Tweaks and improvements
Blend Mode previews
There’s a welcome tweak to the Blend Mode options in the Layers Panel. Now, when you hover over any of the blend modes in the list you’ll see a preview of the effect over your image, making it much easier to choose the mode that suits your needs. Here, right, the Screen Blend mode gives us a doubleexposure effect.
Changed Undo shortcuts
The shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+Z now lets us undo continuously (bringing it in line with Illustrator and InDesign). If you’re used to the old shortcut – Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z – to undo several steps then it can be annoying. But if you like you can revert back under Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts > Use Legacy Undo Shortcuts.
Transform tweaks
Previously, when scaling a layer up or down we had to hold Shift to constrain the proportions, so the layer wouldn’t be squashed or stretched. Now, the proportions are locked by default when scaling, and holding Shift does the opposite by unlocking them. It makes sense, but takes a little getting used to.
Centre point
There’s another tweak to the Transform controls too. By default there’s no centre point to the bounding box (this is the point used to set the centre for rotating or scaling). Instead the point can be toggled on or off with a checkbox in the top-left corner when transforming.
Maths calculations
Text fields now support maths, so for example if you need to quickly work out half of 29.7cm for a crop then you can just type 29.7cm/2 in the crop tool options rather than having to do the maths in your head. It works across different units too, so you can type things like 60cm/5in (4.724cm, if you’re asking).
Type changes
It’s now easier to commit changes to things like type simply by clicking off the area. Type can also be edited by double- clicking it with the Move tool, and by default you’ll see placeholder text ‘Lorem Ipsum text’ appear when you initiate new type.