Tip#82: Use Compact Mode to speed up your creative work

Increase your creative performance with smart Compact Mode. Shrink our panels in Photoshop into informative small tiles that auto-magically expand with simple mouse movement. Zero clicks allow you to focus on your work. No right-clicks or crazy keyboard shortcuts anymore!

Smart Compact Mode in MixColors, MagicSquire, MagicPicker, MagicRefs in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
Smart Compact Mode in MixColors, MagicSquire, MagicPicker, MagicRefs in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

MagicPicker color wheel, MagicSquire brush tag/group assistant, MagicRefs reference image manager and MixColors color mixer all support it in Photoshop (and Illustrator for MagicPicker). Activate Compact Mode from panel’s menu.

Massive update: MagicSquire 3.0, MagicRefs 1.2, MagicPicker 6.4, MixColors 3.1, DiskFonts 1.2.22 are out!

MagicSquire, MagicRefs, MixColors, MagicPicker, DiskFonts updates
MagicSquire, MagicRefs, MixColors, MagicPicker, DiskFonts updates

New MagicSquire 3.0 is here:
– New UI Framework! Great performance improvement
– Also tags, Keyboard Shortcuts, Brush Group collections and much more in version 3.0!
– Invalid signature (a.k.a. “The extension could not be loaded because it
was not signed correctly”) problem fixed
New MagicSquire, brush organizing panel for Photoshop

New MagicRefs 1.2 is here:
– New UI Framework! Great performance improvement
– Invalid signature (a.k.a. “The extension could not be loaded because it
was not signed correctly”) problem fixed
New MagicRefs, life is easy with reference images in Photoshop

New MagicPicker 6.4 is here:
– New UI Framework!Great performance improvement
– Invalid signature (a.k.a. “The extension could not be loaded because it
was not signed correctly”) problem fixed
New MagicPicker, advanced Photoshop color wheel panel

MixColors 3.1:
– New UI Framework! Great performance improvement
– Invalid signature (a.k.a. “The extension could not be loaded because it
was not signed correctly”) problem fixed
New MixColors, Photoshop color mixer

DiskFonts 1.2.22:
– New UI Framework! Great performance improvement
– Invalid signature (a.k.a. “The extension could not be loaded because it
was not signed correctly”) problem fixed
New DiskFonts, Photoshop font viewer and manager

MagicSquire 3: work with brushes like never before in Photoshop! Tags, Keyboard Shortcuts, more

The BIGGEST update ever to MagicSquire panel! Tags! Keyboard Shortcuts to individual brushes. Group Collections. Store and sync brushes to Cloud(s), Rotate brush/tool tip with keyboard, more Keyboard Shortcuts, Capture color, even more

WHAT’S NEW:

  • NEW! Assign Tags to brushes and then filter them using Search – with Instant Suggestions. Filter out brushes that you don’t need in current project, instantly.
  • NEW! Collections allow you to combine several groups to a collection, and then switch between group combinations with one click or keyboard shortcut. Use Collection Editor from the menu.
  • NEW! Keyboard Shortcuts for individual brushes. Also keyboard shortcuts to following new and old features of MagicSquire:
    • Rotate Brush/Tool tip (works with Clone Tool too)
    • Turn current Brush into Eraser (and back)
    • Increase/Decrease Load for Mixer brushes
    • Switch brushes and collections
    • more! New shortcuts dialog is accessible from the menu.
  • NEW! Relocate data folder and put it on Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive or any other 3rd party Cloud service. Back up and safely auto-sync your brushes between computers!
  • NEW! Disable size capture for tools, switch between brushes and tools while keeping size
  • All features available now for Photoshop CS5, CS6, CC, CC2015, CC2017, CC2018, CC2019+
  • more

Upgrade MagicSquire here

Read more about MagicSquire brush manager for Photoshop

Tip#81: Color wheel modes in MagicPicker 6

In addition to Triangle, Box, Diamond and Color Temperature modes of the MagicPicker color wheel panel recent version 6.3 adds LDT Color Cube mode.

Color Wheel Modes in MagicPicker 6 for Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator
Color Wheel Modes in MagicPicker 6 for Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator

LDT Color Cube mode lets you adjust shaded/saturated color preserving its perceived brightness and on the same color space adjust color temperature. To switch modes click on the button on the top right to get the tool best matching your painting style and a better color coverage in shades and saturation!

Works in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS3, CS4, CS5, CS6, CC, CC2014, CC2015, CC2017, CC2018, CC2019.

MagicPicker, the color wheel and advanced color picker for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

Tip #80: Compact mode of MagicSquire

Shrink entire MagicSquire panel into a small icon of your current Photoshop brush. When your cursor hovers this icon the panel automagically expands back to full brush groups. Click MagicSquire menu -> Compact Mode to activate this mode and save screen real estate for your art.

 

MagicSquire Compact Mode
MagicSquire Compact Mode

MagicSquire is a professional brush group manager for Adobe Photoshop.

Tip#73: Turn any Tool into Eraser with MagicSquire in one click in Photoshop

With new MagicSquire you can quickly use any Adobe Photoshop tool as an Eraser with one click using new Magic Eraser button!

MagicSquire: Turn any Tool into Eraser in Photoshop with one click!
MagicSquire: Turn any Tool into Eraser in Photoshop with one click!
  1. Select any Tool that is brush-based, like Brush, Pencil, Blur, Sharpen, Art History Brush, Dodge, Burn or any other
  2. Then click the button on the top right of the MagicSquire panel inside Photoshop UI

Alt-click Magic Eraser to turn this feature on permanently and turn any tool you select automatically into the Eraser.

MagicSquire is the advanced brush group manager for Adobe Photoshop

Tip#71: Advanced export of Brush/Tool Preset Groups with MagicSquire in Photoshop

Recent MagicSquire 2.3 introduced Advanced Export of Brushes and Tool Presets Groups to .ABR/.TPL files in Photoshop.

MagicSquire 2.3: Advanced export of groups to .abr & .tpl
MagicSquire 2.3: Advanced export of groups to .abr & .tpl
  • You can click MagicSquire menu -> Export group to .ABR or .TPL… to export presets from currently selected group into .ABR or .TPL file on your hard drive
  • MagicSquire will automatically cross-convert your existing Tools or Brushes into desired .TPL or .ABR file type if needed. You can export the same presets to .ABR or .TPL
  • If you you use Search then MagicSquire will export only currently filtered results
  • This is supported on Photoshop CS5, CS5.5, CS6, CC, CC2014, CC2015, CC2017, CC2018+

MagicSquire is the advanced Brush/Tool Preset Group Manager in Adobe Photoshop

Tip#66: Simplify MagicSquire’s interface with PRO Mode

Activate MagicSquire’s new PRO Mode to hide buttons, menus etc – and work with brushes and tools directly! This mode also hides all closed groups on the panel.

  1. Go to MagicSquire fly-out menu
  2. Click “PRO Mode”

Works in Photoshop CS5, CS6, CC, CC2015, CC2015.5, CC2017, CC2018.

MagicSquire 2 brush/tool organizer - PRO Mode
MagicSquire 2 brush/tool organizer – PRO Mode

Tip#63: Size-only brushes in MagicSquire

Quickly switch brush sizes with one click of a stylus or a mouse! Use MagicSquire’s unique size-only brush presets in Photoshop to switch between predefined (defined by you) sizes for any currently brush. “Size-only” brushes are integral part of MagicSquire brush engine, you can add them to groups from the “New” dialog.

MagicSquire size-inly brushes
MagicSquire size-inly brushes

MagicSquire is an advanced brush folder organizer for Adobe Photoshop