Lightroom: Keyboard shortcut for Open As Layers in Photoshop

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I love this feature but want it to have a keyboard shortcut. I know you can right click the selected images and select Edit in then Open As Layers in Photoshop but a shortcut would improve my workflow!
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Katie Waddell

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Posted 5 years ago

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5 years ago
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John R. Ellis, Champion

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On Mac: Assign a keyboard shortcut to "Open as Layers in Photoshop..." using the standard OS X shortcuts. Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts and click the "+" button ( (be sure to type the menu command's name exactly).

On Windows: Use the standard Windows accelerators: Alt-P E O O Enter. You could shorten that to three keystrokes, Alt-P E L, by creating the file TranslatedStrings.txt in the folder "c:\program files\adobe\adobe photoshop lightroom 5.7\resources\en" containing the following line:

"$$$/AgEditExternally/MenuCommand/ContextMenu/openAsLayers=Open as &Layers in Photoshop..."

(If you're running LR in another language, find the appropriate \TranslatedStrings.txt and change the corresponding line accordingly, using the "&" to highlight the desired shortcut letter.)

You could shorten that to a single keystroke, e.g. Shift-F2, by using the free AutoHotkey.

While not as convenient as having a shortcut builtin to LR (much less having a general facility for defining your own shortcuts), these methods get the job done.
2018-06-13T06:57:16+00:00
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Chris Bilewicz

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On the mac i have done the above but with no luck, in the apps shortcut i typed Open as Layers in Photoshop... is there anything else that is needed?
5 years ago
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Katie Waddell

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Thanks so much John! You have saved me so much time!!!
5 years ago
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Heather May

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Hi John - I'm close, but no cigar yet. Have added that line into the TranslatedString.txt file (should there be an ellipses ... after Photoshop in the command line?) and saved. Opened LR 5.7, selected 3 files, held down alt while typing P then E which opens the Photo>Edit in, menu panes, but L remains unassigned. There is no L next to 'Open as layers in Photoshop'
Have I gone wrong somewhere?
5 years ago
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John R. Ellis, Champion

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Troubleshooting:

1. Is your LR configured for English?

2. Did you edit TranslatedStrings.txt (not TranslatedString.txt) in "c:\program files\adobe\adobe photoshop lightroom 5.7\resources\en"?

3. The following line must appear exactly, including the quotes and ellipses:

"$$$/AgEditExternally/MenuCommand/ContextMenu/openAsLayers=Open as &Layers in Photoshop..."
3 years ago
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Tom

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This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled New LR keyboard command..

Can we please have a LR Keyboard Command to Edit > 'open as layers in Photoshop' ?
2017-04-05T21:17:44+00:00
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John R. Ellis, Champion

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See the first reply in this topic for a workaround that takes extra time to set up but gets the job done.
2017-04-05T21:20:53+00:00
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Tom

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Thank you, I have now done this and programmed one of the Wacom tablet buttons to make this a one touch action.
2018-06-13T06:57:32+00:00
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Chris Bilewicz

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On the mac i have done the above but with no luck, in the apps shortcut i typed Open as Layers in Photoshop... is there anything else that is needed?
2018-06-13T13:26:12+00:00
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Tom

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Did you assign the 'Open as Layers in Photoshop..' to a key? For instance mine is assigned to Control+K. 
(Edited)
2018-06-13T14:29:15+00:00
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John R. Ellis, Champion

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"On the mac i have done the above but with no luck, in the apps shortcut i typed Open as Layers in Photoshop... is there anything else that is needed?"

It's very fussy -- you have to type the fields exactly as shown:



If that doesn't work, post a similar screenshot -- that might highlight what's going on.
2018-06-13T18:40:26+00:00
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John R. Ellis, Champion

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Also, when testing out your shortcut:

- Make sure you have at least two photos selected. The Open As Layers command is ignored when only one is selected.

- Verify that the shortcut shows up in the menu command:
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