Astropad Studio and Photoshop

In This Article:

Setting Up Your Photoshop Workspace

Creating Custom Shortcuts

Using Magic Gestures

Quick Keys

On-Screen Keyboard

Touch Gestures: Zoom, Pan, Rotate

Setting Up Your Photoshop Workspace

Photoshop is one of the most popular creative tools, used for everything from drawing and photo editing to design and adjustments. When paired with Astropad Studio, you can turn your iPad into a powerful creative companion.

This quick guide will help you set up an efficient Photoshop workspace using Astropad Studio.

Rearranging Panels

Photoshop usually places most panels on the right and the tool panel on the left.

With Astropad, you can place your Shortcuts Sidebar on either side of the iPad screen, or hide it anytime by tapping the Astro-red ring button. Just drag the ring button with your finger to move it.

Photoshop panels arranged on the left

Free-floating Panels

You can also use Photoshop's free-floating panels to arrange your tools however you like. Click and drag a panel tab or top corner to move it anywhere on your screen.

Photoshop free-floating panels

Keep the panels you use most (like color swatches, layers, or the color picker) expanded. Collapse the rest to save space.

Tip: The Navigator panel makes scrolling and navigating zoomed-in canvases much easier. Enable it under Window > Navigator. Then drag the red box to move around the canvas.

Photoshop Navigator tool

Creating Custom Shortcuts

Astropad Studio's Shortcuts Sidebar is fully customizable, so you can set it up for the way you use Photoshop.

To customize your shortcuts:

• Go to the Shortcuts Sidebar in Astropad
• Tap Edit Shortcuts near the bottom
• Rename, add, or remove shortcuts as needed
• Tap Workspace to return when you're done

Add the tools you use the most to streamline your workflow — it’s entirely up to you!

Using Magic Gestures

Magic Gestures let you access powerful shortcuts with simple finger movements — like using the eraser, undo/redo, or hovering.

Recommended Magic Gestures:

• Hover
• Eraser
• Option
• Shift
• Undo
• Redo

Astropad Studio's Hover Gesture enabled

Quick Keys

Need access to modifier keys like Command, Option, Control, or Shift? Use Astropad’s on-screen Quick Keys.

You’ll find Quick Keys at the bottom of the Shortcuts Sidebar. Tap to enable or disable them. You can also customize which keys appear — check out our Quick Keys customization guide.

On-Screen Keyboard

Need to type or enter text in Photoshop? Astropad Studio includes a full on-screen keyboard — even F-keys are available if you enable them in settings.

To use it, tap Keyboard in the Shortcuts Sidebar or use the button in Quick Keys.

Touch Gestures: Zoom, Pan, and Rotate

Just like using a Mac trackpad, Astropad’s touch gestures make it easy to zoom, pan, and rotate your canvas right from your iPad:

• Pinch with two fingers to zoom
• Slide two fingers to pan
• Twist two fingers to rotate the canvas

No need to rely on scrollbars — your fingers can do it all.