Quickly switching blending modes

in windows, you can select a Blend mode (Overlay, Screen, etc) and using the mouse wheel, select new ones. However on a Mac, you have to click and select one everytime. Is there some secret to achieve a similar quick switch like on Windows PS? thanks

Try shift +/- with a tool selected that doesn't have a blend mode associated with it (eg. Move tool (v)). This will walk down/up the modes while previewing the change.
You can also click the blend mode in the Layer panel to give focus, and then use the arrow keys to cycle thru the modes. This won't preview the change until clicking return.

Similar Messages

Is there a way to quickly preview blend modes, similar to the shift+ and shift- like AfterAffects?

This would seem to be a no brainer but nobody seems to know the answer.... I have a hard time believing I have to endure the sea-saw process of clicking on a given blend mode each time I want to preview an affect.

The next issue you will find with Blend Modes is "Opacity Droppings"
Anyone that uses Blend Modes...naturally uses Opacity as part of the setting. ie. the degree of blend.
(The two work hand in hand.)
Problem is.. as soon as you do this... an automatic opacity keyframe is created.
This is guaranteed to drive you nuts!
It does not work this way in AEFX . where it is more logically and practically implemented with a normal way of setting a keyframe manually.

Scroll Blending Modes?

Is there any way to quickly change blending modes in CS3 without using the mouse? I'm envisioning a single click in the blending mode drop-down menu and then using the up and arrow keys to scroll through the list.
It's the kind of interface feature I've come to take for granted. Makes for much better speed and ergonomics than all that mousing and clicking, no?
BG

In the Keyboard Shortcut section you can assign single key shortcuts to the Next and Previous Blending mode command.

Quick way to cycle through blend modes

Greetings all, just a wonder at something that has been on my mind regarding blend modes in motion. Is there any way to cycle through them without having to click singularly on each individual one? An example of what I mean is like Photoshop's keyboard shortcut of (Shift-Opt with + or -). Huge time saver if anyone has information on this.
Cheers - m

Thanks for the reply,
yeah... that's what i've been doing but thought to finally put the question out there thinking that someone may know. Seems strange, would have thought there would be a quicker way which would really help while previewing composites.
Hopefully somebody knows something.
Cheers mate - m

Blend Mode Selection in Photoshop minor difference between platforms

Guys you REALLY need to do something about this asap. I don't know if it's a mac/pc problem or if it's a CS6 problem. I have been working with photoshop on PC for the past 9 years or so. I recently had to switch to CS6 on Mac.
I can no longer place my cursor in the blend modes field and use arrow keys to quickly toggle through them to find the ideal mode. I used to be able to preview 15 blend modes in just 5-6 seconds and land on the ideal mode... and get on with my project. NOW i have to click this button and click again on each blend mode... lengthening my process by up to 2 minutes. This is an ENORMOUS problem for me as choosing blend modes is critical in my day to day design work.
See the menu right next to it where you can type in the opacity? I can put my cursor in there and use arrow keys to adjust values. Blend mode NEEDS to work this way too. And this is on a mac. You simply HAVE to do something here. productivity impacted severely.
Also.. this problem exists in After Effects CS5 on pc. Let's get it fixed there too. I will hand-write you a letter of praise and send flowers if you can do this.

