Brush, Pattern, Font, Custom Shape Tool, gradient, etc organization

On record, I have over 1,000 brushes, over 1,000 fonts, and I'm making other resources on the fly. I have an issue here: I can't find anything!!
(I also have a second issue with resources and crashes, but I'll get to that later.)
Is it that hard to ask Adobe to put in some font organization, tags for brushes and a search engine for them? Sometimes it's a pain trying to find the right font, but say, I think, "Hmm.. I want a font that is remotely Western, probably serif" there is no way in Adobe Photoshop to get through all of those fonts in a timely manner which means I'm spending about 2 hours shuffling through the fonts trying to find the right one. Sure there is a panel where you can select your favorite ones, but that's not by category... there is no sane way to find the font just for you.
Same thing for brushes. Often the problem with brushes is that people lose where they've come from, meaning no credit to the brush maker and when you want, say, fairies because you need some, you can't remember where the hell they are. And if you do, you have tons of brushes to sort through. People have a compulsion to not label their brush sets properly, which drives me nuts because they also expect you to give them credit. How about Adobe gives them a leg up? Give them a space not only to name the brush, but give it tags, a name and a website where it was found at. (Not required, but can be used or even expanded down.) And give it search capability. (So I type in birds, then the brushes menu retrofits to show all brushes with the tag of birds, I delete the search line, all the brushes come back, I type in standard. All of the round brushes come up, etc. I type in spiritsighs and all of her brushes come up... and so on). Gradients, etc should be the same.
Sure you can clear your brushes, but do you know how many brush packs I have to sort through, then load to get the right one? --;; A pain. (Plus brush packs are often lost in computer crashes, harddrive wipes, etc.)
So I'm asking for a way to organize and find these resources more easily, with better searching abilities, because while the guys on Photoshop TV can afford to dump their probably thousands of brushes for a demo, isn't it kind of odd that they often say, "Where is it? "Ah there it is" in their tutorials? They've apologized at least a dozen times for the "ah there it is" and the "I'm sorry Adobe doesn't give a font organizer", but here is a crappier alternative.
I'd like this in other programs in the CS suite too. Especially the Historyless Illustrator (Illustrator needs History) and InDesign. InDesign should have had font management a long time ago--most of it is about type setting anyway.
Second part:
Crashes. You've spent 2 hours making the right brush, stayed past your bedtime, made the brush, and voila, Photoshop crashes. You've just lost 2 hours of work, your files, which in your artistic daze you forgot to save and any chance of getting that brush file back.
So I propose three fixes which are already out there in Computer land that Photoshop hasn't implemented. (And other Adobe products should also implement).
1. The auto save. When the user isn't using the screen, or at x intervals it will ask the user if they want to save, which is settable by the user (prompting and the auto-saving). Microsoft has it, Most Mac programs have it, Adobe Photoshop should also have it.
2. Generated back up files. At some intervals, instead of a full save, in case of a crash, Adobe Photoshop, when prompted will create back up files.
3. A way for Photoshop and Illustrator when creating brushes, etc to auto-save said brush when the brush is created, rather than generating a pack. Like it updates a file in Photoshop when one creates a brush. This means it will hard save to the computer and one doesn't have to make a brush pack or shut down photoshop to get the brush to save. I think this would save a lot of people heartbreak.
Minor peeve, but when I hit undo often it jumps to the previous layer I was at. I'd like an option to turn this "feature" off.

