How do I change keyboard shortcuts in a painting app?
In Easel by Zaweba, Edit > Keyboard shortcuts lists every command and tool. Click a key box, press new keys, and export your set as JSON.
Keyboard shortcuts in Easel by Zaweba are changed from Edit > Keyboard shortcuts. The window lists every command and tool, and you can search it by name or by key. Click a command's key box, press the keys you want, and the new shortcut is set. You can reset one shortcut or all of them, and import or export your whole set as a JSON file.
Shortcuts matter more in a painting program than in most software. When paint is wet, you don't want to hunt through menus. Being able to clean the brush, dip it and change its size without looking away from the canvas keeps you in the flow of the picture.
Opening the shortcuts editor
Go to the Edit menu and choose Keyboard shortcuts. Every command and tool in Easel appears in the list. There is a search box at the top, and it searches both ways: type a name such as "dry" to find the command, or type a key to see what it is already used for. Searching by key is handy when you're about to reuse a key and want to see what it does now.
Changing a shortcut
Find the command you want, click its key box, then press the new key or key combination. If the keys are free, they're assigned at once.
If the keys are already in use, Easel tells you and offers Use it here. Choose that and the shortcut moves to the command you're editing, and the old command loses it. If you'd rather keep the old one, pick different keys instead.
To undo a change, use Reset on that command. Reset all puts every shortcut back to the defaults.
Some defaults worth knowing
Before you change anything, it's worth knowing what Easel gives you out of the box. Ctrl+N, Ctrl+O and Ctrl+S make, open and save a picture. Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y undo and redo. C cleans the brush and D dips it. The square bracket keys, [ and ], change the tool size. Ctrl+D dries the paint now, which saves waiting for a wash. L switches to the flat light, for judging colour without the impasto lighting, and Space lets you pan around the canvas.
Many of those already match other art software, so you may want to change only a handful.
Ideas for a sensible layout
Keep the keys you use most under your non-painting hand. If you hold a pen or mouse in your right hand, the left side of the keyboard is where your fingers rest.
Group related commands. Put your favourite brushes, the palette knife and the eraser on neighbouring keys so you can reach them without looking.
Match other software if it helps. If you move between programs, giving the same command the same key in each saves a lot of muscle-memory confusion.
Change a few at a time. Remapping everything at once is a recipe for pressing the wrong key in the middle of a wash. Change two or three, paint for a session, then adjust.
Backing up and sharing your shortcuts
Use export to save your shortcut set as a JSON file. Keep a copy somewhere safe, so you can bring your setup back after reinstalling or on a second PC. Import loads a set from a file. Teachers can make a set for a class and hand out the same file to everyone, so instructions about which key does what match on every machine.
When something goes wrong
If a shortcut stops doing what you expect, search for the key in the editor to see what it's now assigned to. If you've lost track entirely, Reset all gives you a clean start, and your exported JSON file means you can always go back to your own set afterwards.
The shortcuts editor is a small part of Easel by Zaweba, but setting it up the way your hands work makes every painting session a little smoother.
