RetouchDock

RetouchDock tool guide

Use this guide beside the editor. Look up a tool by name, or start with the sample canvas and work through the square product image exercise. Shortcut keys by system: Ctrl and Alt on Windows, Command and Option on Mac. Keys such as M and Shift + M are the same on both.

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Find a tool or task

Create a canvas or open a file

  1. Choose Open sample to practise, or select New canvas and enter a size and background. The 1080 × 1080 px preset works for square product images.
  2. Choose Open file or press Ctrl + O (Windows) or Command + O (Mac) for a local image, supported PSD or RetouchDock JSON project. To add a picture to the current canvas, choose Place image instead.
  3. Tool options appear above the canvas. The Layers, Properties, Adjustments and History panels are on the right.

Move and transform (V)

  1. Select the target layer, press V and drag its content. If you are editing text, choose Done or press Ctrl + Enter (Windows) or Command + Enter (Mac) first.
  2. Drag the handles to resize. Use the Properties panel to enter exact X, Y, dimensions or rotation.
  3. If the wrong object moves, turn off Auto-select and choose the layer in the panel. Check the layer lock and leave Hand mode if dragging pans the view.

Hand tool (H)

  1. Press H and drag to look around the canvas. While using another tool, hold Space and drag to pan temporarily.
  2. Release Space to resume editing. Panning leaves the position of the artwork unchanged.

Zoom (Z)

  1. Press Z and click to zoom in, or Alt-click to zoom out. Alt + wheel zooms around the pointer.
  2. Use Ctrl + 0 (Windows) or Command + 0 (Mac) to fit the canvas or Ctrl + 1 (Windows) or Command + 1 (Mac) to return to 100%. To change output dimensions, choose Resize.

Rectangle and ellipse selection (M)

  1. Press M, choose Rectangle selection or Ellipse selection in the tool options, then drag on the canvas. Shift + M switches between the two shapes.
  2. Keep the selection active while switching to a brush, gradient or fill. Ctrl + A (Windows) or Command + A (Mac) selects all and Ctrl + D (Windows) or Command + D (Mac) deselects.
  3. To clear selected pixels on a raster layer, press Delete on Windows or Fn + Delete on a Mac keyboard without a forward-delete key.

Lasso selection (L)

  1. Press L and drag around the subject, then release to finish the freehand selection. Zoom in first when following a narrow edge.
  2. Fill, paint or clear the selected area. For a more precise curve, close a Pen path and convert it to a selection.

Foreground, background and swatches

  1. Click a color chip or enter a HEX value in the color panel. X swaps foreground and background. D restores black and white.
  2. Brushes use the foreground color and its opacity. On a shape layer, choose Fill or Stroke before picking a swatch to recolor the object. Foreground only sets the color for the next operation.

Brush (B)

  1. Press B, choose a foreground color, then set size, hardness and flow before dragging. Use [ and ] to change size. Lower hardness and flow for gradual shading.
  2. Draw on an editable raster layer, or start on a non-pixel layer to create a paint layer. A selection limits the stroke. Press Esc while dragging to cancel that stroke.

Pencil (Shift + B / Shift + P)

  1. Switch to Pencil, set it to 1 px and zoom in before clicking or dragging. Use it for pixel art and hard-edged outlines.
  2. Start with a small size and increase it when you need a thicker line.

Eyedropper (I)

  1. Press I and click a color in the canvas to set the foreground. Enable Sample all visible layers for the composite color, or turn it off to sample the selected layer.
  2. Alt-click also samples temporarily while using the Brush or Pencil.

Eraser (E)

  1. Select an editable raster layer, press E, then set size, hardness and flow. Drag over pixels to reduce their opacity.
  2. If a color remains, check whether another layer is visible underneath. Use a layer mask when you need to restore hidden details later.

Magic Eraser

  1. Select a raster layer and start with low tolerance. Click an area of similar color. Keep Connected pixels only on to protect matching colors elsewhere.
  2. If too much disappears, undo and lower the tolerance or constrain the edit with a selection.

