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Inspiring
July 11, 2018

P: Is there a keyboard shortcut for selecting the mask of currently active layer?

  • July 11, 2018
  • 11 replies
  • 307 views

Is there a keyboard shortcut for selecting the mask of currently active layer? It's a very common action and it would really speed up some workflows.

I can't find it so I presume there is none. If so, it should be a thing. Thank you.

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11 replies

David Mohr
Participating Frequently
April 22, 2020
Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be working for all languages.  I just noticed that it's broken in German on Mac, for instance.  I'm going to go ahead and log a bug to get it checked and fixed for all languages.  Sorry for the hassle.
Thanks,
David
PECourtejoie
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 21, 2020
David, if you are on a localised version, open the Channels panel when you have a layer with a layer mask selected, you will see its shortcut.
Warren Heaton
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 13, 2018
@max... you know, I saw the quotes and mistlenly assumed it was a statement that you like to finish posts with (in teh same manner some like to have a quite as part of their email signature) and completely filtered it out.

I’m gonna have to slow down next time.

I wonder if shift was required in an old version? I’ve been isong those for a decade or two.
David Mohr
Participating Frequently
July 12, 2018
Thanks for the feedback, folks.

I've gone ahead and put in a feature request to make this change.  Your comments here are helpful in prioritizing this against all the myriad of other items in the pipe.

Have a good one,
David
Inspiring
July 12, 2018
Exactly, I would expect a toggle with the same shortcut.
Inspiring
July 12, 2018
Thanks. Too bad it only works on US keyboard. I can't find where to change the shortcut so it works on any other.
Earth Oliver
Legend
July 12, 2018
Max, i wonder why they couldn't have just made it so that cmd + \ would go back and forth between layer and mask. Like anyone would ever want to go from one side of the keyboard to the other just to go between the two.

Also, if you have your legacy channel shortcuts active, cmd-1 goes back to the layer, instead of cmd-2.
Known Participant
July 12, 2018
@2849114, The snippet I posted has both Mac and PC commands called out. And does not include the shift key in either. You may have mistaken the " Control (Win)" portion of the snippet for "Shift" instead?

Targeting the Layer Mask
  • Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + "\" (backslash) targets the layer mask in the Layers panel. Command (Mac) / Control(Win) + 2 targets the layer.
Inspiring
July 11, 2018
I just tried with both Cmd-Shift-\ and Cmd-\. You don't need the Shift key, but it also doesn't affect it adversely if you do have the Shift key engaged.
Warren Heaton
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 11, 2018
Do you mean switching focus back and forth between the Layer and the Layer Mask so that you can switch between editing one or the other without having to click the thumbnails?

Focus Layer Thumbnail or Layer Mask:
   Command Shift 2
   Command Shift \

Those are macOS, but the Windows vacation of Control Shift 2 and Control Shift \ should work.