P: Select and Mask bug in Photoshop 23.4.1

[kindred_studio]

I have identified a bug Actions utilizing the Select and Mask space in the June 2022 release of Photoshop  (23.4.1).

Mac OS 11.6.7 (Big Sur)

Macbook Pro 2019. i9

Background.
My company creates and markets Photoshop actions and brushes, mostly for creating texture-based effects. A number of our Distressing actions contained in multiple product packs have ceased working in the latest release of Photoshop.

I have run a side-by-side comparison in the attached screenshot. (Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go back to the 23.3 release so I'm comparing it to CC2021.) You can see that in the latest version, the edge contrast has not been cleaned up by the Select and Mask steps in the action set. 

When the action runs, these steps trigger a warning popup "Warning: no pixels were selected" then proceeds to skip the step. 

It should be noted, that the bug only affects the Select and Mask steps when embedded in an action. Performing the same task manually works as expected. 

[kindred_studio]

If anyone would like to run a comparison themselves, you can download a test illustration, and the action set. Below. 

To run the action, simply select the layer named "Bike Clean 2022" then press play on the action named "Distress Press - Preset - Medium - OG".

Test file
https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/e83e60fa-7794-45db-65ab-cc2356a080ee

Action Set
https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/06086431-7147-4e4c-6951-ead6b648321f


Thanks so much for taking a look. 

[Pete.Green]

Thanks so much for the test files @kindred_studio, have been able to notice the same results as compared to 22.5.8. 

Am asking engineering to take a look. 

Regards,

Pete

[kindred_studio]

Thanks Pete,

I appreciate the reply. It’s a really strange error.

We’ve discovered that the “manual” version of the action, which stops and prompts the user through every step, actually works.

I have a copy of the action if you’d like to test this yourself.
https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/fcf5a7e9-f586-47c2-5c67-ce79f7414f0f

A number of users have also been experiencing large blobs filling there artwork when running the action which is really strange. See here.
https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/ae98613d-88e9-4cf6-792a-7a5ffe6db69b

Thanks again for your help.

Andrew Fairclough

Personal information removed by Moderator

[CShubert]

Hey @kindred_studio , wanted to let you know the team has a fix for this and are waiting to get it into a future release.

Thank you,

[kindred_studio]

Thank you! 

[Chris25232315gt14]

I have been having the same issue. I have the action set up to soften the edges with the values: Smooth 2, Feather 2px, 50% Contrast and shift edge -15%.

Aforementioned, this only occurs when using the action and not when performing the select and mask step manually.

I'd love to know if there is a fix for this as it used to save me a lot of time

[kindred_studio]

Hi @CShubert @Pete.Green 

Can you confirm that an attempted fix was included in the 23.4.2 release a few days ago?

My initial tests show that error popups (no pixels selected) no longer appear however the critical select and mask steps are still being skipped resulting in incorrect results. 

See below.

[Pete.Green]

Hey @kindred_studio,

Thanks for checking in -- The fix for this did not make it into the 23.4.2 release.

Hang in there, we'll have a fix for this in an upcoming release!

Regards,

Pete

[Mohit Goyal]

Hi all,

We're happy to announce the release of Photoshop 23.5. This update includes the fix for this issue. To see the list of all fixed issues, click here

To update Photoshop to 23.5, click "Update" in the Creative Cloud desktop app next to Photoshop. More detailed instructions for updating

Let us know if the update resolves the problem for those affected, and share your feedback.

Thanks,

Mohit

[kindred_studio]

Amazing. Thank you so much for keeping us informed Mohit. 

The fix works!

Kind regards, 

Andrew

[Mohit Goyal]

You're welcome @kindred_studio 

Thank you so much for sharing your feedback with us.

Mohit