Question

Tool shortcut sometimes switches back to the previous tool

Forum|Forum|22 hours ago
August 25, 2026
9 replies
42 views

Does anyone know why I sometimes have to press a tool shortcut several times for the tool switch to stick?

For roughly the last six months (not exactly sure), I’ve noticed this on all four of my computers. In about 50% of cases, I have to press a shortcut key (for example, B) several times to make sure the tool actually switches.

If I press it only once or twice, I can literally see the tool switch to the Brush tool and then immediately switch back to the previous tool.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Please don’t recommend disabling Spring-Loaded Tools, because I don’t want to have to press another shortcut again to switch back after temporarily using Zoom (Z).

D Fosse

Community Expert

@StefanKlein You can adjust the timing for spring-loaded shortcuts in Preferences. Increase the timing to avoid this. What constitutes a “short press” is individual, which is why this setting exists.

However, if you have one specific shortcut that refuses to play nice, then it’s probably corrupt preferences and a reset should fix it. I use shortcuts constantly, spring-loaded and otherwise, and have never had any issues with it. I think it’s an extremely useful feature.

S

StefanKlein

Known Participant

If you read my post, you would have read that I have already adjusted the timing.
Yes it´s an extremely useful feature that I use since it came out years ago.
I have reset my prefs pretty often during testing PS within the last years.
And it´s not one specific shortcut. Since I have explained that several times already, I won´t do it again.
It´s a bug, simple as that.

S

StefanKlein

Known Participant

This is a bug, which exists since over a year. If you use the “spring loaded keys” function, a long press should only switch to the tool, as long as you hold down the key. A short press, however, should just switch to the other tool and stay there.
And that´s the bug:
In some cases, especially, when you switch to the object selection tool with a short press on “W”. Then, since it´s a short press, PS should stay on the Object Selection tool. But it often happens, that it switches back to the previous tool. Which is very “funny”, if the previous tool was the move tool and you don´t notice that PS switched back. So you maybe moved something only a few pixels and this can ruin your entire work, if you don´t notice that immediately.
You can change the timing sensitivity of the spring loaded keys function and I have set it to over a second now. So this works more or less.
The problem is that the object selection tool uses 100% CPU for 1 or 2 sec. (even on an I9 12900K !) power after switching to it. And that messes up the spring loaded keys function, probably.

There are many complaints about this since months, but it probably never gets fixed. And don´t tell me any workarounds.
This is a very serious bug and needs to be fixed.And it does not only happen with the Object Selection tool btw. . But that´s the worst case.

I reported that bug in February 2025!

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

Nonetheless springloading the zoom tool with the z-key is unnecessary (edit: when cmd-spacebar has been available for decades).

I don’t want to have to press another shortcut again to switch back after temporarily using Zoom (Z).

S

StefanKlein

Known Participant

It´s not about wether using spring loaded “Z” is unnecessary or not. The problem is that spring loaded tools in some situations just do not work and the tool (not only when using Z) is going back to the previous used tool, ALTHOUGH the user just pressed very shortly. It´s also a fact that this problem happens more often on complex files with many layers. And it nearly always has to do with the object selection tool.
Which makes some kind of sense. As I already said the object selection tool uses 100% CPU power for 1-2 sec. If the file has many, many layers, this takes even longer. And that´s the reason, why it jumps back to the previous tool.
I know this crazy bug since over year and can demo it each and every day.

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

because I don’t want to have to press another shortcut again to switch back after temporarily using Zoom (Z).

Why don’t you use cmd-spacebar instead of pressing Z to spring load the Zoom Tool?

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