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DemolitionMan14
Known Participant
January 27, 2026
Question

Photoshop 26 Selection → Clipboard Behavior Changed? Circular Crop Issue

  • January 27, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 39 views

For the past ~7 years I’ve used the same workflow. I know it’s not the most efficient, but it has always worked—until Photoshop 26.

 

I shoot with a Canon EF 8–15 fisheye that produces a circular image. My workflow has been:

 

  1. Create a red circle layer as a guide

  2. Use Color Range / Color Select to select the circular image area

  3. Switch to the image layer

  4. Cmd+X (cut)

  5. Cmd+N → New Document

 

 

Up until now, Photoshop would create a new square canvas based on the clipboard, effectively preserving the full circular image in a square document.

 

In Photoshop 26, something changed. When I switch layers, the bounding box changes to match the rectangular bounding box of the selection, not the circular selection itself. As a result:

 

  • Cmd+X copies only the rectangular bounding box

  • Cmd+N creates a new canvas based on that bounding box, not the intended circular image area

 

 

This breaks a workflow I’ve relied on for years.

 

Question:

Did Adobe change how selections are interpreted for clipboard size or how bounding boxes are calculated in Photoshop 26? Is this a bug, or an intentional change? And is there a way to restore the previous behavior?

    2 replies

    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 27, 2026

    When you do Command-N (which is really the command File > New), the New Document dialog box should give you the opportunity to confirm or change the canvas size of the new document, as shown in the picture below. When I try it, it says the Clipboard size is exactly the copied selection size, as shown in the picture below. This is in Photoshop 27 (Photoshop 2026), so you could try upgrading to the latest version. But it should not have changed. 

     

     

    In Photoshop 26, something changed. When I switch layers, the bounding box changes to match the rectangular bounding box of the selection, not the circular selection itself.

     

    This part is confusing. The canvas of a Photoshop document is always rectangular, there is no such thing as a non-rectangular or circular canvas. Do you mean you want transparency behind the circle? If so, make sure the New Document dialog box is set to Transparent in the Background Contents menu, as marked in the picture above. 

     

    I know it’s not the most efficient

     

    If your goal is to cut out the rectangular ends so that the canvas size matches the circular selection, then after you create the circular selection, if you don’t actually need a new document you could save a bunch of steps by just choosing the command Image > Crop as long as the circular selection is active. 

     

    If this reply is not what you’re talking about, please follow Aleke’s suggestion to upload a screen recording of what’s happening. It sounds like you’re on a Mac so you can use the built-in macOS screen recorder (Command+Shift+5, then set to record video).

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      DemolitionMan14Author
      Known Participant
      January 27, 2026

      Your method is much better.  However, In my searches today i came across two videos that outlines the uses of the frame tool.  Which seems even slightly quicker.  

       

       

       

       

       

      Conrad_C
      Community Expert
      Conrad_CCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 28, 2026

      Yes, that’s a good idea. If the circular image area is the same in every frame taken with that fisheye lens, then a circular frame of the correct size could be a great way to simplify this. First draw a circular frame that is the exact size you always need, and keep it in the Libraries panel for instant access.

       

      When you need it, in the Libraries panel simply secondary-click the saved circular frame and choose Place Layers as shown in the demo below. Just one step!

       

      Note: In the Layers panel, if the fisheye image is named “Background” and has a lock icon, then add this step: Click the lock icon to convert it to a normal layer. Then the frame will be able to apply to it. 

       

       

      There are important reasons why I suggest doing it in that specific way:

      • By saving it as a library item, you never have to manually draw that frame again. Just apply the frame saved in the Libraries panel and it will always be the right size. 
      • By adding the Library item from the contextual menu, it’s placed exactly at the center of the canvas. Although you can also drag it out of the Libraries panel, if you do that you will now have to manually align it with both the fisheye image and the canvas (too many steps). The other problem with dragging it in is that it comes in as if you chose Place Linked, which you don’t want…
      • Choose the Place Layers command so that it comes in as a layer. If you instead used Place Linked, it would be its own self-contained object and wouldn’t be able to frame the photo layer. 

      If you haven’t configured Secondary Click in macOS for your trackpad, stylus, or mouse (right mouse button), Control-click the Library item instead, because that always works as a secondary click. 

      A
      Community Manager
      AlekeCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      January 27, 2026

      Hi @DemolitionMan14
      I tried testing this on my end, but I haven’t been able to reproduce the issue, or I might be misunderstanding exactly what you’re referring to.
      What version of Photoshop are you currently using? The latest is 27.3. If you can share a quick screen recording of the problem, that would really help us look into it further.
      Thanks!

      Alek

      *(If you mention me with an @, like @Aleke, I’ll get a notification and can respond faster.)*
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      DemolitionMan14Author
      Known Participant
      January 27, 2026

      I was using a fuzziness setting of 200, which seemed to cause stray pixels from the layer behind to be included. When I tried a solid, contrasting color, the bounding box stayed tight to the circular selection.  Weird thing is I never had to take additional steps in the past.

       

      • With fuzziness set to 0, cutting the selection produced semi-transparent cut image and left semi transparent circular cutout from the original image.  

      • With fuzziness set to 1, the cut was clean and accurate.

       

       

      Additionally, if I hide the background image before running Select → Color Range and then make it visible afterward, switching layers causes no issues. For confidentiality, I inserted a blue background over the actual image to post here but you can see how the bounding box changes size with layers.

       

      Running PS 27.2.0 (Newest Mac version). I just updated to test. 

       

       

      D
      DemolitionMan14Author
      Known Participant
      January 27, 2026
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