Known Participant

Question

Is this Quick Mask?

Forum|Forum|8 months ago
May 26, 2025
7 replies
462 views

I have Photoshop Elements 13, so I realize it's not current, but here goes. Starting a day or two ago, an image turns orange pink when I tried to click on it with a tool. I guessed that I had flattened it by mistake. It's text on a layer over a gif background. So I tried opening the background image, planning to create the old one again. Same results. So it's not a problem with one image, and it's not so general as to be a monitor issue.

Looking at past posts online, I figured it might be Quick Mask. And it goes away if I click on the traffic sign for "cancel current operation" but comes back when I click on the image again. I tried pressing Q many times, whether with the color on the image or just with the mouse not clicking on the image. No difference. the pink will come back when I try to select text on the image again. I saw an icon for Quick Mask might be on a toolbar but don't see it. Any clues? Thank you.

Windows

Jeff Arola

Community Expert

You mention Gif in your first post so most likely your image is in Index color mode, which would cause the Type Tool to create a red mask.

In the Layers panel does it say Index to the right of the image thumbnail?

jhaber3Author

Known Participant

Have to admit I find that puzzling, as I'd been updating the text on what I presumed was the top layer weekly for years now. But it indeed is a gif. And I found my way to open the right panel, and it does say "index" just to the right of a thumbnail of the image.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

@jhaber3 if you are replying by email we cannot see your screenshot. You have to use the forum to upload a screenshot. But based on your description, you have clearly chosen the Horizontal Mask type tool. In the Tool Option panel at the bottom, click on the first tool which is the Type-Horizontal tool. It is the one that Andrei has marked with the arrow on the left of his screenshot.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

@Andrei_D's reply makes the most sense.

A

Andrei_D

Inspiring

Just another suggestion:

Aren't you trying to use the "Type Mask" (instead of the regular "Type" ) tool?

Greg_S.

Community Expert

A picture is worth a thousand words. So I would like to see what happens when you are using the text tool and what you think is a Quick Mask appears.

Each of the selection tools has its own options. Here is a screenshot of the Selection Mask which has the Selection vs Mask options when it is active.

jhaber3Author

Known Participant

Thanks to all. Here's a picture (not quite all the way to the right edge), and I don't think it's a type mask tool, although it does seem to my uninformed self to act like one. As you'll see, the left frame, in which you pick a tool, does when I mouse over it, say "Horizontal Type Tool (T)," and the bottom frame, for modifying the tool, does as well, with the 1st of 7 icons. (The third and fourth items are labeled "Type - Horizontal Mask" and "Type - Vertical Mask." I have not tried to use them and don't know what they'd do.) And you'll see in the main frame what happens when I click on my image, expecting the tool to select type. Things turn red, and I was guessing that was the act of a Mask. I'm stuck.

jhaber3Author

Known Participant

Let me clarify the issue, if I may I have been encountering this problem with the text tool. At present I am unable to replicate it with other tools. Say, the eraser tool, rather than turning the image red, erases whatever I rub it on. And the pencil tool draws freehand. I just found the selection brush tool. It turns up the horizontal frame at bottom of the screen, with choices like quick selection, refine selection, and magic wand, as well as new and subtract. I don't see a choice of quick mask, but could be my ignorance. I haven't yet tried reset of preferences.

jhaber3Author

Known Participant

No, reset of preferences didn't change it. I'd get you a screen shot, but I'm not clear what to take a screen shot of.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

If you open the Selection Brush tool, is it in Mask or Selection Mode?

It probably doesn't matter since you say the problem is occuring with different (unspecified) tools. My only suggestion without more details or a screenshot, is to try resetting the preferences file. Go to the Edit>Preferences>General tab and click the Reset Preferences on next launch button.

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