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November 19, 2008 7:47 AM PST

Adobe ships Configurator for custom Photoshop

by Stephen Shankland

Colin Smith of PhotoshopCafe.com has released a proof-of-concept tutorial of Photoshop selections using Configurator.

Colin Smith of PhotoshopCafe.com has released a proof-of-concept tutorial for Photoshop selection techniques using Configurator. A final version is due soon.

(Credit: Adobe Systems)

After a slight delay, Adobe Systems has begun shipping Configurator, an application that lets people create customized Photoshop CS4 control panels and share them with others.

Configurator runs on Adobe's AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) foundation and lets people use a drag-and-drop interface to produce the control panels. Adobe's Creative Suite 4 applications use Adobe's Flash technology for its control panels, and Configurator is a way to produce those files. The company announced it Tuesday during its Adobe Max conference in San Francisco.

Adobe expects the software to be useful for those who want to customize the sprawling Photoshop interface so only a specific set of features is highlighted--for example those that crime labs use to process forensic images. It also expects that tutorial authors will flock to the technology to produce interactive step-by-step guides, perhaps with videos included.

John Nack, Photoshop's principal product manager, said earlier he hopes the Configurator technology will be brought to other Adobe CS4 applications later. For more details and some sample panels, check out Nack's blog announcement of Configurator.

Click here for more news on Adobe's Max conference.

Originally posted at Underexposed
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank.
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by Penguinisto November 19, 2008 11:24 AM PST
Not surprised, really... 3D/CG apps have went for custom UIs in a big way for a couple of years now, starting with Modo (3D modelling app) and spreading like wildfire.

It's a good thing overall, though - once you get a workflow you really like, it's nice to make it even more efficient. You can have all the tools you need grouped generally in the same areas of the screen no matter which app you use or what point in your workflow you're in. FWIW, GIMP has also had this (albeit in a more limited fashion) for quite sometime now... it comes in quite handy.

/P
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by Thomas7779 November 19, 2008 11:48 AM PST
At first glance, this thing sounds like the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. I've been using Photoshop's Action Buttons for several years as a way to streamline workflow. You can color-code each action button, assign hotkeys, and even put it on your secondary monitor if you have one.
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