Fill and Paint Bucket (G)

  1. With a selection active, choose Fill foreground or Fill background in the selection bar. In Fill mode, choose Fill selection and the current layer or a new layer.
  2. For similar-colored pixels, choose Paint bucket, set tolerance and connectivity, and click the starting pixel. On a vector shape use Shape fill to keep the shape editable.

Gradient (Shift + G)

  1. Set foreground and background colors, then switch to Gradient. Choose a linear or radial transition and set the end opacity.
  2. Drag from the start to the end. A longer drag spreads the transition. Hold Shift to constrain direction. Create a selection first to keep the gradient inside it.

Clone Stamp (S)

  1. Select the raster layer to retouch, press S, then Alt-click a clean patch to sample it. You can also choose Set source and click the patch.
  2. Set the source to Current layer, Layer below or All visible. Paint across the blemish with a small brush. Aligned keeps the offset across strokes. Resample when texture begins to repeat.

Shapes (U)

  1. Press U and choose a shape, then drag or use Insert in center. Shift keeps proportions or constrains the direction of a line or arrow.
  2. For polygons, click to add corners and choose Finish path. For a Bézier curve, drag the start handle and then the end handle before finishing.
  3. Set fill, stroke and stroke width in the tool options. Press V to move the finished object. To paint pixels on a shape, duplicate and rasterize the copy first.

Pen (P)

  1. Press P. Click to add a corner or drag to create curve handles. Choose New path if another path is already selected.
  2. Press Enter with at least two anchors to finish an open path. With at least three, click the first anchor or choose Close path. Select the path layer again to move anchors or handles.
  3. Choose Make selection on a closed path to fill or retouch inside a precise outline.

Place image

  1. On the destination canvas, choose Place image on the toolbar and pick a local PNG, JPEG, WebP or GIF.
  2. The picture is added as a layer and fitted within the current canvas. Press V to position or resize it. Use Open file when you want to start from the image dimensions.

Text and font library (T)

  1. Press T, click or drag on the canvas, and type. Set font, size, fill, stroke and spacing above the canvas. Use Font library to preview design fonts.
  2. Choose Done or press Ctrl + Enter (Windows) or Command + Enter (Mac), then use V to position the text. Double-click to edit it again. Wait for a newly selected font to load before checking wrapping.
  3. Save JSON to keep the text editable. PNG, JPEG and WebP exports render it into pixels.

Crop (C)

  1. Press C, choose Free ratio, Original or a fixed ratio, then drag the area to keep. Try 1:1 for a product square or 16:9 for a banner.
  2. Press Enter or choose Apply crop. Esc cancels. Crop changes the canvas boundary. Pixels outside it can be retained and brought back into view by moving the layer.

Resize image

  1. Choose Resize, enter the required width or height and keep the aspect ratio if you want to avoid stretching.
  2. Check pixel dimensions in the export preview. Use Crop to trim the composition and Zoom to change the view.

Blur Brush

  1. Select a raster layer, choose a small brush and low strength, then brush over the part that needs softening.
  2. Make a selection to protect neighboring areas. Undo if the softening removes an important detail.

Sharpen Brush

  1. Select a raster layer and view it at 100%. Brush once over the feature you want to emphasize.
  2. If halos or extra noise appear, undo and try a smaller brush or lower opacity.

Desaturate Brush

  1. Select a raster layer and brush over the area where you want less color. Lower color opacity to build the effect gradually.
  2. Create a selection to protect the rest of the picture. Use Black & white in Adjustments for the whole selected layer.

Bulge and Pinch

  1. Select a raster layer, choose Bulge or Pinch and set radius and strength. Click or drag a short distance where you want the deformation.
  2. Bulge pushes outward and Pinch pulls inward. Start low to avoid bending nearby straight edges.

