Today’s Question: Is there a quick way [in Photoshop] to get the Contextual Task Bar off the screen after I’m done with it? I can retrace my steps to call up the tool, then remove it when I am done, as it really clutters the screen. It would be easier, however, if there were a shortcut key to get the taskbar on or off my screen.
Tim’s Quick Answer: You can assign a keyboard shortcut to the Contextual Task Bar (or other menu commands in Photoshop) to make it easier to hide or reveal the taskbar, but you might also consider pinning it to a location that is not in the way, such as over the Options bar.
More Detail: The Contextual Task Bar provides access to various tasks based on the context of what you’re doing, and in particular it provides access to Generative AI features in Photoshop. If you want to be able to quickly hide or reveal this taskbar you can assign a keyboard shortcut to it. To get started, go to the menu bar and choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.
In the search field near the top-left of the dialog you can enter “Contextual”, or you can navigate to the Window section. To the right of the Contextual Task Bar command click in the text field and then press the keyboard shortcut combination you want to assign to this command. There’s a very good chance that whatever keyboard combination you try will result in a message that the shortcut is already used by another command. If so, you can either try a different combination or replace the shortcut if the existing command isn’t one you need a keyboard shortcut for.
Next, click the Accept button to apply the change, and click the OK button to close the Preferences dialog. You can then use the assigned keyboard shortcut to hide or reveal the Contextual Task Bar.
If you just want to make sure the Contextual Task Bar doesn’t get in the way of the image or interface elements, you can pin it to a more convenient location. Start by dragging the taskbar to the preferred position using the “handle” on the left side of the bar. Then click the “More” button (the three dots on the right side) and choose “Pin bar position” from the popup menu. This will add a checkmark icon to the left of that command to indicate it is enabled. The taskbar will then remain in that position unless you move it to a new location, in which case it will instead be pinned to the new location.
