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_Eli_Roth_
Participant
October 23, 2007
Answered

ESC key not working outside PS in Vista...

  • October 23, 2007
  • 44 replies
  • 68445 views
This haunts our users since we migrated to Vista. When Photoshop CS2/CS3 is running under Vista the ESCAPE key does not work correctly with other programs. When PS is running, the escape key works only when pressing SHIFT+ESC together. This is extremely annoying when multiple programs are used, what could be the root of the problem?

Thanks!
    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Chris Cox
    elipsoid - figure out which of your third party plugins is messing up the escape key...

    44 replies

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    Chris Cox
    Chris Cox
    Legend
    November 7, 2008
    elipsoid - but that doesn't happen to most other users. I still strongly suspect that this is due to a third party plugin.
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    _elipsoid_
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2008
    Chris Cox: Both the original plugins that came with PS as well as additional third party plugins. I've tried clearing the folder and adding plugins one-by-one, starting with the original ones. It worked when there was just the "Import-Export" folder present.
    It looks like if there is a plugin in the Plug-Ins folder, the ESC doesn't work.
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    _Brian_Tao_
    Participant
    November 5, 2008
    Normally, the Escape key works just fine for me in 64-bit Vista with Photoshop running. The exception is when Photoshop is busy running an action or script (e.g., any batch action, Image Processor, etc.). Now the Escape key seems to be swallowed by Photoshop, whether or not it has keyboard focus. This has happened to be with XP and Vista, with CS3 and CS4 (I forget if I had this problem with CS2 and earlier).

    Sending a literal Ctrl-[ keypress (also ASC 27, same as Escape) works for me. No issues sending Ctrl-0 either.
    Chris Cox
    Chris CoxCorrect answer
    Legend
    November 5, 2008
    elipsoid - figure out which of your third party plugins is messing up the escape key...
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    _elipsoid_
    Participating Frequently
    November 4, 2008
    I have no Catalyst drivers or software, but I have this problem on Vista Business and PS CS3. When I remove all my plugins (incl. the orginal ones) from the PS folder, the ESC functions normally. Any solution?
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    _milosh6_
    Participant
    October 27, 2008
    HOW I SOLVED THIS ISSUE.

    I had the same problem and in the end I discovered that Photoshop was not responsible for this issue alone. I am using ATI Catalyst, so I have killed all the ATI Catalyst related processes that were running in background, restarted Photoshop and that solved the problem. The same procedure worked for my colleague.
    M
    malcolm341
    Participating Frequently
    September 28, 2011

    I was having the no escape key issue in Win 7 64bit with Photoshop CS4 32bit, it was also happening with XNview, going to task bar and killing the ccc.exe process fixed it for me. ATI Catalyst Control Center.

    J
    Jörg_Wagner
    Participating Frequently
    October 14, 2011

    Same problem here:

    CS4 with PShop64 on Win 7 Ultimate 64

    Catalyst Control Center

    Switching off the hotkeys in CCC did not improve the situation.

    But killing the CCC process in taskmanager did indeed!

    Thanks you malcolm341, this was a great help.

    And shame on Adobe. Considering the prices of their products (especially outside of the US) they behave lousy. Whatever bad reputation Microsoft has earned over the last decades, Adobe is doing their very best to catch up on them if not beating them. Very typical North American mind set: The only remaining focus is EBITDA and shareholder value. I am not at all happy that I have to use products of this company.

    A
    Anonymous
    September 23, 2008
    Can't reproduce it here!
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    _soulburner_
    Participant
    September 23, 2008
    Got the same trouble under Vista Business SP1

    Thanks a lot for Shift+Esc hint and for the software!
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    _ramzesnet_
    Participant
    August 25, 2008
    Serge: Your fix is working!Thanks a lot.
    Unfortunately I've another problem with Vista and CS3:
    shortcut "ctrl+0" (Fit in Window) did'nt work :(
    I resolve a problem by: ctrl+alt+0, but it is not confortable :(
    Could You help me with it?
    PS. sorry for my english...
    I
    IntelliSerge
    Participant
    June 3, 2008
    I wrote a fix for this issue in a form of the small app and posted a link here, but Adobe has removed my post without any explanation.

    Here it is again: http://amip.tools-for.net/files/tools/ .

    Adobe, before silently removing user posts, try to explain why you are doing it.
      D
      DC Cardwell
      Participant
      March 9, 2014

      Thanks so much for the tool, IntelliSerge! This issue has been driving me nuts for a long time and I never made the connection with Photoshop until today. I wondered why I couldn't ESC out of Irfanview, which I often have running to preview files before opening them in Photoshop.

      The tool fixes it admirably. Well done!

      - DC

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