Studio Sidebar

The Workspace Sidebar is where you’ll control and customize Astropad Studio. It gives you access to settings, shortcuts, and tools designed to make your workflow smoother. You can move the sidebar to the left or right side of your iPad’s screen, and toggle it on or off by tapping the red Astro ring button.

Main Menu Overview

When you open the sidebar, you’ll see the Main Menu first. Here’s what each option does:

• Connection Status: Shows whether you’re connected over USB or Wi-Fi and indicates your connection quality.
• Sidebar Position: Tap the three-line icon to flip the sidebar to the opposite side of the screen.
• Active App: Displays the current Mac or PC program you're using.
• Workspace Access: Tap to access or customize shortcuts for the program you're using.
  
  

Settings Menu

• Pencil & Stroke: Adjust stroke smoothing, pressure curves, and preview line appearance.
• Magic Gestures: Customize gesture-based shortcuts.
• General Settings: Change settings for display brightness, Retina resolution, and color handling.

Info Menu

• Move & Zoom: Adjust the part of your desktop that’s visible on your iPad.
• Connection: Check connection speed and input response.
• Learn & Support: Find help articles and user guides.

Need to start fresh? You can reset any settings to default at the bottom of the sidebar.

Shortcuts Sidebar

From the Main Menu, tap “Workspace” to access program-specific shortcuts. These are great for commands you use often, but not enough to make them Quick Keys. You can also edit or create your own shortcuts.

1. Current Shortcuts: Lists available commands.
2. Edit Workspace: Add, remove, or rename shortcuts and tap gestures.
3. Move & Zoom: Change the zoom area of your desktop.
4. Keyboard: Launch the on-screen keyboard to type or use additional shortcuts.
5. Quick Keys: Show on-screen modifier keys like Command, Option, Control, and Shift. This is also where your custom keys live.|
   
   

Switching Apps

You can switch or launch apps from the Shortcuts Sidebar by tapping the current app’s icon. This shows all apps on your Mac or PC dock or taskbar. For the best results, pin your most-used apps there so they’re always accessible.

Editing Shortcuts

If you don’t see a shortcut you need, you can easily add or modify one:

• Use “Add Separator” to create visual spacing.
• Tap “Add Shortcut” to name and assign new key combos.

Be careful: when creating a shortcut, the keystrokes are recorded exactly as typed. If you make a mistake, use the “Clear Keys” button instead of delete or backspace.

Tap Shortcuts

At the bottom of the Edit Shortcuts menu, you can customize Finger Tap actions:

• Two-Finger Tap and Three-Finger Tap: Set each to your preferred commands. Default is Undo and Redo, but you can choose any keyboard command. If needed, get creative!
  
  

Quick Keys

When you tap “Quick Keys” in the Shortcuts Sidebar, modifier keys appear on your screen. You can move these to any corner. They remain visible even if you hide the sidebar.

On-Screen Keyboard

Tap the keyboard icon to open Astropad’s on-screen keyboard. You can use it for typing or for shortcuts that aren’t in your Quick Keys or sidebar commands.