Adobe Photoshop 2020 NEW Features and Updates Explained!
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Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.
Photoshop 2020 new features add one-click AI object selection, cloud-saved documents, and a redesigned Warp tool to every part of your workflow.
Let’s unravel the exciting updates in Adobe Photoshop 2020!
You’re going to love the fantastic performance enhancement tools in this version. Let’s get started!
The video was recorded the day before Photoshop 21.0 shipped on November 5, 2019, the release Adobe calls Photoshop 2020.
Note: This post covers Photoshop 2020. For what came after, see Photoshop 2025, Photoshop 2024, Photoshop 2023, Photoshop 2022, or Photoshop 2021.
Key Takeaways
- The Object Selection Tool replaced the Quick Selection Tool as the default. It uses the same on-device AI behind Select Subject to find an object inside the area you drag.
- Free Transform now scales proportionally by default. The chain link icon in the Options Bar, not the Shift key, controls that behavior.
- Cloud documents save automatically to Adobe’s Creative Cloud in the PSDC format, so a Photoshop file opens the same way on a desktop or an iPad.
- You can convert a Smart Object back into an editable layer group with one right-click, though any smart filters on it are lost in the process.
- Content-Aware Fill got its own workspace, where you choose which pixels Photoshop samples instead of guessing at the result.
- The Warp Tool gained custom 4×4 and 5×5 grids with adjustable splits, instead of the fixed 3×3 grid from earlier versions.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Photoshop 2020 New Features: Keyboard Shortcuts
- Object Selection Tool
- Transform New Behavior
- New Brush Tool Keyboard Shortcuts in Photoshop 2020
- Zoom to Layer Keyboard Shortcut
- The Properties Panel
- Cloud Document
- Convert Smart Objects to Layers
- Content-Aware Fill
- Export As 2-Up Feature
- “Close Others” Command
- Preset Improvement
- Warp Tool
- Final Thoughts
- Previous Photoshop Updates
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to select an object with AI using the Object Selection Tool
- How to control proportional scaling with Free Transform’s chain link icon
- How to rotate and erase with the new Brush Tool keyboard shortcuts
- How to save and access a Photoshop file as a cloud document
- How to convert a Smart Object into layers
- How to sample specific pixels with Content-Aware Fill
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2020 (version 21.0 or later) or the current version
Photoshop 2020 New Features: Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Add to an Object Selection | Shift drag | Shift drag |
| Subtract from an Object Selection | Alt drag | Option drag |
| Free Transform | Ctrl T | Command T |
| Open Preferences (General) | Ctrl K | Command K |
| Rotate the Brush Tool | Left/Right Arrow | Left/Right Arrow |
| Rotate the Brush Tool, large steps | Shift Left/Right Arrow | Shift Left/Right Arrow |
| Toggle the eraser for the current brush | Tilde | Tilde |
| Zoom to a layer’s content | Alt click the layer thumbnail | Option click the layer thumbnail |
| Close all other documents | Alt Ctrl P | Option Command P |
Object Selection Tool
The new Object Selection Tool efficiently selects the subject using Photoshop’s built-in machine learning.
It uses the same AI as Select Subject, but lets you drag a box around the object first instead of selecting the whole image at once.
Simply drag around your image with the Object Selection Tool to automatically select the main subject.
You can fine-tune the selection by using other selection tools or the Select and Mask workspace.
Transform New Behavior
In Photoshop 2020, when scaling a layer, you no longer have to hold the shift key to scale proportionally.
In the Options Bar, the chain link icon enables or disables the proportional scale.
If you prefer the old resizing method (holding the Shift key to scale proportionally), go to the Preferences panel. Press CtrlK (Windows) or CommandK (macOS), and under the General tab, enable Use Legacy Free Transform.
New Brush Tool Keyboard Shortcuts in Photoshop 2020
In Photoshop 2020, you can now easily rotate the Brush Tool with a keyboard shortcut.
Press Left Arrow to rotate the Brush Tool counterclockwise, or Right Arrow to rotate clockwise.
Pressing Shift along with the arrow key rotates the brush in large increments.
We can also adjust the angle from the Options Bar or the Brush Setting dialogue box.
Another new shortcut in Photoshop 2020 is the erase feature when pressing Tilde, (below the Escape key).
This shortcut makes it possible to erase with the same brush you are using to paint.
Zoom to Layer Keyboard Shortcut
You can zoom in to the content of a layer by pressing Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and clicking on the layer thumbnail.
Photoshop will zoom in to fit the pixels on the screen. This zoom feature only works on a single layer, not grouped layers.
The Properties Panel
The Properties Panel provides easy access to edit the settings of the selected layer. It will show you options for resizing and removing a background.
When working with a text layer, the Properties Panel will allow you to edit the font size, style, or alignment.
