Adding to/subtracting from local masks not possible

[RobertSmits]

Hi everyone,

I have been using LR since forever and I even teach this.  However, since a recent update, I notice that adding and subtracting to/from masks, is not available anymore. So, say I made a gradient mask, but want to subtract a part of the effect with another gradient, I can't do that anymore.  This is a vital part of my workflow. 

The add/subtract part inside the mask is not greyed out or anything, but when I click on it, it doesn't show the options anymore (like brush, gradient, radial, etc).

Update : When writing this post, I was going back and forth in LRc and then to the article and it seems that when I click out of LRc and then back in, I can get into the menu of the add/subtract to/from the mask, but when I go to the next picture and try, I am not able to anymore, until I click out of LRc and back in.  Very strange behaviour!

I already rebooted my machine (MacBook pro, M1 Max, 64 GB Ram, 2 TB SSD), which is running the latest IoS and Latest LRc (I have Adobe Creative Cloud).

Lightroom Classic version: 13.0.1 [ 202310121438-d2af310c ]

Operating system: Mac OS 14
Version: 14.0.0 [23A344]

Ideally, I don't want to revert back to another version to test if it works there, as I have a lot of work to catch up on. 

Anyone else with these issues?

Thank you in advance,

Best regards,

DrBobke

[dj_paige]

It would help if you could show us screen captures of what you see. Use the "Insert Photos" icon to include screen captures in your reply. Do NOT attach files.

[RobertSmits]

Hi dj_paige,  Thank you for chiming in. There is no point in sharing screenshots, as I am not getting the expected menu, there is nothing I can see that doesn't look like I would expect (the menu for add/subtract inside the mask).  When I go out of LRc and back in, it does show... I assume some kind of bug?

[dj_paige]

Hi dj_paige,  Thank you for chiming in. There is no point in sharing screenshots, as I am not getting the expected menu, there is nothing I can see that doesn't look like I would expect (the menu for add/subtract inside the mask).  When I go out of LRc and back in, it does show... I assume some kind of bug?

By @RobertSmits

How about showing us a video capture of the problem, where we can see where you are clicking and then your voice indicates "Something should happen when I click here, but it doesn't"

[JohanElzenga]

Have you tried resetting the preferences? There's nothing wrong with this on my Mac. 

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

[RobertSmits]

Hi all, I've tried all of that, but it doesn't help.  The only thing that sort of helps, is opening OBS screen recorder and start recording my screen.  When doing that, I can't seem to recreate the error.  When it is off, I can create the masks/local adjustments and then subtract where I don't want the adjustment.  Say I have a local adjustment on a picture with a few people on.  The person on the right is closer to me, so the flash hit him/her a little more. I select subject automatically and the person on the right is also selected.  I then go into my local adjustment, hit subtract and put a linear gradient on top of the person, problem solved.  I can do this for a few images, but then all of the sudden, without really any sort of change, I can hit the subtract (or add) all that I want, nothing happens.  When I say all of the sudden - there is no measure of time (like 5 min for example), nor the amount of edited pictures,.. when it happens. Unless I am recoring my screen, it is usually after having edited 5-10 pictures though.  When I click out of LRc and then back in, it usually works again.

As said, I have tried recording my screen a bunch of times now, but then, it doesn't happen.. Very strange stuff.  Also tried downgrading to a previous version of LRc, but the same thing happens.

[daleducatte]

Hello. I bookmarked this thread shortly after you originally posted it, because I did have the problem you described -- suddenly I couldn't add to or subtract from an existing mask. Lightroom worked fine otherwise, but nothing would happen when I clicked the buttons to add or subtract. If I restarted Lightroom or switched to a different photo, it would work for a while but continued attempts to subtract objects, for example, did nothing.

In my case, however, I rebooted my Mac mini and haven't had the problem since -- so I never figured out why it happened and can't reproduce it. 

But since you mentioned you don't have the problem when using your screen recorder software, a couple things occurred to me -- especially since I do have two programs on my system that qualify as "screen recorders" by the Mac's OS that I had updated to latest versions just before I had the problem. 

First, in System Settings, under Privacy & Security, select Screen Recording. Lightroom Classic should be there, and toggled on. If it's not there, open Lightroom and use a color picker: that should cause Lightroom to prompt you (in the menu bar) to allow screen recording.

If that doesn't help or wasn't necessary, I'd then wonder if there was a conflict between OBS screen recorder and Lightroom. If OBS is listed under Screen Recording settings, try turning it off and rebooting.

I'm not familiar with OBS, but given its purpose: it could have login items or background processes that interfere with Lightroom. In System Settings, under General, check both Login Items and Allow in Background for OBS, turn them off, reboot and see if the problem goes away. 

If none of that does any good, I'd still not rule out OBS, since it could have background processes running that are not visible in Login Items or Allow in Background. Can you uninstall it temporarily, reboot, and try Lightroom again?