Often we lose our flow while drawing on our iPad's when we want to switch our pen color or swap to a different tool. This constant tool switching can lead to valuable lost time that could be better used for to creating and studying
This Is Where Good Macropads Come Into Play
If you didn't know already, the app developers for apps like GoodNotes, Procreate, Photoshop, and Notability made keyboard shortcuts available to switch between tools/colors/brushes in their apps
But your obviously not going to carry a whole 104-key full size keyboard with your iPad
So a Reprogrammable macropad (like the ZM K9) is the perfect iPad companion
Cheap Amazon Pads
- Your stuck with soldered in rubber dome keys
- Your key layout can't be reprogram which means your stuck with using only one program (eg only Procreate)
The Better Macropad Solution
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Macropads (like the ZM K9) are hot swappable and allow you changeout the switches and keycaps to your liking
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You can reprogram shortcuts to any key and can even use the layering system to multiply the number of shortcuts you can use
Procreate - Keyboard Shortcuts
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Decrease brush size by 5% - [ |
Increase brush size by 1% - ⌘ ] |
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Increase brush size by 5% - ] |
Increase brush size by 10% - ⇧ ] |
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Debug Command - ` |
Copy All - ⌘ A |
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Activate Paint tool - B |
Enter Color Balance Adjustment - ⌘ B |
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Open Color Panel - C |
Copy - ⌘ C |
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Activate Erase tool - E |
Clear selection - ⌘ D |
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Open Layers Panel - L |
Duplicate selection - ⌘ J |
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Activate Modify button (iPadOS 17) - M |
Open Actions menu - ⌘ K |
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Enter Selections mode - S |
Enter HSB Adjustment - ⌘ U |
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Enter Transform mode - V |
Paste - ⌘ V |
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Switch between previous and current colors - X |
Cut - ⌘ X |
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Clear selected layer - ⌘ ⌫ |
Undo - ⌘ Z |
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Full Screen mode on/off - ⌘ 0 |
Redo - ⇧ ⌘ Z |
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Toggle Perspective Guide on/off - ⌘ ; |
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Decrease brush size by 1% - ⌘ [ |
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Decrease brush size by 10% - ⇧ [ |
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Goodnotes - Keyboard Shortcuts
Photoshop - Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action |
Keyboard shortcut (iPad) |
| Copy content from all visible layers |
Command + Shift + C |
| Move |
V |
| Transform |
N |
| Lasso |
L |
| Quick select |
W |
| Rectangular marquee |
M (Shift) |
| Elliptical marquee |
M (Shift) |
| Brush |
B |
| Eraser |
E |
| Paint bucket |
G (Shift) |
| Gradient |
G (Shift) |
| Spot healing brush |
J |
| Clone stamp |
S |
| Crop |
C |
| Type |
T |
| Eyedropper |
I |
| Use default foreground and background colors |
D |
| Switch foreground and background colors |
X |
| Brush size increase |
] |
| Brush size decrease |
[ |
| Select All |
Command + A |
| Deselect |
Command + D |
| Reselect |
Command + Shift + D |
| Invert Selection |
Command + Shift + I |
| Next selection view |
F |
| Previous selection view |
Shift + F |
| Fill with the foreground color |
Option + Delete |
| Fill with the background color |
Command + Delete |
| Invert |
Command + I |
| Nudge 10 pixels at a time |
Shift + Arrow |
| Nudge 1 pixel at a time |
Arrow |
| Cycle to next blend mode |
Shift - |
| Cycle to previous blend mode |
Shift = |
Notability - Keyboard Shortcuts
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Select Tool 1: ⌘-1
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Select Color 1: ⌥⌘ 1
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Select Tool 2: ⌘-2
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Select Color 2: ⌥⌘ 2
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Select Tool 3: ⌘-3
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Select Color 3: ⌥⌘ 3
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Select Tool 4: ⌘-4
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Select Color 4: ⌥⌘ 4
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Select Tool 5: ⌘-5
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Select Color 5: ⌥⌘ 5
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Select Tool 6: ⌘-6
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Select Color 6: ⌥⌘ 6
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Select Tool 7: ⌘-7
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Select Color 7: ⌥⌘ 7
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Select Tool 8: ⌘-8
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Select Color 8: ⌥⌘ 8
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Select Tool 9: ⌘-9
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Select Previous Color: ⌥⌘9
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Start recording: ⌘-R |
Select Next Color: ⌥⌘0
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Fast forward Audio: ^-Shift-Right Arrow
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Select Size 1: ^⌥ 1
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Rewind Audio: ^-Shift-Left Arrow |
Select Size 2: ^⌥ 2
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Select Size 3: ^⌥ 3 |
You can also hold the ⌘ key on a external keyboard while in a app to see it's keyboard shortcuts
