Photoshop tools, options, and task bars

The Tools panel appears on the left of the Photoshop application screen. These tools have more options that appear in the context-sensitive options bar. Select the small triangle at the lower right of the tool icon to access these options. 

View their names and other information by positioning the pointer over them. 

For a pictorial overview of the different tools in Photoshop, see Tool galleries.

Contextual Task Bar in Photoshop

Updated in Photoshop 25.0 (September 2023 release)

The Contextual Task Bar is a floating menu that presents the most relevant next steps in your workflow. 

For example, when an object is selected, the Contextual Task Bar appears on the canvas with more curated options for the potential next step, such as Select and Mask, Feather, Invert, Create Adjustment Layer, or Fill Selection.

Go to Window > Contextual Task Bar to turn off this feature, as it's on by default. 

Currently, you can view and use these bars with the following workflows:

Improved Contextual Task Bar for Shapes

When the improved Contextual Task Bar is active, you can select fill color, stroke color, stroke width, and stroke type.

Improved Contextual Task Bar for Transform

When the improved Contextual Task Bar is active, you can rotate objects clockwise and counterclockwise on the canvas, as well as flip the image horizontally and vertically.

New document workflow

This bar appears when you open a new, blank document from the Photoshop home screen or from File > New.

Open image/file workflow

This bar appears when you open an image or file from the home screen (i.e. not a new, empty document) or from File > Open.

Type tool workflow 

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

Selections workflow

This bar appears with options to refine a selection or create a mask after you make a selection. 

You also have the option to use the Generative Fill feature once your selection has been made.

More options menu

Select the three-dot icon to access the additional options menu with options to hide, reset, and pin the task bars. These actions are applied to all bars, so a pinned bar will remain pinned for future bars in your workflow, and hiding a bar will keep all bars hidden until reopened.

• Hide bar: Remove all Contextual Task Bars from your screen. You could also reopen them by navigating to Window > Contextual Task Bar.
  
• Reset bar position: The Contextual Task Bar moves with you as you work on the canvas, keeping relevant tools at your fingertips. Use the "more options menu" to reset the position of the bar.
• Pin bar position: Pin and un-pin any Contextual Task Bar from the "more options menu". Pinning will hold your bar (and all subsequent bars) where it was placed. De-select Pin bar position from the "more options menu" to unpin a bar. 

With the release of Photoshop 25.0, you get new additions to the Contextual Task Bar to work with absolute ease on your masking and Generative Expand workflows. 

Masking workflow

This bar appears anytime you enter the Select and Mask workspace, create a mask from a selection, or select a layer mask thumbnail.

Use this bar to refine your mask by adding or subtracting from your masked area, view mode options, and modifying options for density and feather. 

Generative Expand workflow

This bar appears when the Crop tool is used and has options to straighten and adjust ratio.

You also have an option to use the Generative Expand feature if the canvas is expanded rather than cropped. 

Work with more text editing capabilities directly from the Contextual Task Bar

Updated in Photoshop 25.5 (February 2024 release)

Make your creative workflows simpler and streamlined with the advanced text editing capabilities of Photoshop that can be accessed straight from the Contextual Task Bar. 

You can edit font properties (type, size, and color) and text alignment, leading, and spacing from the Contextual Task Bar. 

You can even adjust font style (bolding, italicizing, and underlining) directly from the Contextual Task Bar.

Select a tool

Do one of the following: 

• Select a tool in the Tools panel. If there is a small triangle at the tool's lower right corner, hold down the mouse button to view the button tools, and then select the tool you want to work with. 

Or, 

• Press the tool's keyboard shortcut. The keyboard shortcut is displayed in its tooltip. For example, select the Move tool by pressing V. 

Read more about Photoshop keyboard shortcuts here. 

Cycle through hidden tools

By default, you cycle through a set of hidden tools by holding down Shift and repeatedly pressing a tool shortcut key.

If you prefer to cycle through tools without holding down Shift, you can disable this preference.

Change tool pointers

Each default pointer has a different hotspot, where an effect or action in the image begins. With most tools, you can switch to precise cursors, which appear as cross hairs centered around the hotspot.

In most cases, the pointer for a tool is the same as the icon for that tool; you see that pointer when you select the tool. The default pointer for the marquee tools is the cross-hair pointer ; for the text tool, the default pointer is the I‑beam ; and for the painting tools, the default pointer is the Brush Size icon.

Visually resize or change hardness of painting cursors

You can resize or change the hardness of a painting cursor by dragging in the image. As you drag, the painting cursor previews your changes. (Previews require OpenGL.)

To resize a cursor, press Alt+right-click (Windows) or control+option (macOS), and drag left or right. To change hardness, drag up or down.

Tool options bar

The tool options bar appears below the menu bar at the top of the workspace. The options bar is context-sensitive, which means it changes with the selection of different tools. Some settings in the options bar (such as painting modes and opacity) are common to several tools, and some are specific to one tool.

You can move the options bar in the workspace by using the gripper bar and dock it at the top or bottom of the screen. Tool tips appear when you position the pointer over a tool. To show or hide the options bar, choose Window > Options.

To return tools to their default settings, right-click (Windows) or control-click (macOS) the tool icon in the options bar, and then choose Reset Tool or Reset All Tools from the context menu.

For more information on setting options for a specific tool, search for the tool’s name in Photoshop Help.

Look for more topics to learn on the Photoshop Discover Panel.

Tool presets

Tool presets let you save and reuse tool settings. You can load, edit, and create libraries of tool presets using the Tool Preset picker in the options bar, the Tool Presets panel, and the Preset Manager.

To choose a tool preset, select the Tool Preset picker in the options bar, and select a preset from the pop‑up panel. You can also choose Window > Tool Presets and select a preset in the Tools Presets panel.

Create a tool preset

Change the list of tool presets

Select the triangle to open the Tool Presets pop‑up panel menu and choose one of the following:

• Show All Tool Presets: Shows all loaded presets
• Sort By Tool: Sorts the presets by tool
• Show Current Tool Presets: Shows only the loaded presets for the active tool. You can also select the Current Tool Only option in the Tool Presets pop‑up panel
• Text Only, Small List, or Large List: Determines how presets are displayed in the pop‑up panel

To create, load, and manage libraries of tool presets, see Work with the Preset Manager.

Spring-loaded keys to quickly switch between tools

Updated in Photoshop 23.4 (June 2022)

Make quick edits in Photoshop using keyboard shortcuts for tools by using spring-loaded keys.

Spring-loading keys let you temporarily switch to a different tool as long as you press and hold down its keyboard shortcut (to use the Move tool as a spring-loaded key, select and hold down V on your keyboard). The default is 200 milliseconds, but you can adjust the timing in Preferences > Tools.

Once you have made your edits, release the key and you can continue to work with the tool you were previously using.