Touch Bar

For MacBook Pro users, the Touch Bar can act as an additional pane in any app, and Sketch is no exception. Depending on what you’re doing in the app, the Touch Bar will display controls and shortcuts that’s relevant to that particular context. There are several main views you may come across.

Inserting Layers

When you launch a new Sketch document, or you don’t have any layers selected, Sketch will display the Insert context so you can quickly get started. Simply tap on the tool of the layer you want to insert and begin drawing. Here you’ll also find Zoom tools to help you navigate your document.

Layer Selection

With a shape layer selected, the Touch Bar gives you an overview of your selected layer’s style, as well as allowing you to quickly access its properties to edit the layer. Tapping on the Inspector icon on the far left of the Touch Bar will reveal additional properties:

Here you can choose which field you would like to access to quickly move, or resize your layer from the X, Y, Width, and Height buttons. Once tapped, you’re ready to start typing your new value. You also have the ability to rotate your layer, as well as flip it horizontally or vertically.

Fills and Borders are also displayed when a shape layer is selected, where they can be tapped to reveal their color popover. Here you can quickly scroll and select one of your presets, open the color picker, or choose a new color for your style, straight from the Touch Bar.

When a text layer is selected, some basic properties are available on the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar. Here you have options to access the properties pane in the Inspector, as well as options to adjust the text color, alignment, and layer order.

Multiple Selection

When you have multiple layers selected, the Touch Bar will display controls that will allow you to create a group out of your selection, or you can align and distribute those layers.

If your selection is comprised exclusively of shape layers, the Touch Bar will also display the four boolean operations that can be used to combine them in addition to the group and align tools.

Editing Shapes

When you have a shape layer selected, you can tap the Edit button in the Touch Bar to enter the vector editing mode. It’s here where you can manipulate the shape of your layer by adjusting the vector points that appear. Each of these points can have a specific point type which will influence the outcome of the shape, and it’s these options that are available in the Touch Bar—along with a Selection Tool to select multiple points.