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Gee23212854c08p
Participating Frequently
February 17, 2022
Question

"Subtract from selection" is deleting pixels

  • February 17, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 1073 views

I seem to have accidentally enabled a feature I've never seen before in my 15+ years of using Photoshop, and I can't seem to find any info online about it other than a seven-year-old post on Reddit with no solution.

 

After moving a selection in a file (using the Move Tool or using the arrow keys to nudge), the various selection tools then begin to behave differently, allowing me to edit the image itself instead of just the selection.  The most glaring issue is that if I try to subtract from the selection, it deletes the pixels I have deselected.  I'm sure this is an intentional feature of some sort, but it's not the behavior I'm used to or desire.  Not sure how I managed to turn it on, so I'm wondering how to turn it back off.

 

GIF of the behavior I am describing

 

This is driving me a bit nuts, so any help is much appreciated.

2 replies

Gee23212854c08p
Participating Frequently
February 28, 2022

I'm curious if anyone was able to identify the setting that disables this behavior.

 

(I'm not entirely sure how this forum works, but I received an e-mail on 2/25 that a reply had been posted, but I see no posts after my last message on 2/19.)

Chuck Uebele
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 28, 2022

I doubt that there is anyway to turn this off, as it is "As designed."

jane-e
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 17, 2022

Hi

You might need to reset Preferences after backing up customization from Preferences > General > Reset Preferences on Quit.

 

Before you do, how did you create the shape? Can we see the layers panel? Did you try: Quit and Relaunch?

 

Jane

Gee23212854c08p
Participating Frequently
February 17, 2022

The shape was just a scribble I made with the Brush Tool.

 

Screenshot including the layers panel:

 

I have quit and relaunched the program a few times.  I also just realized the problem persists across multiple users on this computer, so now I'm wondering if it's a bigger problem than just a simple setting change.

Chuck Uebele
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 17, 2022

Did you also reset your preferences, as Jane mentioned?