Ah… Now it all makes sense!

You just need to find that illusive 4th chord!

Try Em7 🙄

YYYEEEESSSS!

And one more post makes 6!

I just discovered that by default, the maximum number of undo steps is 20 🙁

But that's okay because you're using Adjustment Layers, so yoi don't need a huge Undo history?

But that's okay because you're using Adjustment Layers

does the clone stamp have its own layer thingy too ? 20 steps would have made sense when storage was on floppy discs but I have 228GB on my system drive. Needless to say, the setting is hidden under "performance" which the naive user might not associate with undo…

You can clone onto a separate layer and do it that way.
Makes it easier to remove cloned bits etc.

You can clone onto a separate layer and it that way

how ?

Mmm not got it in front of me but don't you just create a new layer and set it to be active?

When you set the source of your clone you can either switch to the layer you require to sample or tick the box (something like sample from all layers?)

Here you go simon:
http://www.lunacore.com/photoshop/tutorials/tut013_3.htm

cheers 🙂 A powerful technique!

OK, next, how can I choose the clone stamp source without pressing the ALT key ? I don't want to look away from the screen. In Paintshop Pro it's a right click…

I thought you were a programmer simon, surely you can find the Alt key without actually looking at the keyboard?

Not sure there is a way to do it with the default setup, but then I'm not clavieraphobic like yourself so I've never looked.

I thought you were a programmer simon

to date (ie in 25+ years) the ALT key has mainly featured in:
a) CTRL-ALT-DEL to break in
b) getting obscure foreign characters

surely you can find the Alt key without actually looking at the keyboard?

I tried but 50% of the time I get the space bar instead 🙁 I had not imagined that in 2010 one of the "skills" required would be finding a non-touch, non-graphic button on a 40 year old input device. Paper tape anyone ?

I'm sure if you have a nice fancy mouse (a 30 year old input device) with extra buttons on it then you can just assign one of them to Alt if glancing down is such a major blocker for you.

Failing that simply blu-tack a small drawing pin to the Alt key so you can find it by touch.

Perhaps:

Hey, another great idea! I stuck a sequin that fell off my g/f's tights onto the keyboard under the ALT key 🙂

OK next, at Takafred's suggestion, I have a Wacom Bamboo Tablet, and while desperately trying to make it do something, I rotated the whole image by 10 degrees. No amount of undo will make it go straight 🙁

Odd. Not sure how you managed that one. What actions appeared in the History window?

With regard to history, you can change the max number of undo's in the preferences pane, but you could always create history snapshots, which is essentially a history of histories (also useful for the history brush!)

…oh… and with the clone tool (or any other 'select origin" tool ie healing tool) if you turn on the caps lock, it gives you a 'precise' cursor, and not one the size of yor current brush. Much more accurate!

Caps Lock?

But that's another key to press. You'll make him dizzy 😉

, I rotated the whole image by 10 degrees. No amount of undo will make it go straight

Not sure how you managed that one. What actions appeared in the History window?

none. I think what happened is my 2 finger open was slightly skewed so it decided it was a rotate and turned the entire viewport (in 10 or 15 degree steps). It's not clear to me what this is for.

and with the clone tool (or any other 'select origin" tool ie healing tool) if you turn on the caps lock, it gives you a 'precise' cursor, and not one the size of yor current brush.

Thanks, that's a fantastic tip! It's rubbish when the brush hides the stuff under it, particularly if you're using pressure sensing where you have to make it BIG and allow the pressure to modulate its size…

But that's another key to press. You'll make him dizzy

not to mention its effect on every other application – a totally dumbass and counterintuitive misuse of the keyboard!

I found lots of references to the rotation problem and found a plugin to disable unintentional canvas rotation (Mac only):
linky