not sure if anybody mentioned  this.
tumasoft.com has a product for viewing and organizing your  brushes patterns etc. 25 bucks.
This should be native to Photoshop rather than from an external program. It's in many other programs,so I don't understand why Photoshop doesn't have a system native to it.
To be blunt: If that has happened more than once to you and you still  don’t save useful, newly created brushes regularly you should, in my  opinion, improve your workflow.
Saving a brush into a set should be doable  in something like 15 seconds, less if you use Keyboard Shortcuts.
Even  less than that if one automates the task with a Script (which could  then be invoked either via a Keyboard Shortcut or Configurator Panel).
Let  me know if you want to give it a try.
You misunderstand me. I save the brush into the brush panel, and I may have the brush in up and working, but to save the brush permanently, you have one of these options:
1. Quit Photoshop between each brush made. The Save Brush Preset was NOT a permanent solution. It should be automatically saved to a file. Such as "all". Illustrator has a similar feature, though this really needs to be streamlined for Illustrator as well.
2. Save as a brush pack. However, if you have a bunch of brushes planned, this becomes a pain to do. This means out of say the 100 brush packs you have to find it every single time and add it and even if Photoshop crashes, the brushes you saved won't show up in the brush menu, because Photoshop doesn't remember any of the brushes you made until you quit Photoshop. This means then, if you're in the middle of making a brush and Photoshop crashes, you have to bring up said brush pack.
Do you really make brushes? 'cause I do. I make lots of brushes and it annoys me to no end that when I save the brush to the brush panel it's not a permanent save, but temporary. It should be permanent and I shouldn't have to shut down Photoshop to get it to save automatically to the Photoshop Brush palette.
I spend a lot of time refining my brushes by testing them, making them, and then testing them again. When I get the brush perfect, and find that something big has happened, I expect the brushes I saved to the brush palate should have saved permanently. But test it... You can force quit Photoshop, after saving to a brush to the brush palate and find that it's not at the end of the brush palate anymore. This is wacky and should be fixed. I view it as an internal bug rather than a "feature" i.e. something they didn't think about when they gave users the ability to create their own brushes. This is very programable as other programs can do it and as you pointed out it, it is minor. Especially with the advent of workable backup files, it has become ten times easier. Since Photoshop remembers on shut down, it may be even more minor--just shifting some code from the shut down process to the "save to Brush palate" process. I wouldn't mind say 5-10 seconds more of waiting while it saves if the  save ends up in a permanent save.
But as for organizing Brush Presets  and Brush-name search capabilities Photoshop could indeed do with some  improvements. (I still work with CS4, so I don’t know what changes  exactly CS5  brought in that respect.)
Fonts on the other hand … I suspect  the risks connected with implementing any expanded font-capabilities in  Photoshop may be significant.
Font organizers already exist. And programs have implemented them with success without hindering the work flow. I'm proposing this in addition to the "favorites" and the type-in pull down menu, not instead of it. As there are working examples, I doubt it will be that difficult to mock up. This isn't like a new fangled idea--so making it isn't as difficult. It should have been in In Design a long, long time ago... All the Adobe Products need one. I wouldn't even mind if it was an external program that worked with the suite. (Similar to Font Book for Mac with the Coco Products)

Similar Messages

  • MY CUSTOM SHAPE TOOL HAS DISAPPEARED

    The tool CUSTOM SHAPE all of a sudden disappeared from the tool bar on the left. (where you can add text, crop, clone, etc.) I uninstalled Photoshop Elements 2.0 and reinstalled it and it's still not there. Can anybody help this grandma before I go into cardiac arrest?

    Mary,
    This might be your problem.
    Refer to this screenshot of my PSE2 desktop:
    http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ubxepKqYpQJZwRWoXkClf5otuL1Ah1
    The toolbar item indicated by the red arrow activates the 7 shape tools. Whichever of these tools is active, that icon will show on the toolbar. In my example it is the Rectangle Tool. If you click on the Custom Shape Tool icon in the options bar (blue arrow), the Custom Shape Tool icon will then show on the toolbar.
    If the shape tools icon on the toolbar has totally disappeared I have no idea what happened. Try resetting your preferences file (similar to shat VkSharma said). To do this, press and hold Alt-Ctrl-Shift immediately while starting PSE. The timing is critical, you may have to try this several times. A dialog box will pop up with the question "Delete the Adobe Photoshop Elements Settings file?". Click YES.

  • Custom shape tool missing from Photoshop CC tool bar

    Hi
    I am a subscriber to Photoshop and Lightroom CC and have just noticed (I need to draw a circle) that there is no custom shape tool in the left hand side tool bar; I've always just assumed it was there before. I've checked around and it seems as if it should be there but mine just isn't.
    Any help gratefully received
    Nick Garnett

    Hover your mouse over the line tool (just above the Hand tool) and select the Custom Shape tool from the menu which appears.
    Photoshop Help | Tool galleries

  • No custom shape tool color option

    Hi,
    I'm using Adobe Photoshop CS5 and I'm trying to use the custom shape tool to make a black music note.  However when I make the music note, it has no color to it.  I cannot find a color option for the custom shape tool anywhere.
    Where is the option that would change the color so the note is black?
    Thanks.

    Look at the three options in the options bar!

