[Feature Request] Classic Macintosh style "toggle" pen

[gingerbeardman]

Request

• if you start the stroke on the 2nd colour, or no colour, then the 1st colour is drawn
• if you start the stroke on the 1st colour the 2nd colour is drawn

So, this is a pen that operates with XOR function.

Benefits

• reduce need to swap between selected colours
• reduce need to swap between pen and eraser
• for drawing in only black and white you never have to swap colours or tools at all!

Example

• ResEdit https://twitter.com/gingerbeardman/status/1786504929730838958

Try it yourself I added this as the default tool in my build of Piskel: https://github.com/gingerbeardman/piskel-playdate

[sile]

Thank you for your feature request.

This feature sounds useful. However, the current version of Pixcil does not have a concept of a "2nd colour." Implementing this feature could require considerable work, especially in terms of UI design. (I want to design this tool with minimal features and UI, while maintaining maximum convenience.)

I will review this feature in more detail when I have the time, possibly within this month.

[gingerbeardman]

No worries, it would be worthwhile (at least for me) if it was a toggle pen for one colour and transparent.

[ephetic]

Maybe not as old a resEdit, but I remember pencil tools that defaulted to erase if you started on a drawn pixel. That might catch me off guard sometimes, but a hotkey toggle would be good. Are there hotkeys for the tools now? I noticed that the line and shape tools got removed. It'd be nice if holding shift toggled the line mode back in.

[sile]

Are there hotkeys for the tools now?

No, but I'm not negative to implementing a hotkey feature. Are there any references for well-known hotkey mappings?

I noticed that the line and shape tools got removed. It'd be nice if holding shift toggled the line mode back in.

Okay. I feel that the previous UI wasn’t very intuitive, so I plan to redesign the interface to better support multiple drawing modes before reintroducing the tools.

[ephetic]

I'm not sure if there is a standard for hotkeys, but it's often like (p)encil or (b)rush, (e)raser, (s)elect, (f)ill or (b)ucket, but I've never loved those because they're spread all over the place. My preference would be to have them all on the left side of the keyboard, but not everyone uses the same layout, so I'd think the way to go would be:

• defaults with mnemonics like above
• but user configurable

[sile]

I see. Thank you. Making it configurable seems like a good idea.

[gingerbeardman]

Photoshop keys are what I would expect (even though it's decades since I used it, these keys are prevalent across apps)

zoom tool = z zoom in = cmd + zoom out = cmd - eye dropper = i pencil = b fill = g eraser = e wand = w move/hand = h (or hold space for temporary toggle)

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/photoshop-elements/using/keys-selecting-tools.html

Piskel has them user-configurable.

[sile]

@gingerbeardman Sorry for the very late response. I've been extremely busy this year, but I plan to dedicate some time to this issue next month. In that regard, let me ask: do you still need this feature? (If not, I'll deprioritize this task.)

[gingerbeardman]

Feel free to adjust priority.

I'm now using an app called Piskel which I forked and added a new alternative pen tool with this capability.

[sile]

I see. Thank you for your reply.