Astropad Studio and Capture One

Setting Up Capture One with Astropad Studio

Capture One is a powerful tool for photographers, offering advanced editing tools and flexible workspace layouts. This guide walks through how to customize Capture One for a smoother experience when using it with Astropad Studio.

Workspace and Tool Panel Layout

Capture One allows you to customize your workspace layout. To get started, go to Window > Workspace and choose from preset arrangements. For example, the Migration Workspace places the catalog at the bottom, while the Default Workspace places it to the side.

Floating and Rearranged Panels

You can float tools anywhere on your screen for easier access. To do this, either:

Go to Window > Create Floating Tool, or
Drag a tool panel from the Tool Tab column and drop it anywhere.

This allows your most-used panels to stay in view, helping you work more efficiently with Astropad Studio. The Astropad Workspace Sidebar can be placed on either side of your iPad screen or hidden with the red ring button.

Customizing Shortcuts

Astropad Studio uses default shortcuts, so you’ll need to customize them to match your Capture One workflow. To edit or add new shortcuts:

Open the Workspace Sidebar in Astropad Studio
Tap Edit Shortcuts
Tap Add Shortcut or edit an existing one
Return to the Workspace view to use your new shortcuts

Recommended shortcuts:

B: Draw Mask
E: Erase Mask
M: Show/Hide Mask
G: Gradient Mask
W: White Balance
U: Luma Curve Point
P: Loupe
Delete: Delete

Suggested Magic Gestures:

Hover
Eraser
Right Click
Shift
Undo
Redo

Using Touch Gestures

Astropad supports pinch-to-zoom and two-finger panning in Capture One. This allows you to hide scrollbars and keep your canvas uncluttered while editing.

If Touch Panning Isn’t Working

Go to Capture One Preferences > General and disable Zoom with scroll wheel. This will allow Astropad’s touch gestures to function normally.

Improving Masking Performance

If masking feels slow, especially with large RAW files, try adjusting the Display Mask setting. Enabling Never Display Mask can sometimes reduce performance. Try switching to another setting to improve stroke response speed.