  • Custom shape tools

    Windows Vista Ultimate, PSE 6.0 I am trying to find out where to go to download additonal custom shapes and incoporate into the custom shape tool. Reference ELEMENTS TECHNIQUES magazine Vol. 5, #1,article on page28 uses the custom shape tool but the menue shown contains considerably more preset shapes than the one in my PSE 6.0. If there are more shapes than the 30 shapes shown on my menue somewhere in PSE 6 then I don't know how to access them. When I go to downloads where I would have expected to see "freebies like this" the only thing that turns up is a free trial of PSE6. If there is a source to buy from then that would be helpful. What about other plugins beyond those included in the original PSE6?
    I hope this is the right place/forum to post these types of questions

    Thank you very much Barbra, they are there just like you stated. The way my screen was tilted I could not see the arrows. I actually find the grey on black format of this program a bit hard to see, I wonder why they did not put items like these little arrows in a more contrasting color like pink or green or red. Another issue.
    thank you again and have a good day

  • Custom Shape Tool

    I've had to upgrade to Adobe Photoshop Version: 13.0 and can't find the Custom Shape tool .
    I'm specifically looking for the "starburst".
    Is something not loaded in this version of Photoshop?
    Sandy

    Can you clarify what you mean by Photoshop 13?   Is it CS6, or do you mean Photoshop Elements 13?
    You could try
    Reset Preferences
    Windows — Hold down Shift Ctrl Alt immediately after starting Photoshop
    Mac — Hold down Shift Cmd Opt immediately after starting Photoshop

  • PS tutorial using custom shape tool - why is shape so huge?

    I am following a PS tutorial to create a simple spot pattern. When I open the new doc and click on the custom shape to select a spot shape & place it in centre of grid, the shape is massive - way bigger than the document even. What am I doing wrong please?

    Look at the three options in the options bar!

  • Preview Brushes / Patterns / Fonts...

    Hey all,
    Bridge is a wonderfull tool for me, almost like iTunes for Graphic Designers. But I can't understand, why some important filetypes are not supported like .abr, .pat, .asl, .tff and all other font types. Most of them are developed by Adobe itself and should be at least supported at their own Applications.
    Do you know some workarounds or plugins, which make Bridge more powerful and enables preview support for these filetypes?
    Greetings,
    SaraSira

    Not a computer expert, but to open those images in Bridge would probably require quite a bit of code to intrepret and display each one.
    Each one of those special files are relying on the native program to do this and there probably has been no thought that anyone would want to view in Bridge. 
    At least that is my opinion.

  • I downloaded Photoshop but the custom shapes tool isn't there, some of the others aren't working, and I get this box saying I'm a trial user when I've paid.  Any suggestions?

    Hi, A couple of days ago I purchased and downloaded the creative cloud photoshop but now that I'm using it some of the tools aren't there.  Also, when I open it I get a message saying that I'm a trial user even though I'm not.  Is it me, or did the person downloading it not download everything?  What do I do.  I need to put some arrows in a picture to point something out but can't.  Thanks.

    Does your Cloud subscription properly show on your account page?
    If you have more than one email, are you sure you are using the correct Adobe ID?
    https://www.adobe.com/account.html for subscriptions on your Adobe page
    If yes
    Some general information for a Cloud subscription
    Log out of your Cloud account... Restart your computer... Log in to your paid Cloud account
    -Sign in help http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/account-password-sign-faq.html
    -http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/sign-in-out-creative-cloud-desktop-app.html
    -http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/activation-network-issues.html
    -http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/trial--1-launch.html
    If no
    This is an open forum, not Adobe support... you need Adobe staff to help
    Adobe contact information - http://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html
    -Select your product and what you need help with
    -Click on the blue box "Still need help? Contact us"

  • Custom shape tool in photoshop CS4

    I want to change what looks like a stroke on a "hollow" shape. I don't want to change the overall dimensions, just the width of the outline. Does anyone know how to do this?

    Rhonda,
    Use the little "camera" icon on the forum editing screen to attach your JPEG image:
    For changing the width of the outline, you can probably do that by chaning the Stroke of the Shape, but an image might tell us a lot more about what you wish to do.
    Good luck,
    Hunt

  • Custom shapes display

    I use PSE 8.
    Over time, I have added a number of brushes, patterns, and custom shapes to the presets. And am real happy I can do so!
    However, for the custom shapes, it lists them in columns from left to right and I am unable to see them all. Yes, I do have a lot!
    Other than deleting, is there any other way to see them all?
    Thank you!

    Thanks MTS - that's a workable solution,
    But I think I'm going to set up a folder in my pic files just for shapes. And I'll make a pic file of each shape that I am going to delete and save it in the shapes folder.
    There are a number of shapes that I only use one or two of, so shouldn't be too time-consuming right:?!!!!
    It's a shame tho that you can't delete some shapes from a file, and also add to others! Life would be so much easier!
    Thanks again for your help.

