Customize Your Photoshop Toolbar for an Optimized Workflow

Working in Photoshop often means navigating a toolbar filled with dozens of tools, many of which may rarely or never be used in a typical workflow.

This can lead to a cluttered interface, making it challenging to quickly locate essential tools and slowing down your creative process. The default arrangement, while functional, isn't optimized for every user's specific needs, leading to wasted time searching for features.

This guide demonstrates how to personalize your Photoshop toolbar by rearranging, adding, and removing tools to suit your individual preferences. By learning to customize this core interface element, you can significantly streamline your workflow, reduce visual clutter, and ensure that only the most relevant tools are immediately accessible, thereby enhancing efficiency and user experience.

Watch the video

Any links or downloads mentioned by the creator are available only on YouTube

Breaking It Down

Photoshop's toolbar is highly configurable, allowing users to undock, compact into a single vertical row, and redock it anywhere on the screen.

The primary method for customization is through the Edit Toolbar dialog, accessed via the "..." icon located at the bottom of the toolbar. This dialog presents a clear interface, separating tools currently visible on the main toolbar from those designated as "Extra Tools," which are hidden from immediate view but remain accessible.

Within the Edit Toolbar dialog, tools can be managed by simply dragging and dropping them between the visible toolbar section and the "Extra Tools" area. This allows for precise control over which tools appear.

Users can also reorder tools within their existing groups or promote frequently used sub-tools, such as the Remove Tool, to the top of their stack. Customization also impacts keyboard shortcuts; for instance, pressing J might select the Remove Tool directly if it's placed at the top of its group, while Shift + J would cycle through other tools within that same group.

Beyond simply showing or hiding tools, the Edit Toolbar dialog offers additional options to refine the workspace, such as toggling the visibility of color swatches, quick mask options, or the generative AI workspace. Once a custom layout is achieved, it can be saved as a preset, allowing users to quickly switch between different toolbar configurations for varied tasks or to restore a preferred setup across different machines.

The flexibility of this system ensures that the Photoshop interface can be tailored precisely to match any individual's working style.

Practical Tips

Regularly move infrequently used tools to the Extra Tools section within the Edit Toolbar dialog to minimize visual clutter on your main toolbar.
Prioritize highly used sub-tools by dragging them to the top of their respective tool stacks in the Edit Toolbar dialog, ensuring they are the default when you select that tool group.
Utilize keyboard shortcuts like Shift + [tool shortcut] (e.g., Shift + J for healing tools) to efficiently cycle through grouped tools, which can be faster than clicking and holding.
Save your customized toolbar layouts as presets. This allows for quick switching between configurations optimized for different types of projects or to easily restore a preferred setup.
Remember that tools moved to the Extra Tools section are still accessible by clicking the "..." icon at the bottom of the main toolbar, providing quick retrieval without requiring a full toolbar reset.

Explore more resources and complementary tutorials to enhance your Photoshop skills.

Thanks for Reading — Want More Like This?

Subscribe to the Photoshop Roadmap newsletter for more expert tutorials and insights delivered directly to your inbox.

Mastering Skin Smoothing with Frequency Separation

In photography, achieving flawless subject skin can often be a challenge. Blemishes, uneven tones, and harsh shadows frequently detract from an otherwise great photo, leading to frustration for both photographers and subjects. This guide explores frequency separation, a powerful technique that allows precise skin retouching without sacrificing natural texture. Learn...

How to Professionally Remove Glare from Eyeglasses in Photoshop

Glare on eyeglasses is a persistent and frustrating problem in photography, often obscuring the subject's eyes and facial features. This common issue can detract from an otherwise perfectly composed portrait, making it appear unprofessional or distracting due to bright reflections. This tutorial demonstrates a robust hybrid approach to...

Exploring the Latest Features in Photoshop 2025

Designers and digital artists frequently encounter challenges with precise selections, efficient object manipulation, and keeping workflows streamlined. As creative software evolves, staying current with the latest features can be daunting, yet it is essential for enhancing productivity and expanding creative possibilities. This article and accompanying video delve into the significant...

Rotate and Flip Images and Layers with Precision in Photoshop

Often in image editing, photographs or design elements are not oriented correctly or require a creative re-orientation for a new composition. This common challenge can be frustrating when simple rotation tools affect the entire canvas, disrupting other layers, or when precise control over individual elements is needed. This tutorial demonstrates...

