How To Quickly Access The Foreground And Background Color Pickers In Photoshop
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The foreground and background color pickers in Photoshop open with one key once you assign each of them a custom keyboard shortcut.
Normally, you reach them by clicking the color swatches in the toolbar. That means moving your cursor away from your painting every time you want a new color.
A keyboard shortcut removes that trip. By the end of this tutorial, you will press one key to open either color picker while you paint.
This tip is for anyone who does illustrations, retouching or any other painting in Photoshop and switches colors often.
You will also learn one of Photoshop’s best-hidden features. It lets you see and print out all the keyboard shortcuts, so you can reference them at any time.
The video was recorded in Photoshop 2015.1.2 (version 16.1.2). The Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog works the same way in the current version.
Key Takeaways
- Both color pickers are listed under Tools in the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog, so each one can have its own key.
- The K key is no longer free. Since Photoshop 2019, it selects the Frame Tool, so choose another letter if you use that tool.
- The HUD Color Picker uses different keys on each platform: ShiftAlt (Windows) or ControlOptionCommand (macOS), plus a right-click on Windows or a click on macOS.
- Custom shortcuts show up in the Summarize list, so the HTML file reflects your own setup.
- A web browser can print the Summarize file or save it as a PDF for later reference.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Foreground and Background Color Picker Shortcuts
- Where To Find the Foreground and Background Color Pickers
- Other Ways To Select a Color While You Paint
- How To Add Shortcuts to the Foreground and Background Color Pickers in Photoshop
- Step 1: Open the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus Dialog
- Step 2: Assign Keys to the Foreground and Background Color Pickers
- Step 3: Open the Foreground or Background Color Picker With One Key
- Bonus: Print Every Keyboard Shortcut With the Summarize Button
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to open the foreground and background color pickers from the toolbar
- How to select colors with the HUD Color Picker and the Color panel
- How to assign your own keys in the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog
- How to open either color picker with one key while you paint
- How to create a printable list of every shortcut with the Summarize button
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2015.1.2 (version 16.1.2) or the current version
Foreground and Background Color Picker Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Open the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog | Ctrl Alt Shift K | Command Option Shift K |
| Open the HUD Color Picker (Brush Tool active) | Shift Alt right-click | Control Option Command click |
| Open the foreground color picker (custom key from the video) | K | K |
| Open the background color picker (custom key from the video) | N | N |
Where To Find the Foreground and Background Color Pickers
The foreground color and the background color sit near the bottom of the toolbar. The foreground color is the top swatch, and the background color is the one below it.
Click the Foreground Color swatch to open the foreground color picker.
Click the Background Color swatch to open the background color picker.
This works, but it slows you down while you paint. With the Brush Tool selected, you have to move your cursor over to the left, click the swatch you want, and then select the color.
Other Ways To Select a Color While You Paint
Photoshop has two other ways to choose a color without going back to the toolbar.
The first is the HUD Color Picker. With the Brush Tool active, hold ShiftAlt (Windows) or ControlOptionCommand (macOS), then right-click on Windows or click on macOS.
A heads-up display appears on the canvas, and you can select a color from it.
The second is the Color panel. Go to Window > Color, select a color in the panel, and then continue painting.
For more ways to pick colors from a panel, learn how to apply color swatches in Photoshop.
Both options are quick, but the color pickers give you more control. They have buttons for adjusting the Hue and Saturation, plus a slider for fine-tuning the color, such as making it less bright.
The only problem is that the color pickers take a little longer to get to.
How To Add Shortcuts to the Foreground and Background Color Pickers in Photoshop
Photoshop lets you add keyboard shortcuts to both color pickers. It takes three steps.
Step 1: Open the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus Dialog
Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts. You can also press CtrlAltShiftK (Windows) or CommandOptionShiftK (macOS).
This brings up the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog.
Under Shortcuts For, select Tools. You now see each tool and the keyboard shortcut it uses.
Not all the keys are taken, so you have room to add your own.
Step 2: Assign Keys to the Foreground and Background Color Pickers
Scroll down the list until you find the Foreground Color Picker and the Background Color Picker.
Next to Foreground Color Picker, set the shortcut to K.
Next to Background Color Picker, set the shortcut to N.
Click Accept, then click OK to close the dialog.
When the video was recorded, no tool used K or N, so both letters were free.
Warning: Since Photoshop 2019, K selects the Frame Tool. If you assign it to a color picker, Photoshop warns you about the conflict, and accepting the change removes K from the Frame Tool.
Tip: If you use the Frame Tool, scroll through the Tools list first and pick a letter that no tool uses.
Step 3: Open the Foreground or Background Color Picker With One Key
Go back to painting. When you want a different color, press K to open the foreground color picker.
Press N to open the background color picker.
This gives you the full Color Picker window, with all of its controls, and no trip to the toolbar.
Bonus: Print Every Keyboard Shortcut With the Summarize Button
The Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog has one more trick. It can create a list of every shortcut in your installation of Photoshop, including the ones you just created.
- Press CtrlAltShiftK (Windows) or CommandOptionShiftK (macOS) to open the dialog again.
- Click the Summarize button. Photoshop creates an HTML file that contains all your keyboard shortcuts.
- Open that file in your web browser, such as Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
- Scroll down to the Tools section at the very bottom. The foreground color picker and the background color picker show the keys you set.
This is a good way to look at all the keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop. From the browser, you can save the file as a PDF or print it out.
To learn more of the built-in shortcuts on that list, start with these 19 Photoshop keyboard shortcuts you probably don’t know.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click the Foreground Color swatch near the bottom of the toolbar. For faster access, give the Foreground Color Picker its own key under Tools in Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts, then press that key while you paint.
Yes. Press CtrlAltShiftK (Windows) or CommandOptionShiftK (macOS) and set Shortcuts For to Tools. Type a key next to the Foreground Color Picker or Background Color Picker, then click Accept and OK.
Select the Brush Tool, then hold ShiftAlt (Windows) or ControlOptionCommand (macOS). Right-click on Windows, or click on macOS, to bring up the HUD Color Picker on your canvas.
The Frame Tool has used K since Photoshop 2019. If you accept the new shortcut, Photoshop takes K away from the Frame Tool. Choose a different letter if you want to keep that tool’s shortcut.
Open Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts and click the Summarize button. Photoshop creates an HTML file that lists every shortcut in your installation, including any custom ones you added.
Yes. Open the HTML file from the Summarize button in a web browser such as Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Print it from there, or save it as a PDF.
Go to Window > Color to open the Color panel. You can pick a color there and keep painting without opening the full Color Picker.
Conclusion
Custom keys turn the foreground and background color pickers in Photoshop into one-key tools. Set them once, and you no longer need the trip to the toolbar while you paint.
The Summarize button is the bonus. It gives you a printable list of every shortcut in your installation, including the ones you just made.
Watch the video above to see each step, and comment on the video if you have a question.
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