. The top portion will record your keystroke, and down below we can name the event. For my Mac keystroke, I want to use Shift, Command, 4, which will allow me to take a partial screen capture. I use this shortcut a lot when writing articles requiring screen shots, so, this will come in handy. However, instead of doing the traditional holding down the keys, Wacom has added an Add Special drop-down that allows me to choose Capture Selection and it brings in my keyboard shortcut up above. I'll name this Screen Cap, and hit OK. And that's now assigned as my second button. To access, simply click the second button on my Wacom tablet, and I now have my screen capture available to take my screen shot. So, going through and accessing this and changing your settings here, you can customize your Wacom tablet's Express Keys to any need you'll have. Experiment by going through all the different drop-down options, and choosing different settings. If you feel that you've gone too far, or you need to reset, the Default button at the bottom right corner will allow you to reset your settings and go from there. If you want to set up a custom setting for a specific application, we'll do that in Chapter 3, Customize.

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