conroy wrote:
Noel Carboni wrote:
It's like you're invisible, conroy.
That could be because some readers are blinded by the white background and shiny badge of MVP and Staff posts.
If not, then it's strange that nobody is interested in working out why the OP has the problem or how to restore correct behaviour to his/her installation.
I can tell you the rationale behind my post, if it helps. The original poster's real goal was to "...preview 15 blend modes in just 5-6 seconds and land on the ideal mode... and get on with my project."
On my Mac, I can certainly click in the menu and use the arrow key to go up and down, as conroy said. But what that does not do is apply the blend mode, unless I also press Return. But pressing Return kicks you out of the menu so you have to start the click/arrow/Enter cycle again, which is a long way just to try the next blend mode. So while the superficial reading of the problem says "I can arrow key through the menu, problem solved," it doesn't solve the real goal of "preview 15 blend modes in just 5-6 seconds."
But Shift+ can, because it saves so many steps over click/arrow/Enter (and because the native OS X pop-up can't do any better). So Shift+ was a more appropriate solution, and the original poster already said it solves their problem.
If you read the original post, I think what is really going on is a Windows/Mac switcher issue, not an unfixed bug. Windows and Mac pop-up menus work very differently. In Windows, you can enter text into a drop-down list directly and up/down arrow through the list without the menu actually popping up. (For a Mac example, see the Type tool Font and Size menus in the Options bar in Photoshop, which I assume are custom-coded. Compare to the Font and Size menus in Apple Pages or Keynote.) He switches to Mac Photoshop, and Blend Modes menu doesn't work that way. It might never work that way, because native Mac pop-up menus are much more mouse-oriented.
Now, if there is a verifiable bug in the menu, Adobe should fix it. You might want to make sure it's listed at the Photoshop Feedback site, and add it if it isn't there.
http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family

Aliased text on PDF export with blending modes

So I've had this issue with a pdf, I tried to export it CMYK, RVB, interactive pdf, regular pdf, with tons of different other options, the text was still very aliased.
I decided to take it back from scratch, openned a new document with the same size, and copied/pasted element after element from the old one to the new one, exporting as pdf between each copy/paste. The first exports went really well, the render was great… until I pasted a vector element that was applied with a blending mode (overlay).
When I switched it to normal, the pdf export was smooth again. Tried every blending mode, everyone makes the text jaggy. Switch back, it's ok. So I'm 100% sure that this comes from blending modes, as opposed to what I could have read on other forums.
This is a request, please, InDesign team, take care of this problem, this is quite annoying in many cases.
Thank you for your attention!
Twitted here as well : https://twitter.com/grinderlabs/status/448381486627311616

To minmize the possibility of rasterizing or outlining text when transparency is flattened, keep the text above any transparent objects. Blending modes, along with most effects, use transparency.
You can also minimize the risk by exporting the PDF with live transparency, which is supported in Acrobat 5 or higher compatibility.

How to Apply adjustment layers to multiple layers that have different blending modes ...

How to Apply adjustment layers to multiple layers that have different blending modes and keep the colours the same as the adjusment done?
I work in Animation painting Backgrounds. My files are sometimes upwards to 200+ layers.
I will use adjustment layers to quickly balance colours and constrast on top of those many many layers.
The only way that I know of how to apply adjustment layers it to every single layer ( by applying I mean I need to get rid of the adjustment layers because we cant use them in production but i need the new colours be applied to all layers underneath ) in a psd is to manually do it By duplicating the adjusment layer 200+ times and then merging each layer to one of those adjustment layers so that that layer can take the adjustment layers effect permanently.
The issue is that Within Those 200 layers I have some layers set to Multiply or OVERLAY.    IT obviously wont apply the adjustment layer properly to those layers because those layer blend mode affect the layers under them. The colour wont be the same anymore in the spots that had the multiply blended mode.
HEres an example of a simple File. to show what i mean.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3408266/ball%20layers.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3408266/ball.psd
I have 2 adjustment layers up top. I need to get rid of them by applying them to each layer! I cannot merge any of the layers. We need all those layers for production.
I can apply the adjustment layers manually and this works GREAT for all Layers set to normal. THey take on the colour change just FINE.
However, The issue is that layer 6 and layer 4 are both set to mutiply and this screws up the colour once i apply the adjustment layers to each layer manually...
How can i apply my adjustment layers to a file like this with some layers being set to multiply while keeping the layers exactly the same configuration and The new colour taking efffect exactly how i looks before i apply the adjustment layers?
Now the simple solution is to merge the multiply layers to the layer that it affects HOWEVER I NEED those multiply layers to be seperate!
I'm assuming what I want to do is impossible? Hope this isnt confusing. As far as i know its impossible to do what I want it to do. but just wanted to ask and see.
I would REALLY REALLY love to talk to a adobe programmer/ technician/pro working at adobe about this. Theres just no way to get in touch with anyone... =(
any thoughts ?

