P: Brush Outline/Circle disappearing when working with masks

[Belichtungsquartier]

There is already a discussion in the community "Brush Outline/Circle disappearing intermittently (NOT CAPS LOCK) ". But since I have figured out in detail how to reproduce the behavior and when it becomes present, I want to report the issue officialy that Adobe hopefully will fix this in one of the next upcoming patch releases.

OS Environment:

• Win 10 Pro 64bit 21H1
• Adobe Ps 23.0.2

The issue is only present in combination when using Masks on a layer!

1. Create a new document (white, black or transparent layer)
2. Add a Mask to the layer
3. Select the layer OR the mask (independent on what you want to paint)
4. Select the brush tool
5. Try to start moving the mouse quickliy and pressing the left mouse button nearly at the same time and keep the mouse button pressed
6. Try to repeat until the you get locked in the issue and the brush circle disappears and the mouse arrow becomes visible

When working with a mouse as input device, the chance to facing this issue is probably rare because this kind of operation, moving the mouse and clicking the button nearly at the same time is kindly unnatural.

But it looks different when using a pen tablet as input device, because now it becomes a more natural operation when hover the pen toward the tablet surface and then drop down onto the surface to start painting.

Kind regards

[Jqqerry]

@chad.rolfs Thanks for share.
I and You wish we could reproduce the issue exactly...
Was 24.1 the version that added adjustable thickness for the Brush Cursor?

If I remember correctly, I started getting this weird bug precisely around that version.
I don't know any programming code, but I'm guessing it has something to do with that.

And it would be even better if we focused on the cursor disappearing.
I'd rather have a situation where there's a lag and the brush doesn't paint at all, but it's weird to have "just the cursor" disappear.......

[jeromea13244388]

@Jqqerry @chad.rolfs I think the problem originated before 24.1... Less prominently but I can see the brush cursor turning to a white arrow or disappearing when drawing fast strokes in 24.0, too.
I think the problem originated with the new brush cursor options in Preferences... It seems that the brsh cursor is more stable (less flickering) with the "show crosshair in brush tip" enabled, for instance.

[Jqqerry]

@jeromea13244388 Right. Something must have changed around that version. 

Is there a poor optimization in updating the real-time command processing that is painting the brush in real-time... Something like that? (I don't know programming)

This happens regardless of the specs of your computer, and it would make sense if the brush would just freeze, but since it doesn't, and you can still paint, the brush cursor is updated in real time, so there must be something wrong with the logic that is displayed on the screen.

[jeromea13244388]

@Jqqerry @chad.rolfs Little precision regarding 24.6 after I've worked with it a bit longer : I said that the flickering disappeared when you reached a certain number of history states and that seem to be true but it reappears when you create a new layer and draw on it (it then disappears after a few history states like before). Just to be a bit more precise about the bug.

[Jqqerry]

@jeromea13244388  Yes. 24.6 The "improvement" to this bug seems to be able to reproduce the bug more consistently.
It's better to judge whether it's good or bad............ 😃

[Jqqerry]

@chad.rolfs Hi. Is this going to be fixed at 24.7 by any chance? Or should I still wait a little longer?

[JayAySeaOhBee]

Photoshop version: 24.6

Windows 10

I have: uninstalled/reinstalled PS, reset preferences, reset Wacom drivers, made sure Image Assets is unchecked, unchecked Enable Generator, changed double-click distance to any and all settings, opened/closed Layers window, opened/closed History window, unchecked Enable flick panning, removed all plug-ins, reset default Windows cursor and reset all tool preferences.

None of the above have solved this issue.

To clarify the issue is that the brush tool cursor flickers to Windows cursor while drawing. I've read in the forums that others have had this issue with varying results from the aforementioned solutions. The closest thing to a solution that I have found is checking "Show Only Crosshair While Painting," but this is hardly a solution as it only means I'm not seeing the Windows cursor OR the brush tool preview while drawing. However, the Windows cursor still flickers after every brush stroke.

I would very much like to find an actual solution to this seemingly minuscule issue, as it has completely upended my work flow.

Thank you, to anyone, for your time and consideration.

[Jqqerry]

You can check this.
https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-bugs/p-brush-outline-circle-disappearing-when-wor...
I reported this as a bug that occurs in versions 24.1 and later. But this has not been fixed.
Some users also experience it on 24.0, so if you want to avoid this bug more definitely, it's best to use Photoshop from another year, like 2022, instead of Photoshop 2023.

[chad.rolfs]

@Jqqerry Unfortunately not.  I reached out to the Engineer assigned to this issue who has not been able to repro. I'm wondering if you'd be willing to jump onto a virtual call to help us isolate the steps/conditions to repro this issue so we can fix it? 

