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M
Matulaitis
Inspiring
June 19, 2025
Answered

Accessing healing brush / remove tool

  • June 19, 2025
  • 4 replies
  • 1131 views

LR Classic 14.4

To get to the "healing brush", which I use a LOT, it takes a lot of clicks to use:

 

Click Remove Tool Icon

Click Remove drop down

Click Heal Mode icon (unless it was sticky from last time, which seems not always the case)

Then when finished, to get back to overall develop screen tab, have to click Edit icon.  Previously closing the healing brush reopened the develop screen tab. 

 

Keyboard Shortcut "Q" merely gets you to step 2 above.

 

Is there a way to change this and bring the healing brush to the surface?  It seems as features have been added it has gotten buried.

    Correct answer johnrellis

    adding to this -- the behavior is intermittent.  Sometimes I get the dropdown, sometimes I get right to the tool.

     

    David


    Thanks, the video shows what you've been seeing.  (In LR-speak, the Remove panel isn't a drop-down -- it's a collapsible panel that's collapsed or expanded.)

     

    I tried typing Q dozens of times in both my Mac and Windows LR installations, and that problem didn't happen for me. So try this:

     

    Restart your computer. If the problem persists, try resetting LR's preferences:
    https://www.lightroomqueen.com/articles-page/how-do-i-reset-lightrooms-preferences/

    LR sometimes soils its preferences file, and resetting it can fix all sorts of wonky behavior. That article explains how to restore the old preferences if resetting doesn't help.

    4 replies

    M
    MatulaitisAuthor
    Inspiring
    August 13, 2025

    This is NOT fixed in v 14.5

    L
    lukasradek
    Inspiring
    July 14, 2025

    Before the introduction of Distraction Removal, pressing Q would open "Remove" panel and let the user immediatelly use the "area selection" tool.

     

    Now, it opens common panel, where you have to select either "Remove" or "Distraction Removal". Which adds a mouse move and mouse click to the process.

     

    Please, make it so that Q once again immediatelly puts you into Remove mode.

      johnrellis
      johnrellis
      Legend
      July 14, 2025

      Normally, Q works the way it did prior to LR 14.4.  It opens the most recently used Remove subpanel (Remove or Distraction Removal), and if the subpanel was also Remove, it selects the most recently used mode (Remove, Heal, Clone). (Sorry, Adobe's terminology is so confusing, with ambiguous use of the same word "Remove".)  See this screen recording of how it should work:

      https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7j7ce6kbls3uon9zhrn4c/shortcut-q-14-4.2025-07-14.mp4?rlkey=vi4x1s60kyq9r1me0x4oqofgi&dl=0

       

      If you apply the Heal mode tool to one photo, edit another photo, and then type Q, does the Remove panel open with Heal selected?

       

      If not, as a workaround you could try restarting your computer and then resetting preferences:

      https://www.lightroomqueen.com/articles-page/how-do-i-reset-lightrooms-preferences/

      LR sometimes soils its preferences file, and resetting it can fix all sorts of wonky behavior. That article explains how to restore the old preferences if resetting doesn't help.

       

      A couple of others have reported the same symptoms.

      flaviu.tanase
      flaviu.tanase
      Participant
      June 29, 2025

      I use healing brush quite often and having "Q" as a shortcut helped a lot in being productive. With the new update it's counterproductive since i added, at least, two extra steps to my workflow. 


      Reseting lightroom preferences it's a short term solution to the problem.

        J
        jillniss
        Participating Frequently
        July 4, 2025

        I have the same issue and it's maddening. Since Distraction Removal was added, the Remove panel is automatically hidden on selection, and the triangle needs to be clicked to open and select the appropriate tool. I just want to lock it open and save that extra click!

         

          johnrellis
          johnrellis
          Legend
          June 19, 2025

          Hmm, I'm observing different behavior. Typing Q takes me directly to the Remove panel, with the last-used mode selected. Then after applying the tool, typing Q closes the Remove panel and restores the other develop panels as they were.

           

          See the attached screen recording, where I use Q to open and close the Remove panel, and the current Remove mode is sticky.

           

          If you're seeing something different, perhaps attach a short screen recording (not a phone video):

          https://www.descript.com/blog/article/how-to-screen-record-on-windows

          M
          MatulaitisAuthor
          Inspiring
          June 19, 2025

          Hi John,

           

          See attached.  First I click the remove tool button, I get the screen with the drop down.

           

          Then second part I use the Q short cut.

           

          Neither perform as per your video and require extra steps.

          Only closing with shortcut Q seems successful

           

           

           

          M
          MatulaitisAuthor
          Inspiring
          June 19, 2025

          adding to this -- the behavior is intermittent.  Sometimes I get the dropdown, sometimes I get right to the tool.

           

          David

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