Sure... if you want to put it that way. Either way its not the desirable outcome.
its just frustrating that theres no way to apply adjustment layers to hundreds of layers while keeping them in the same configuration ( blendmodes, layer order , without merging) while keeping the same end result.
works great if all your layers are set to normal though..    But I really need to keep shadow layers seperately and be able to adjust on the fly aswell as apply those adjusment to all my layers.
I suppose that just isnt possible.   I understand the math required for this would be tremendous/ complicated if something like this would ever be implemented. Would be nice if adobe could come up with some solution to this. Its really a huge issue in my work flow and theres no alternatives.    How else can I adjust colours to 100+ layers with a few clicks that lets me play around the the adjustment until im happy with the outcome.    Really wish i could adjust and the quickly apply that adjustment to all my layers regardless of blend mode.   LIke If the Layers with blendmode could somehow take the properties of the adjustment layer and keep adjusting those layers undereathe on top of that blended mode that its doing...

Blending modes not working in CS6

High everybody, i am working in cs6 and starting to frustrate more and more, tried everything and nothing seems to work. Layer blending modes just seems to stop working at one moment, or at certain layers, i dont know. I have two layers one on top of other, and when i set blending mode on top layer everything just goes white, I will post screenshot of my ps, so if anybody can help me pls.. Thanks!
.

I wanted to do some quick tutorial and this is the one i chose to kill boredom... http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/designing-tutorials/creating-a-cool-3d-web-design-effect / (step 10) if you have time look into it.
The guy copies white rectangular background layer with radial gradient fx (dark red) on top, disables gradient and applies pattern overlay fx with overlay blend mode, so he just inserts pattern onto header layer and result is header with radial gradient and pattern, i know what you are saying and probably know how to do it some other way, but i am really buged how he did it, is it because he worked in older v. of ps?
p.s. this means then that in order for pattern overlay fx to work in overlay blend mode - shapes must have color (not working when colored with #fff or #000) - right?
Thanx

Masks and blend modes

Hello all,
So, I'm creating a chest caption and I wanted to have the text on a semi-transparent rectangle background. I also want to use a soft light blend mode on the rectangle. Now, I also want the rectangle to quickly appear from nowhere so I am using a mask, which I then move quickly off to the right of the screen thus revealing the rectangle.
Now, once I have added this mask, I don't seem to be able to use any different blend modes, just the normal one. I've tried changing it and it has no effect.
Can anyone tell me why this might be, and if there is a way around it?
Thanks
Chris

Try changing the blend mode of the group containing the rectangle and the mask. The elements below the rectangle of course need to be in a different group below this group.

Question about using blending modes when cloning

Hi I want to clone on a blank layer above the background layer. I have the tool set to curent and below and the blank layer is set to normal blending mode. I want the cloning to be in darken blending mode. I change the blending mode of the clone stamp tool to darken. Will that work on a blank layer that is set to normal or is it necessary to also change the blending mode for the blank layer to darken as well? Thanks for your help.

Well thanks. It's not just a portion of the image that I want to clone on using different blend modes, but the entire image. I didn't want to duplicate the background to clone on as it adds a lot in size to the image and its harder to edit out incase I make a mistake. Guess I will have to have two layers, one set to lighten and one to darken. I wish that Adobe would make photoshop work in the next version so that you could just change the blending mode of the clone stamp tool in the tool bar. Wasn't it like this in versions before CS5?
So I have another question for you. Can I use the healing brush on lighten and darken blending modes on a blank layer set to normal with sample current and below selected? Or do I have to switch between two separate layers, one set to lighten, one set to darken?
Thanks again.

