PitStop Edit Tools: modifier keys

Two ways to toggle between the PitStop Edit tools

When using the tools in the PitStop Edit panel, you often have to switch between them. For example, when you want to scale an object, you first have to activate the Scale tool, then select the object, then drag to scale the object proportionally, and you may also want to create a copy of it.

To do this, you can toggle between the different tools by clicking them in the Tools pane, or you can use modifier keys (CTRL/CMD, SHIFT and ALT/Option). It's clear that this last option is more efficient.

Example

To scale an object proportionally and make a copy of it, proceed as follows:

Using modifier keys (4 steps):

Activate the PitStop Edit Scale tool (so the icon turns green).
Press CTRL/CMD + click to select the object you want to scale.
Hold down the SHIFT key while dragging to scale the object proportionally.
Hold down the ALT/Option key while dragging to create a scaled copy of the selected object.

Without modifier keys (8 steps):

Activate the PitStop Select Object tool (so the icon turns green).
Click the object you want to scale.
Click the PitStop Edit Scale tool (so the icon turns green).
Drag one of the selection handles (in the corner) towards or away from the center of origin.
Click the PitStop Select Object tool (so the icon turns green).
Click the scaled object you want to copy.
Right-click to open the context menu and click Copy.
Right-click to open the context menu and click Paste.

Overview

In general:

CTRL (on Windows) or CMD (on Mac) are used to toggle between an active PitStop Edit tool and the PitStop Object selection tool.
SHIFT is used to select multiple objects and to constrain the PitStop Edit and the PitStop Object selection tool.
ALT (on Windows) or Option (on Mac) are used to make a copy of the active selection.

For the exact functionality, refer to the overview below.

Use CTRL (Win) Use CMD (Mac)	Use SHIFT	Use ALT(Windows) Use Option (Mac)
To move the selection	To select several objects in one go	To select objects that are partially or fully enclosed in the selection rectangle (See the PitStop Pro preferences - Edit category)
To make a selection	To move the selection along a fixed horizontal or vertical axis	To create a copy of the selection in the new location
To make a selection	To rotate the selection in fixed angles	To create a rotated copy of the selection
To make a selection	To limit the shear movement to a fixed angle of constraint	To create a sheared copy of the selection
To make a selection	To scale the object proportionally	To create a scaled copy of the selection
To make a selection	To draw a square	To draw a rectangle starting from its center and not from its side
To make a selection	To draw a circle	To draw an ellipse starting from its center and not from its side
To copy the attributes. This is also mentioned in the Enfocus Inspector.	-	-
-	To select the anchor points (after selection)	-
To select form and content	(in combination with the other modifier keys) Select multiple forms and/or contents	To select content, but not the form itself
-	To select multiple adjacent words	-

For more information, refer to the topics on editing objects or to the Tools pane overview (where you can find links to all relevant topics).

Modifier keys preference

In PitStop 2018 a new preference has been introduced, which allows you to change the functionality of the modifier keys CTRL/CMD and SHIFT. That means that you can choose to use CTRL/CMD for the functionality mentioned in the 3rd column of the table above and SHIFT for the functionality in the 2nd column.

This is a workaround for users working with the Adobe Output Preview dialog. When this dialog is active, using SHIFT while a PitStop Edit tool is active does not work properly; instead, it inserts an icon. By switching the modifier keys in PitStop, the functionality that is normally associated with SHIFT becomes available through CTRL/CMD.

Note that this preference also takes effect if the Output Preview dialog is not active.

This preference also applies to the Design Layout tool. The default behavior is as follows:

Active tool	Use CTRL (Win) Use CMD (Mac)	Use SHIFT
	To make a selection	To duplicate the guides you're dragging