Animation preview

  1. Prepare at least two content layers on one canvas, one layer per frame. Check the order and first visible frame.
  2. Choose Animation preview, set the frame delay and press play. Stop playback or switch tools to resume regular editing. Use the preview to check timing and order.

Layers, blending and properties

  1. Select a layer on the right. Use its eye control to toggle visibility, and the up and down controls to change order. Rename layers to identify the background, subject and text.
  2. Set blend mode and opacity. Hide a test layer or undo if the blend is too strong.
  3. Press Ctrl + J (Windows) or Command + J (Mac) to duplicate. Save JSON or keep a duplicate before merging or rasterizing objects you may need to edit separately.

Multi-select, move and align

  1. Turn on Multi-select in Layers and select the items you want to move together.
  2. Enter X and Y offsets or choose an alignment. Use arrow keys to nudge and hold Shift for a larger step. Check that the background is outside the selection.

Layer mask

  1. Select an image layer and choose Edit layer mask. Brush in Hide mode to conceal pixels and Restore mode to bring back edge detail.
  2. Adjust feathering, edge shift and brush size, then apply. Toggle the mask to compare. Save JSON for an editable mask. PSD preserves the masked appearance as pixels.

Adjustment layers and corrections

  1. Choose Adjust layer and select brightness/contrast, saturation or gamma. Preview and apply. The adjustment affects visible layers below it.
  2. Double-click the adjustment layer to edit it or hide it to compare. Use the right-hand Adjustments panel for operations on the selected layer, such as color correction, black and white, sepia, flip or rotate.

AI background removal

  1. Select a raster image and choose Remove background. Try the general model for products or the portrait model for people. The model downloads on first use.
  2. Check hair, outlines and holes in the preview, then adjust edge shift and feathering. Apply to add a cutout layer. The original is retained and hidden.
  3. Export a transparent PNG. Use Edit layer mask to refine leftover areas.

Canvas tabs and layer copying

  1. Use the plus sign beside the canvas tabs to create another canvas. Each canvas has its own layers and history.
  2. Drag the selected layers to another canvas tab or use Copy to canvas and pick the destination. Reposition the copied layers there. The source stays in place.
  3. Save each editable canvas as its own JSON project before closing it.

Import and export PSD

  1. Choose Import PSD and pick an 8-bit RGB PSD. Read the compatibility report and choose supported layers or the merged preview.
  2. CMYK and 16-bit or 32-bit PSD files are unsupported. Imported text and smart objects generally use a cached raster image. Groups are flattened into named paths.
  3. Choose Export PSD and check the report. Complex text and masks may be rendered into pixels. Keep JSON for future editing.

Project saving, image export and history

  1. Save project downloads a JSON file you can reopen. Use Export for a finished image. Choose PNG for transparency, JPEG for a photo or WebP for the web.
  2. Check dimensions, transparency and estimated size. Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Command + Z (Mac) undoes and Ctrl + Shift + Z (Windows) or Command + Shift + Z (Mac) redoes. Choose a step in History to return to it. A new edit replaces the redo branch.
  3. Local recovery can keep one recent checkpoint. Download a JSON backup for important projects.

Practice project: a square product image

  1. Open a sample or use a product photo. Create a 1080 × 1080 px canvas, place the photo on it and position the subject with V.
  2. Use Remove background if you need transparency, then refine the mask. Add a shape with U behind a headline added with T. Check spacing and legibility at 100%.
  3. Save JSON, then export a transparent PNG or web WebP. Open the exported file to inspect the result.

When a tool seems unresponsive

  1. Check that the target layer is visible and unlocked. Eraser, Blur and Clone require a raster layer. Check the active selection and color opacity when strokes appear clipped or invisible.
  2. Finish editing text, dismiss dialogs and focus the canvas before using shortcuts. Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac) opens command search. On touchscreens, use the toolbar and panel controls.
  3. For large files or failed background removal, reduce a copy of the image or try a recent desktop browser. Keep the original and an editable JSON backup.