Cloud Document
Photoshop 2020 allows you to save Photoshop documents in the Adobe Creative Cloud.
When saving a new document, you’ll be greeted with a dialogue box with the option to save the document in the Cloud or on your computer.
Cloud documents are saved in the PSDC format. You can see the cloud icon in the document tab indicating that the file is saved in the Creative Cloud.
Convert Smart Objects to Layers
A feature that was heavily requested is now a reality in Photoshop 2020.
You can now convert a Smart Object to Layers. Simply right-click on a Smart Object and select Convert Smart Objects to Layers.
The Smart Object will be converted to a Layer Group.
Content-Aware Fill
The Content-Aware Fill dialog box lets you remove unwanted content from your photos. In Photoshop 2020, this powerful tool now lets you select the pixels to sample.
In the example below, you can remove the person jumping behind the smiling girl with just a few clicks.
Go to Edit and select Content-Aware Fill.
In the Content-Aware Fill, choose the sampling setting:
Auto
Photoshop automatically selects an area to analyze and generate the fill. The green overlay in the preview window areas determines the pixels Photoshop analyzed to generate the fill. You can add or subtract from the sample area if need be.
Rectangular
Creates a rectangle around the selected subject to be removed.
Custom
Allows you to paint from scratch the areas to sample from.
Remember to output to a new layer to work nondestructively.
Note: This Content-Aware Fill workspace still works the same way today. Photoshop 2024 (version 25.0, September 2023) added Generative Fill and the Remove Tool as a faster, AI-powered way to do the same kind of removal.
Export As 2-Up Feature
This new Export As incorporates the 2-Up feature. This format helps you compare the quality and file size to the original image.
“Close Others” Command
Photoshop will now close all open documents except the document that’s currently active by going into File and choosing Close Others.
The keyboard shortcut is AltCtrlP (Windows) or OptionCommandP (macOS).
For floating documents nested in a tab, right-click on the active tab and choose Close Others. Photoshop will only close the documents nested on that tab.
Preset Improvement
In Photoshop 2020, Gradients, Patterns, Shapes, and Styles now have a dedicated panel that will give you total control of the corresponding presets.
From the Window menu, you can select Gradients, Patterns, Shapes, or Styles. In these panels, you can create and organize presets.
Warp Tool
The updated Warp Tool now offers new settings of 4 x 4 and 5 x 5 grids.
You can also customize the grids making a fantastic tool for Photomanipulation.
When you press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) to transform, you can click on the warp icon in the Options Bar.
Then you can use the Split icons to customize the grid. You can create vertical and horizontal splits over your warp to distort your image.
The splits are editable. You can right-click on a Split and choose Remove Warp Split.
Tip: For reshaping a person or object with pins instead of a grid, try Puppet Warp in Photoshop.
Final Thoughts
These are the new and exciting Adobe Photoshop 2020 Top NEW Features and Updates!.
Previous Photoshop Updates
- Photoshop 2019
- Photoshop CC 2018
- Photoshop CC 2017
- Photoshop CC 2015.5
- Photoshop CC 2014
- Photoshop CC
- Photoshop CS6
Frequently Asked Questions
The Photoshop 2020 new features include the AI-powered Object Selection Tool and a proportional-scale default for Free Transform. The release also added Cloud Documents, one-click Convert Smart Objects to Layers, and an upgraded Content-Aware Fill workspace.
Photoshop 2020 is Photoshop version 21.0, Adobe’s general release from November 5, 2019. It is the version right before Photoshop 2021, version 22.0.
Choose the Object Selection Tool in the toolbar, then drag a box around the object. Photoshop’s Sensei AI finds the subject inside that area the same way Select Subject does.
Photoshop 2020 changed the default so the chain link icon in the Options Bar, not the Shift key, controls proportional scaling. Turn off the chain link icon if you want Shift to constrain the transform again.
A cloud document is a Photoshop file, saved in the PSDC format, that lives in Adobe’s Creative Cloud instead of on your computer. It saves automatically and opens from the desktop app or Photoshop on the iPad.
Yes. Right-click the Smart Object and choose Convert to Layers. Photoshop turns it into a layer group, though any smart filters on it are not retained.
Yes, the Content-Aware Fill workspace and its sampling controls work the same way today. Photoshop 2024, version 25.0, added Generative Fill and the Remove Tool as a faster, AI-powered alternative for the same kind of removal.
Conclusion
Photoshop 2020 new features packed a year’s worth of workflow upgrades into one release, from one-click AI selection to a Warp tool that finally goes past a fixed 3×3 grid.
Every one of these tools still works the same way in the current version of Photoshop, so there is no reason to wait before trying them.
Watch the full video above for every feature in action, and comment on the video if you have a question.
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