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twomiracles

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 30, 2006
195
0
On a PC, if you have a circle, for example, and you lock the transparent pixels and press alt+del, the circle changes to the foreground color. This doesn't seem to work for me on my new mac. I am holding alt and pressing delete. Is there a different shortcut for this on a mac?
 

Snark

macrumors member
Aug 5, 2003
50
0
On a PC, if you have a circle, for example, and you lock the transparent pixels and press alt+del, the circle changes to the foreground color. This doesn't seem to work for me on my new mac. I am holding alt and pressing delete. Is there a different shortcut for this on a mac?
Mac programs don't use an "Alt" key, as a rule; the "Option" key fills that role. Option + delete should do what you need.

Snark
 

Snark

macrumors member
Aug 5, 2003
50
0
Same key. :rolleyes:
This I know. However, a lot of instructions/guides for Mac programs (Like the one the first reply) make no mention of "Alt". Add to that one new Mac user and one third party keyboard with an "Alt" key but no key labeled "Option" (Like some Logitechs) and you can end up with a lot of frustration.

Lots of people dump the keyboard included with their Mac for something else for any number of reasons. Just making sure a not uncommon pitfall was covered, but I probably should have said "refer to an Alt key" to be clearer.

Snark
 

iMeowbot

macrumors G3
Aug 30, 2003
8,634
0
This I know. However, a lot of instructions/guides for Mac programs (Like the one the first reply) make no mention of "Alt".

Right, because alt is a secondary label added relatively recently in the life of the Mac. Adding to the confusion is that on many countries' Mac keyboards, the key's main label is the option.gif symbol, and most people seem to be unaware that the symbol's name is "option".
 

apfhex

macrumors 68030
Aug 8, 2006
2,670
5
Northern California
Right, because alt is a secondary label added relatively recently in the life of the Mac.
That's why I added my comment. If this guy is relatively new to the Mac and has an Apple keyboard, it has both names on the key so it shouldn't be confusing. If he's using 3rd party, still, the Alt key should function as the Option key. Plus he said he tried pressing alt-delete.

Adding to the confusion is that on many countries' Mac keyboards, the key's main label is the View attachment 66027 symbol, and most people seem to be unaware that the symbol's name is "option".
For Shift, Control, Option, and Command, they really need to include the symbol AND the name of the key. It's just confusing otherwise. On US keyboards Command only has the symbols on it, and the others only have the text (it took me a long time to get used to the symbols for Control and Option).
 

twomiracles

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 30, 2006
195
0
Sorry I didn't come back here and answer sooner, but actually it's option plus backspace. I am using a wireless PC keyboard, but I did know that alt=option. However, pressing that with the delete key was not doing what I wanted to happen. I finally dug out the book where I learned that shortcut in the first place and found that it was option+backspace.

Thanks, all!

P.S. I'm a "she", LOL.
 

dogbone

macrumors 68020
An Extra Tip...

...If you use Cmd/Option Delete to fill a layer that has transparency, as I do quite a bit then you will be pleased to know that instead of locking the layer transparency and filling then unlocking you can add the Shift key to the Option/Delete combo which has the same effect as locking the transparency.

Then you don't have to remember to unlock.

Before I knew about the Shift key when I wanted to a make a drop or cast shadow I'd duplicate the layer lock the tranparency fill the pixels then forget to unlock the transparency and when I applied the guaussian blur I couldn't work out why it was looking weird. I'd get caught on this all the time.
 
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