Photo Restoration: Combining AI with Photoshop for Optimal Results

Restoring old, damaged photographs can be a challenging endeavor. While many AI-powered tools promise to breathe new life into vintage images, they often fall short, either over-sharpening details, neglecting certain areas, or, most critically, altering the original likeness of individuals. This often leads to frustrating and uncanny results that strip...

The only Photohop Sharpening Tool You Need

Sharpening images in Photoshop doesn’t have to be complicated. The High Pass Filter offers a simple yet powerful way to enhance details without over-processing your photos. Unlike traditional sharpening tools, it gives you precise control over edge definition while keeping the edit non-destructive. This method works well for portraits,...

The easiest way to change any color in Photoshop

Here’s how to change any color in Photoshop with just a few clicks. The new Adjust Colors feature makes it simple to modify colors in any image. Using the contextual task bar, you can automatically target specific colors and replace them with any shade you want, including white or...

How to Add Realistic 3D Objects in Photoshop

Looking to integrate 3D objects into your Photoshop projects? This guide offers a straightforward approach for blending 3D models into 2D scenes, all within Photoshop Beta. Learn how to import, position, and illuminate 3D elements, achieving a cinematic quality without complex rendering engines or VFX software. Discover how to utilize...

Add Text Behind a Subject with Realistic Shadows in Photoshop

Want to know how to make text appear behind a subject in Photoshop with convincing shadows? This quick guide covers the key steps. The process begins by placing text strategically behind your chosen image element while ensuring that everything remains easily editable for later adjustments. Next, you will discover how...

Master Photoshop's Pen Tool in 5 Minutes

The Pen Tool in Photoshop is a remarkably versatile asset. It has multiple uses, from making selections to taking backgrounds out of the picture and drawing custom shapes. It's truly a powerhouse within the program. This guide provides a fast track to mastering the Pen Tool. It will...

Turn Pictures Into Paintings Using Generative Fill In Photoshop

In this Photoshop tutorial, you'll learn how to transform your photos into stunning paintings using the Generative Fill tool. Starting with channel adjustments, you'll create a partial selection and apply an oil painting style or any artistic effect with a simple text prompt. Discover how to...

Add Grady Shading to Enhance Your Photoshop Art

This tutorial focuses on adding grainy shading to illustrations in Photoshop, which helps bring flat artwork to life by adding depth and texture. It explains how to achieve a noisy, textured look that many artists find appealing. Throughout the guide, you will see a step-by-step process of creating a donut...

Designing 1980s Vintage Illustrated Tees in Photoshop

This tutorial shows how to create a vintage-style t-shirt design inspired by the 1980s using Photoshop. It focuses on making a graphic that honors one of metal's most famous guitar heroes, using a Simulated Process Color Screen Print technique. The process is straightforward and easy to follow, making...

Transform Your Photos with These Photoshop Masks

This Photoshop tutorial introduces a simpler way to use masking than the traditional layer masks for photo editing. By exploring the Camera Raw filter found in the filter menu, users gain access to a variety of effective masking tools. These masks can help with everything from making precise spot adjustments...

New Photoshop AI Features – Smarter, Faster, and More Efficient Tools!

The latest Photoshop AI features bring a range of new tools designed to make your editing faster and more precise. You can now select people and their facial features with remarkable accuracy, eliminating the need for tedious manual masking. The updated color adjustment panel automatically detects dominant colors and applies...

Transform Black to Any Color in Photoshop, Including White: Best Method

This tutorial explains how to change black to any color in Photoshop, including white. It offers a clear and easy step-by-step method that anyone can follow, regardless of their experience level. You will learn a straightforward technique to quickly modify black areas without losing detail or quality. The process is...

Photoshop Beta: Discover the New Actions Panel

Photoshop Beta introduces a new Actions panel designed to simplify complex editing tasks. This updated feature allows users to apply advanced adjustments using simple text prompts, making it easier to achieve professional results without extensive manual work. With the new panel, tasks such as background replacement or adding stylistic effects...

Photoshop’s Remove Tool is Broken—What Now?

Photoshop’s Remove Tool has been a source of frustration for many users because it sometimes replaces objects instead of truly removing them. This can lead to less natural-looking edits and wasted time. The tool didn’t always perform as expected, which made certain tasks more difficult than they needed...

Customize Your Photoshop Toolbar for an Optimized Workflow

Watch the video

Breaking It Down

Practical Tips

Related Tutorials and Downloads

Thanks for Reading — Want More Like This?

Subscribe to new posts and freebies