  • Custom Shapes?

    I'm a long-time Photoshop user who's recently started using
    Fireworks for wire framing websites. It has a lot of advantages
    over PS in that regard, but I'm used to reaching for my custom
    shape tool in PS, and in Fireworks I'm not finding anything
    resembling it.
    Can I somehow access my PS custom shapes from within FW, or
    do I have to export the shapes out of PS and import them into FW?
    Thanks in advance ...

    mistertheplague wrote:
    > I'm a long-time Photoshop user who's recently started
    using Fireworks
    > for wire framing websites. It has a lot of advantages
    over PS in that
    > regard, but I'm used to reaching for my custom shape
    tool in PS, and
    > in Fireworks I'm not finding anything resembling it.
    >
    > Can I somehow access my PS custom shapes from within FW,
    or do I have
    > to export the shapes out of PS and import them into FW?
    Thanks in
    > advance ...
    You'll find a few similar things in the Common Library panel.
    Most the
    the shapes in Photoshop look like ding fonts and Wing Dings,
    which, if
    you have the fonts installed, you can just type into your
    document. You
    can also create your own custom library of shapes. Here's
    how:
    http://www.fireworkszone.com/page-2-0-310.html
    Linda Rathgeber - Adobe Community Expert
    http://www.adobe.com/communities/experts/members/8.html

  • When I click on Define Custom Shape, I get an error message: "could not complete your request because of a program error."

    I'm using Photoshop CC 2014. When I click on Define Custom Shape, there is an error box that says "could not complete your request because of a program error."  How can I solve this problem or work around it? I've looked on the internet for answers but could find no solutions to this. The custom shape tool is 99% of what I use!

    Consider resetting the Pen tool by right clicking here
    and if that doesn't solve the problem a logical next step would be to reset your Preferences.
    To reset Preferences:
    If Photoshop is already open on your screen, close it (Quit). Then hold down Shift+Ctrl+Alt (Win) / Shift+Command+Option (Mac) on your keyboard and start Photoshop.
    A dialog box will pop up asking if you want to delete the existing Preferences file (the "Settings"). Click Yes in the dialog box. The existing Preferences file will be scrapped and a new one will be created.
    By the way, if "The custom shape tool is 99% of what I use!" have you considered Illustrator?

