Inspiring

Question

Polygon Lasso Tool " Esc, Backspace key" Bug report

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
January 21, 2025
5 replies
740 views

I am using Photoshop version 26.2, and I have been experiencing a long-standing issue with the Polygonal Lasso Tool. When selecting an area using this tool, keys such as ESC, Backspace, Space (for panning), and +/- (for zooming) do not work, except for the Ctrl key. This problem occurs after performing other tasks like using the Brush Tool and then returning to the Polygonal Lasso Tool. The key inputs stop functioning, and I have to press the Windows key instead of ESC to reset the selection before starting again. However, after switching to another task and returning to the Polygonal Lasso Tool, the issue reappears, and the keys stop working again

I have tried resetting Photoshop preferences, reinstalling the software, and even purchasing a completely new computer to install and test Photoshop, but the issue persists and remains unresolved.

OS : Windows 11

CPU : Intel Ultra 7 Seriese2 256K / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X /

RAW : 64G

VGA : RTX 4080 / RTX 3070 ti

Windows

C

Carlos_Oliveras

Known Participant

Yes, this is a pain - it has been going on for years now, and has been reported multiple times, like in this 5-pages thread (among others):

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/esc-delete-backspace-no-longer-working-with-the-polygonal-lasso/td-p/13110040/page/5

All kinds of solutions have been proposed, like enabling/disabling flick panning, or legacy shortcuts. Or pressing left Alt+space (on Windows at least). Or switching back and forth to another program. Or... a hundred things.

Some of them seem to work temporarily, but it's hard to say for sure what (and why) some of them might work for a minute.

At this point I've lost hope in Adobe being able (or willing) to fix this. 😔

S

stefano_5779

Participant

I have exactly the same issue here even after installing the V26.6.

I really hope the will solve this problem soon, because at this point is more than a year that this is severely disrupting my workflow.

Trevor.Dennis

Community Expert

I have just tried to test this, but I'm finding that I don't know how the Polygonal Lasso tool works. How do you close/ complete the selection? Do you have to position the cursor exactly over the start of the selection to see the little circle added to the cursor? Is it supposed to work by hitting Escape or Enter?

If this is all there is to it, then I don't understand how anyone could find it useful. Compared to the Lasso tool where we can link points by holding down Alt/Opt, and complete the selection by releasing the Alt/Opt key. I'm guessing that the Polygonal Lasso is supposed to complete by hitting Escape or Enter, snd that's what's broken, but I would be interested to hear what is going on here.

jane-e

Community Expert

I don't know how the Polygonal Lasso tool works. How do you close/ complete the selection?
By @Trevor.Dennis

There are two ways to close the Polygonal Lasso tool:

Double-click to close from where the cursor is currently to the start point
Click once on the start point after seeing the close circle on the pointer

Note that clicking twice on the start point will first close the selection and then deselect.

Jane

davescm

Community Expert

I tried to reproduce your issue but it works OK here in Windows 11 (24H2) and Photoshop 26.3

Backspace brings up Fill as expected, Spacebar brings up the hand tool for panning, Note Ctrl++ and Ctrl+- are the default shortcuts for zoom, they can be changed in Edit >Keyboard Shortcuts>Application menus>View, and the shortcut for deselecting is Ctrl+D which can be changed in Edit >Keyboard Shortcuts>Application menus>Select

Dave

C

CGdesigner72Author

Inspiring

I am using a Wacom Intuos Tablet product, but the same issue occurs even on PCs where the Wacom Tablet is not installed. This problem is unrelated to the Wacom Tablet.

A

Aleke

Community Manager

Hey @CGdesigner72!

Are you using a tablet by any chance? If so, could you let us know the model? I'm curious if it's related to a recent issue reported here: https://adobe.ly/4jy8JGv

Thanks! Alek

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

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