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FeedbackCommunityMember
Inspiring
July 13, 2011
Released

P: Don't understand the undo/redo system

  • July 13, 2011
  • 81 replies
  • 5294 views

Unlike most modern apps, Photoshop only has a single "undo". If you press command-z a second time, Photoshop will redo the change instead of continuing to undo. Not even Illustrator or InDesign works this way at this point.

To work around this issue, I customize my keyboard shortcuts to use "step backward" (command-z) and "step forward" (command-shift-z). For the most part this works great and I've been very happy with it.

But it brings up a new problem: if I change the selected layer, then press command-z ("step backward") then the layer change is undone as well. This is a constant frustration for me, and it seems there's no solution to get both the behaviors I want.

To me, there are two possible ways to fix this problem:
• Adopt a standard undo/redo system with multiple levels of undo/redo
• Make layer selection a separate step in the history

Personally I don't care that much, I'd be happy with either. But adopting a standard undo/redo system makes more sense to me, for consistency amongst the CS apps (as well as other apps). Perhaps it could be an option if there's disagreement over what works best for people.

    81 replies

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    stephaniec40563808
    Participating Frequently
    December 3, 2018
    How do I undo "deselecting a layer" (or often in my case, multiple layers)?
    D
    DermotPower
    Participating Frequently
    November 26, 2015
    I hate to pick at an old wound that we all assumed has been healed but the undo/redo layer select problem persists in one special case; selection of layer masks. If you select a layer, then add a mask, draw on or fill the mask, then undo (because you filled it with white instead of black for example) Photoshop selects the layer instead of the layer mask. Then without realising it you start drawing on the layer instead of the mask. Not as problematic as the layer selection problem because you will usually spot the mistake immediately as you'll usually draw with pure black or pure white which is more evident than if you were painting on a layer with colour. But its a glitch that gets me most days I am using p'shop.
    anyway.. . hate to moan but I wonder if anyone else has this problem?
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
    Inspiring
    November 26, 2015
    I just had to field a user's question on this topic in the Adobe Photoshop forums. Since I use CC 2015, I was not able to duplicate the poster's problem, or even knew it existed, I thought it was his Prefs file.

    I did dig up the polycount link for CC 2014 and earlier users. You will have to use the "Smart Step Backward" script if you own earlier Photoshop versions.

    Use this link, the older one no longer works.

    http://polycount.com/discussion/78932...

    And yes, thanks for fixing this.

    Gene
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    DermotPower
    Participating Frequently
    June 26, 2015
    comments removed because we dared to criticise a p'shop staffer .
    D
    DermotPower
    Participating Frequently
    June 19, 2015
    Yes ... I do remember being patronised by him in the past- apparently the problem was that we users didn't understand the difference between undo and step backwards.
    A
    Allen_W
    Known Participant
    June 19, 2015
    chris cox sort of gained a reputation for making excuses for problems, rather than understanding and fixing them
    D
    DermotPower
    Participating Frequently
    June 18, 2015
    I've read Chris Cox's reply several times and I've no clue what he's on about - guess it doesn't matter if the 'not bug' is fixed ...
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
    Inspiring
    June 17, 2015
    Really glad about this!!! I'm the one who posted the image of the drawing in an earlier comment and post. This will save a lot of heartache and headaches!
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
    Inspiring
    June 17, 2015
    Thank you (and possibly your teammates) so much for fixing this. A lot of artists (especially the ones who use a Wacom) are going to have a lot less frustration now!
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
    Inspiring
    June 17, 2015
    Yes, it wasn't that simple to change. The originally stated problem is not a bug in any way, but the unintended side effect that people complain about is the selected layer changing. So we had to work around the layer change due to stepping back in history, along with safety logic to prevent it from selecting something that no longer exists.

    No, older versions will not get new features.
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