  • Tutorial:  Creating, saving and re-using Custom Shapes

    I've beeen experimenting with custom shapes for the last couple of days, and thought I'd share some of the tips and techniques I found.
    First of all, what are custom shapes?
    Well, they're vector objects.  That means that they are not built out of millions of individual pixels (like images are), but rather they're a series of mathematical statements that describe how to draw a line from point to point to create the vector shape.  This means that custom shapes are "resolution independent", and that they can be grossly shrunk or enlarged and still retain razor sharp edges, curves and corners.
    What are custom shapes good for?
    Pretty much anything where you want to use a good, sharp object.  In particular, using a custom shape as a clipping mask for an image that's been placed as a Smart Object is an outstanding technique, and really shows off the power that PSE is capable of.
    PSE comes with a lot of ready-to-use custom shapes for its Custom Shape tool, and there are probably hundreds of thousands available on the Web -- just search for "photoshop shapes".  Typically, those shapes will be supplied as Adobe CSH (Custom SHape) files, and simply copying the CSH files into the
    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 10\Presets\Custom Shapes"
    directory will make them available for use with the Custom Shape tool.
    Sooner or later, though, you'll get the itch to create your own custom shapes.  Out of the box, PSE does not have the capability to let you create custom shapes and add them to the CSH files like the "big" Photoshop does, so we'll need to use a workaround:  store your custom shapes as layers in a PSD file, and when you want to use them simply copy them into your image. 
    N.B.:  To create custom shapes you'll have to use the reasonably priced Elements+ add-in:
    http://elementsplus.net/
    So, the procedure goes like this:
    Create a new image, using the PSE defaults, and save it as "CustomShapes01.psd", keeping it open.
    Open an image containing an object that you want to use as a custom shape.
    Use any of the selection tools to make an accurate selection of the object:
    In the Effects panel, use the Elements+...Paths effect and choose the Create New Path...From Current Selection:
    Use the Elements+...Paths again, choosing "Convert to Shape", giving it a name and colour of your choosing.  This will create a Shape Layer using that name.
    Important:  If your shape has "holes",
    use the Shape Selection tool and click on the shape to select it.  Then hit the "Combine" button in the Options Bar.  This will combine all the individual shapes used to create the shape and its "holes" into one shape, and prevent beaucoup problems later.
    Switch to the Move tool and drag the shape onto the tab of your "CustomShapes01.psd" image, keeping your mouse button pressed.  That image will become activated and you can move your cursor onto the image itself and drop your shape onto it.  Your PSD file will now have your custom shape as a shape layer:
    Save that "CustomShapes01.psd" file.
    You can repeat the process for as many custom shapes as you want, and they will each become a layer in the "CustomShapes01.psd" file.
    To use your custom shape, open the "CustomShapes01.psd" file and your target image and do the drag and drop with the Move tool to copy the custom shape onto your target image.
    I mentioned that using a custom shape as a clipping mask for an image placed as a Smart Object is a very powerful technique.  It's powerful because the custom shape can be altered at any time and still keep its sharpness, and because the Smart Object can also be resized without becoming pixellated.  Of course, that custom shape layer can have any number of layer styles applied to it and those layer styles will "follow" the shape if the shape is moved, resized or rotated.
    Here are three examples of using the custom shapes as clipping masks for Smart Objects:
    In this example, each custom shape is used as a clipping mask for an image Smart Object, as usual:
    Here, one custom shape was used as a clipping mask for an image Smart Object and they were linked. 
    Then the shape and image were duplicated and moved, rotated and resized.  Because of the linking, the Smart Object automatically kept its orientation and size relative to the custom shape throughout:
    If you want to use custom shapes as a "combined" clipping mask, the procedure is a little more complicated because you need to get all your custom shapes on one shape layer. 
    So, after copying your shapes into the target image (as separate shape layers), use the Shape Selection tool to select one of the shapes.  Using Edit...Cut will cut that shape layer to the Clipboard, and you can select one of the other shape layers and use Edit...Paste to paste the custom shape into that shape layer.  Repeat as necessary, and you will get all of your custom shapes on one shape layer.  Then use that single shape layer as your clipping mask:
    The neat thing is that the individual shapes can be selected with the Shape Selection tool and independently moved, resized or rotated as necessary.
    Enjoy!
    Ken

    Thanks, Michel.
    I forgot to mention one point about copying shape layers into one shape layer:  when you initially use the Shape Selection tool to select a shape for cutting, make sure the option for the Shape Selection tool is set to "Add to Selection".
    MichelBParis wrote:
    The problem with Elements+ is that it has so many features you soon forget what it can give you !
    Truer words were never spoken! 
    Ken

  • How can I disable the "create custom shape" window?

    When I'm using the custom shape tool in CS6, it will often bring up a new window labeled "create custom shape". It's really disruptive and I'd like to know how I can disable it to prevent it from poping up.

    OK I can now get the dialog window to pop up with a single click in a document with my mouse or intuos tablet.   I had never seen that popup. Under normal conditions with the mouse I use and my old Intuos 2 now replaced with an Intuos 5 with default sensitivity setting I never saw that popup.  Now that I know it exists and how to get it I can pop it up.  Try changing your Wacom feel perhaps your getting extra single clicks.

Maybe you are looking for

  • Installation of Oracle Service Bus 11g

    Hi guys, I have installed weblogic 11g (10.3.6) and Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11.1.1.8 using the file oepe-wls-indigo-installer-11.1.1.8.0.201110211138-10.3.6-win32. Now I was trying to install the Oracle Service Bus 11g 11.1.1.7 and it says

  • Oracle Spatial User Conference -  Phoenix, Az   Apr 29th 2010- Agenda

    Oracle Spatial User Conference - Agenda Now Available! Register Today The 2010 Oracle Spatial User Conference agenda is now available. Visit http://www.gita.org/oracle to check it out. This year's program includes ** More technical training sessions

  • SQL Gurus : Need Help in building SQL query

    SQL Gurus, Need your expertise to solve my below problem: - I have a column that had comma separated data, basically there are the levels in a hierarchy. eg The same column could have the following data: Row 1: R1L1, R1L2, R1L3 Row 2: R2L1, R2L2 Row

  • Reg : adobe in web dynpro

    hi , I am working on Adobe Online Interactive Form using webdynpro for ABAP. Steps followed for development: In WD I have created a service call and added the bapi   to create  sale order. Mapped the context from component controller to view controll

  • Ajax URL access

    I have a web page , on click of a button , i am making a ajax call which gets me some text data , i parse it in the java script and populate the page. The application does not require login to access , not necessary to maintainany session as well. no