Paint Keyboard WPF

For the longest time, computers relied on keyboards as their primary method of interaction. However, thanks to the rise in graphical user interfaces, mouse interaction has finally caught up, lending a helping hand to first-time users.

If you use digital painting apps on a daily basis, but you never got used to the keyboard shortcuts, or you use a pen and tablet as your primary input, then Paint Keyboard WPF can help you increase your productivity and enhance your workflow by emulating keyboard shortcuts at the press of a mouse click.

Due to its portable nature, not only will users be able to avoid dealing with unnecessary installation wizards, but they can add the program to their USB flash drive-powered on-the-go setups, thus being able to take the configuration with them instead of manually adding it on every device they work with.

Booting up the application will reveal a single square widget that can be dragged anywhere on the screen, while staying on top of other windows, ensuring users can easily access it and place it in an easy-to-reach spot.

Clicking the logo toggles the default shortcut menu, through which users have the option to quickly execute keyboard-based commands with their cursor, allowing those with mouse-based workflows or accessibility problems to get things done one-handed.

The program also includes other preloaded layouts for use in three popular digital painting apps — Krita, Affinity Photo and SAI Paint. Thus, one can quickly change the preset to match the hotkey combinations of a particular application and rotate, deselect, zoom or resize the canvas without having to shift focus from the screen to the keyboard in order to execute commands.

However, where the application shines most is in its customization features. Via the settings section, users can customize any of the presets to their liking, being able to introduce custom shortcuts whose icons, labels and position are fully editable.

Since the menus’ hotkeys can be activated globally, one can assign up to 100 shortcuts on the same canvas for any number of apps. For instance, navigating the through browser tabs, refreshing the webpage and zooming on a website can be made easier by accessing the floating menu and clicking on the dedicated hotkey combinations.

In terms of improvements, the application could use the option to create more presets for quickly loading on other programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Blender. Finally, while the default preset can be easily edited and the shortcuts seem to remain after restarting the app, selecting any of the other presets instantly erases all custom hotkey combinations.

Whether you want to maintain your focus on the screen and keyboard shortcuts feel cumbersome or uncomfortable to use, or you require a one-handed computer usage pattern due to mobility issues, Paint Keyboard WPF may be the right tool for the job, thanks to its highly customizable interface and accessible layout.