[Jqqerry]

@chad.rolfs That's sad news... =( I work at work most of the time, so remote and video calls to the outside world are limited from my work computer. 
Would you like to get in touch with him(or her)? @jeromea13244388 

@jeromea13244388  Can you reproduce this issue via video call with the Adobe team?

Btw, If you want to reproduce this issue more easily and often, you may want to try 24.5. In 24.6, the problem does not occur as often as in 24.5 (at least for me, But that doesn't mean it's 100% fixed.).

[jeromea13244388]

@Jqqerry 

Well I could try but really busy with photoshop work at the moment 🙂

[Jqqerry]

@jeromea13244388 Oh... I understand. Why can't they reproduce this In Adobe team....

[jeromea13244388]

@JqqerryI don't want to say it too loud but the bug seems... fixed with the latest update (24.7) ? I'm curious if others experience the same thing.

[jeromea13244388]

Actually I got carried away, the bug is still here... But less here on higher resolutions ?? I give up on trying to understand.

[Jqqerry]

@jeromea13244388 I can't try because it hasn't been updated in the update list yet.

But....

If you(or We) look at Fixed Issue tab...

July 2023 (version 24.7) release
Crash reports fixed through Photoshop beta usage
Select and Mask settings are not remembered upon relaunch
[Mac] Liquify and other filters lagging in Photoshop desktop
Open as Smart Object using PDF scale issue

It's not in the revision list here. A very minor bug that is usually limited to a certain version was sometimes solved when it was upgraded, but since this is a major bug... I think we should skip this 24.7 and wait for 24.8.... =(

[Jqqerry]

@jeromea13244388 I got message and email from Adobe Team. Have you checked the email, too?
They suggested items that we can cross-validate and check. I'm not good enough, but I've answered so this can be fixed.

[jeromea13244388]

@JqqerryYes, I received a mail, too, I answered as much as I could...

[Jqqerry]

@jeromea13244388 Are you experiencing this bug these days? I haven't tried beta 25.0.
I'm currently using 24.0.1, and yesterday I was retouching and while working on about 10 psd files at the same time I experienced the brush cursor turning into a window arrow again. This can be reproduced better in 24.5/24.6/24.7, but it certainly seems to be bugging as you said in the previous version.
Is it a compression or optimization issue for PSD files, as Adobe replied when he gave me the mail? What file format do you work with when you work?
I usually work with 8bit (sometimes 16bit) PSD files and the image size is usually 6000x8000px.
Sometimes I use tiff, but apart from the format of the file, the last time I tested it, I made a new document (small size/about 1000px) as soon as I opened Photoshop, and it got buggy as soon as I started the bug test, painting the brush.

[jeromea13244388]

@JqqerryI usually work on PSD around 4000x6000 px or 6000x9000. Now I work on the latest version of photoshop so I can't make comparisons to older versions. The only thing I reiterate is that the bug seems to disappear after a while on the same layer.

[Jqqerry]

PS 25.0

It doesn't happen as often as in ps24.5.
But it still happens. Difficult to reproduce.
Used to be consistent, now it happens occasionally.

So my opinion is that the bug has not been fixed. - Of course, it's not in the official fixed issue, so it's obvious.

[Jqqerry]

@jeromea13244388  hey jeromea, did you try and check this cursor things on current new version 25.0?

[jeromea13244388]

@JqqerryAt one point I thought the bug was (finally) entirely gone but I still noticed it after a while. As you said it, it happens more occasionally and randomly than before. Before, it showed each time i switched layers but now not so much... I'd have a hard time figuring out the reasons it appears.

[Jqqerry]

@jeromea13244388 Yes.... i agree.. I feel this bug is the most serious. Until this is fixed, I can't use the latest version.
If you want to use the latest version, you have to give up my retouching or not use brush, healing brush, cloneestamp at all......
25.0 is also an attractive release, but since 24.0.1 and later I've been testing this bug as you know and deleting and rolling back Photoshop as soon as I find it. I hope it will be fixed in the next version...

[jeromea13244388]

@JqqerryActually with more practice, I can say there's no difference between 24.7 and 25.0 regarding this bug. It doesn't bother me too much, as it disappears after a while (and reappears when you switch to another layer etc) but it certainly isn't fixed.

[jeromea13244388]

After a few days of practice, I rolled back to 24.7.1... Too many sideline bugs on 25.0 (software freezing, lines becoming weirdly aliased -I guess it has something to do with the GPU use...). The 24.7.1 is a bit more stable.