{PC CC2014} Blending modes REFUSES to export

Hi there,
I'm not exactly the strongest when it comes to Illustrator, so hopefully this isn't some stupid preference issue on my part, but...
I'm having an issue with my blending modes. Basically I have 3 stars, larger to smaller, top to bottom. I have a simple shape with 67% gray in multiply mode to create a "Texas Star" effect. The issue, is that when I go to export this file to ANY format, or I copy and paste it out, that 67% gray shape just sits on top. It refuses to go anywhere. I've tried expanding, even rasterizing (though that gives the SAME error). Nothing seems to work.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I know that I'm not extremely strong in illustrator (I can just hack my way through it). Perhaps someone else might know of how to fix this issue. Yes, I know I can copy and paste, then copy and paste the blend mode in PS and re export, even live trace if necessary, BUT I'm trying to figure this issue out. I REFUSE to do that for all my blend modes FOREVER. Something I wrong, I just don't know what.
Thank you very much,
-David A. Turner

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t1.0-9/10563173_10152595627323524_5 65109011631487628_n.jpg
So it's VERY complicated, lots of crap all over. Like I said, I'm not very good at illustrator, just good enough to bludgeon my way through like two virgins on wedding night.
That said, I don't know if you can see it or not, but on the top and bottom row, are stars.
So I created a star with a layer atop it that had the multiply for the seen effect, duplicated it, made the duplicate a color variation, and did a blend. Expanded them, grouped them.
Now, whenever I try to export this in ANY way, it has problems. When I have a multiply blend mode, and I try ANY method to export it (other than screen capture), it comes out like this:
Notice how the stars just have that gray block in front of them. That's the problem. This does not seem to happen in other files, just on this one. What might I be missing?
PS, Just starting to work for the client, just making quick short changes, if anyone sees anything to change real quick, let me know, please. I'll gladly take other advice as well.
-David Turner

Are FW blending modes preserved

I have a colored gradient bitmap image in "heat" mode over a
neutral black/gray image with white highlights, the latter of which
I want to stand out. In FW it looks great... Can I export these to
FL and expect the blending modes to remain intact?

Paevo Kelley wrote:
> I have a colored gradient bitmap image in "heat" mode
over a neutral
> black/gray image with white highlights, the latter of
which I want to stand
> out. In FW it looks great... Can I export these to FL
and expect the blending
> modes to remain intact?
>
I'm not sure about CS3, but as of Flash 8, these FW blend
modes were
supported:
Darken
Multiply
Lighten
Screen
Overlay
Hard light
Add
Subtract
Difference
Invert
Erase
I didn't hear much about the blend modes when CS3 came out,
so chances
are they are still the same. You can quickly check by Opening
Flash and
seeing if the mode you want is there. Generally, if the blend
modes
exists, it should work. Another option is to create a
flattened copy of
the blended image.
Jim Babbage - .:Community MX:. & .:Adobe Community
Expert:.
http://www.communityMX.com/
CommunityMX - Free Resources:
http://www.communitymx.com/free.cfm
.:Adobe Community Expert for Fireworks:.
Adobe Community Expert
http://tinyurl.com/2a7dyp
See my work on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim_babbage/

Some blending modes are unavailable

I have Photoshop CC 2014 and after I've updated it (a few days ago) I'm now unable to use certain blending modes. I can use 'Normal', 'Dissolve', 'Darken' 'Multiply' and 'Screen' but nothing else. The others are un-clickable. Does anyone know what I've done and can they tell me how to fix it?

Sometimes corrupt preferences can be a common cause.
If you need a quick and dirty way to restore your preferences, here's a way you can do it using a keyboard shortcut on launch:
Windows - CTRL-SHIFT-ALT immediately after you double-click the PS icon.
Macintosh - CMD-SHIFT-OPTION immediately after you double-click the PS icon.

Blending Modes ("vivid light") in After Effects?

I discovered that in After Effects CS6 (Win7) some blending modes seem to not work as expected.
I have a bitmap with transparencies above another bitmap and want to blend it with "vivid light" - but the result is the same as if i had no blending mode selected at all. The same is for "hard light", "linear light" or "hard mix".
Other blending modes like "multiply", "soft light" and "overlay" work just fine.
Does anyone have an idea what is wrong with my After Effects?

