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Ferhat5EE1
Participant
April 26, 2026

Preference Corruption: Shortcuts and Tools Resetting Automatically During Active Session

  • April 26, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 26 views

Hi, I'm experiencing a frustrating issue where Photoshop 2026 settings and shortcuts change or reset to defaults randomly while I am actively working.

I want to be very clear: Completely resetting the application and the preference files DOES NOT solve the issue. The problem recurs almost immediately after a reset, even in the same session.

 

Specific Examples of the Glitch:

  • Alt Key Behavior: While using the Brush tool, holding the Alt key opens tool settings or UI pop-ups instead of switching to the Eyedropper for color picking.

  • Filter Shortcut: The Ctrl + Alt + F shortcut (assigned to Last Filter) spontaneously starts opening the "Discover" panel instead of applying the previous filter.


This happens mid-work without any manual changes. Since standard preference resets are useless in this case, I am looking for a permanent solution to prevent these spontaneous overrides.

Photoshop Version: 2026 / 27.5

Windows 11

 

      2 replies

      D Fosse
      Community Expert
      D FosseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 26, 2026

      What are your language and keyboard region settings? It can happen that this gets reset if they’re not the same. Windows should normally handle this, but sometimes a system shortcut can interfere and override, and then the keyboard shortcuts either stop working or get assigned to the wrong keys.

       

      I’d recommend keeping language settings in the system tray, that way you can correct it quickly:

       

      If that doesn’t fix it, press ctrl+alt+shift+K and Enter. That brings up the shortcuts dialog and dismisses it again, which usually kickstarts all shortcuts back into action. For some reason, this shortcut always seems to work.

      F
      Ferhat5EE1Author
      Participant
      April 26, 2026

      I solved the problem by repeatedly pounding on the keyboard.

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