There isn't a single, direct, configurable keyboard shortcut within Photoshop to immediately launch Camera Raw without opening an image first. Camera Raw is primarily designed to process raw images when you open them. However, here are a few approaches you can take to speed up accessing Camera Raw functionality:
1. Opening Images with Camera Raw:
The most direct method is ensuring supported image formats (RAW, JPEG, TIFF) open directly in Camera Raw when opened in Photoshop. This isn't a shortcut creation, but it streamlines the workflow.
- Photoshop Preferences: Go to Photoshop's preferences (Edit > Preferences > Camera Raw, or Photoshop > Settings > Camera Raw on Mac).
- JPEG and TIFF Handling: In the "JPEG and TIFF Handling" section, choose "Automatically open JPEGs and TIFFs with settings" or "Automatically open all supported JPEGs and TIFFs" from the dropdown menu. This will force those file types to open in Camera Raw directly. For RAW files, they should open in Camera Raw by default.
2. Using a Script (Advanced):
You could create a custom Photoshop script (using Javascript) that opens a dummy image (a blank, small JPEG) into Camera Raw, and then immediately closes the dummy image after Camera Raw opens. This is more complex and requires scripting knowledge. This workaround isn't ideal as it's essentially a hack. I'm not providing a script example here because it's not a clean, efficient solution.
3. Opening a Raw File:
The fundamental design is to open a RAW file. When you open a RAW file (e.g., .CR2, .NEF, .ARW) directly in Photoshop (File > Open...), it will open in Camera Raw automatically. This is the intended workflow.
4. Opening as Smart Object:
Open an existing image in Photoshop and convert it to a Smart Object (Right-click the layer in the Layers panel > Convert to Smart Object). Double-clicking the Smart Object thumbnail in the Layers panel will open the image in Camera Raw (as a filter). This technically doesn't create a shortcut to launch Camera Raw, but it's a quick way to access Camera Raw's editing capabilities on a rasterized or non-RAW image within Photoshop.
In summary: While a direct keyboard shortcut isn't available, configuring your Photoshop preferences to automatically open JPEGs and TIFFs in Camera Raw, or simply opening RAW files directly, provides the most efficient workflow. Opening an existing image as a smart object provides non-destructive Camera Raw editing.