I'm sorry for not being as specific as requested in the faq. I thought it might be more helpful to reduce the problem description to the most relevant facts first, and see if it can be solved in a simple way.
My former experiences with providing all existing information in the first post is usually met with no answers at all, because people think: WOAH! Too much information. ;-)
Okay, I designed my video design in Photoshop CS6 first. This is how the design was supposed to look like - as it was composed in Photoshop.
There are two layers:
1. a pattern of semi-transparent patches on top and
2. a blue gradient background
the pattern (1) is composited with blending mode "vivid light" on the background (2).
After I exported both layers as pngs (24bit alpha) and imported them in After Effects and used the same settings as in photoshop, I got the following:
As you can see, I used "vivid light" as blending mode, but it looks exactly as if blending mode "normal" was used.
The render quality is set to final quality.
The same happens with blending modes "hard light", "linear light" or "hard mix" (i guess, you don't need screenshots, because they all look the same)
But other blending modes like "multiply", "soft light" and "overlay" work fine (in this case I used "overlay"):
So, the problem is: Why do some blending modes not work, while others work?
BTW: I also tried to import the PSD directly into After Effects with all layers retained, in case something was wrong with the pngs, that I exported - but the imported PSD produced exactly the same error. So, no difference there.
Now for all the questions from the faq. - i think most of them will not help to identify the issue, but i will try and answer all of them:
What version of After Effects? Include the minor version number (e.g., After Effects CS5.5 with the 10.5.1 update).
CS6 (11.0.2)
Have you installed the recent updates? (If not, you should. They fix a lot of problems.)
yes, I have
What operating system? This should include specific minor version numbers, like "Mac OSX v10.6.8"---not just "Mac".
Windows 7, 64bit latest version, all updates installed
What kind(s) of source footage? When telling about your source footage, tell us about the codecs, not just the container types. For example, "H.264 in a .mov container", not just "QuickTime".
any footage. it's regardless of what footage I use. in this special case it was 2 pngs (24bit alpha) - see above.
If you are getting error message(s), what is the full text of the error message(s)?
there is no error message
What were you doing when the problem occurred?
see above
Has this ever worked before? If this worked before by doesn't work now, what has changed on your computer in the intervening time?
it's the first time I tried
What other software are you running?
mainly software like Google Chrome or Microsoft Office - I'm not sure they have anything to do with the problem
Do you have any third-party effects or codecs installed?
I have Magic bullet looks installed, but since I don't use it in this project, I don't think it's got anything to do with the problem
Tell us about your computer hardware. Include CPU type and number of processor cores, amount of RAM installed, GPU, number of disk drives, and how any external drives are connected.
Intel something, 6 cores, 12GB RAM, and NVIDIA GTX 590 graphics card, (driver 306.97)
Do you have any third-party I/O hardware (e.g., AJA, Matrox, Blackmagic, MOTU)?
no
Are you using OpenGL features in After Effects?
I don't know.. I thought OpenGL in CS6 is all automatically and can not be turned off or on?
but i switched quality to "final render".
Does the problem only happen with your final output, RAM preview, or both?
everywhere
Are you using Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously multiprocessing?
yes. but if I turn it off, nothings changes
What is the exact sequence of steps that you are taking?
see above
hope this helps

History Panel Option to ignore Layer Blend Mode Changes

Using shift+plus and minus keys to see various layer blend modes eats up my History. Not quite sure why it even records... you can't use the History Brush to "blend" previous blend modes. And it is not difficult to go back to a previous blend mode. I'd like to see a History Option to ignore Layer Blend Mode Changes, like you have for Layer Visibility Changes.

OK. Changes in the Blending Dialog don't record in History until committed.Thanks!
But I don't see a way to quickly go through the various Blend Modes like you can with Shift+ plus/minus keys. I really like that keyboard method to rapidly view and compare various Blend Modes.

Quickly switching blending modes

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