Re: [Gimp-user] keyboard shortcut for show mask? change opacity?

[Elle Stone <ellestone ninedegreesbelow com>]

On 02/23/2014 03:20 PM, scl wrote:
> Hi Elle,
>
> On  23.2.2014 at 6:15 PM Elle Stone wrote:
> > "Layer/Mask/Show mask" let's you see the layer mask at 100% opacity. Is
> > there a way to set up a keyboard shortcut to show the layer mask without
> > having to traverse the menu?
>
> By default there is no keyboard shortcut for this. But you can assign one:
>
> 1. In Linux (and Windows) go to Edit/Keyboard Shortcuts. (On OS X this
> item is in the GIMP menu).
> 2. In the Search field enter 'show layer mask'.
> 3. Assign a shortcut to the action 'show layer mask'.
>
> > And can the layer mask be shown at less
> > than 100% opacity, so the underlying image is partially visible?

Sven, thank you! That works perfectly! Now "M" (formerly move, which 
isn't something I need a shortcut for) makes the mask appear and 
disappear, "Y" adds a layer mask, "E" selects/deselects the mask (I 
hardly ever make an ellipse selection), and "G" calls up gaussian blur 
for blurring the mask. This has instantly made using Gimp so much less 
laborious than it was ten minutes ago.

> I don't know of a direct way. You can use an admittedly laborious
> workaround:
>
> 1. Right click on the layer mask.
> 2. In the layer masks menu choose 'Mask to Selection'.
> 3. Open the Channels dialog.
> 4. Add a new channel. In the 'New channel options' dialog check
> 'Initialize from selection' and set the Fill opacity to your needs.
> You can later change it by right-clicking on that channel and
> editing the channel attributes.

I came up with a quick workaround, which is to lower the opacity of the 
layer to 50%. Usually the underlying layer is similar enough to act as a 
guide for painting on the mask.

> Currently the quick mask and the channels have adjustable opacity, but
> not layer masks and color channels. To me it sounds like a requirement
> that artists might have more often. We could consider then adding this
> feature.

Not speaking for the artists out there, but I use masks and layers 
extensively. The time I spend changing the actual pixels in a layer is 
usually a pretty small percentage of the time spent painting on the 
layer mask to control what shows through. So anything that makes it 
easier to add a mask and work with it is a good thing. The custom 
keyboard shortcuts really help a lot. So thank you again!

> Kind regards,
>
> Sven
>
>
>
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