Adobe seems determined to make me not want to use Photoshop any more - changes to selection edges

[MyWebMaestro]

Over the last handful of years, I've repeatedly been frustrated by changes Adobe makes to the workflow in Photoshop. I've had to find ways to work around the changes to do what I've always been able to do before. The lastest case of this is with selections using the magic wand tool. In the past, I've been able to use it to create a selection (for example, if I'd created a shape of a solid color and coverted that shape to a layer, I'd then select that colored area with the magic wand.) Once I have that selection, I'd invert it, and then use the eraser tool to clear out parts of a different layer. I used this method many times to create the appearance of an object as behind "coming out from behind" another layer. It was simple and easy to do. But now, despite having the "anti aliasing" checkbox checked, every time I use the magic wand tool, I get a jagged edge. Smoothing it doesn't help. Chat GPT provides lists of multiple ways to work around this that add too many steps to the work flow. I understand that a product like photoshop is trying to aim at a wide range of kinds of users, but it's getting exhausting having to figure out whether changes are bugs or "new features". I've stuck with photoshop because it's been so familiar and lets me work quickly. But adobe is lessening the value for many users in the way they go about changes. I've just wasted an hour or two today trying to find out if I can undo this change in the settings and it doesn't appear that I can. 

[J E L]

@MyWebMaestro, just chiming in to say I hear you and have experienced the same thing with the magic wand tool, something I used to use a lot. Right now, the gradient tool is getting me exhausted, both the classic and new modes. Things I used to do in the blink of an eye now require some type of investigation.

[MyWebMaestro]

Having to learn a new way to do something is definitely annoying, but worse is when there's not even a way to do it like that anymore and now you have to figure out some new method entirely.  I'm also frustrated that these changes are never announced in any obvious way, I just crash into them while trying to get work done. 😕  

[D Fosse]

The magic wand is one of the original tools that has been there since Photoshop's beginning 30 years ago. It's old.

To my recollection, the magic wand has always produced terribly jagged edges. That's just how it works - it includes or excludes pixels based on straight numbers, either/or. I've never expected anything else.

I kind of like the mechanical predictability of it. I know what to expect, no surprises, no "clever" algorithm - provided the edge is worked over and tweaked, which is always needed anyway. I don't think I have ever accepted a raw selection edge from any tool, new or old.

[MyWebMaestro]

Seems like another new change too... the "new document" dialogue now takes more time to initialize, slowing me down - I used to be able to hit Ctrol-N and then Enter pretty quick to get to where I could then paste whatever I'd copied. Now I have to wait for it to load. The legacy "new document" was better. 

[D Fosse]

...which you can revert to in Preferences.

[MyWebMaestro]

I just found that... but I'd rather have major changes be opted into rather than out of. 

[Jim_Rick6879]

Totally understand your frustration — a lot of long-time users have been feeling the same lately, especially with legacy tools behaving differently after updates. The Magic Wand tool has always been fairly “binary” in how it selects pixels, but you’re right — recent builds seem to have changed how anti-aliasing is applied along solid edges.

A few things worth trying that might restore your previous workflow feel:

• Switch to Legacy Compositing: Go to Preferences > Performance and enable “Legacy Compositing.” It can affect how selections render around edges.

• Check your document color mode and bit depth: Occasionally, jaggedness shows up more in 16-bit or CMYK files. Try testing the same step in 8-bit RGB.

• Use “Select > Modify > Smooth” immediately after the wand selection — not as elegant as before, but with a radius of 1–2px it closely mimics the older anti-aliasing behavior.

• Submit feedback: Help > Provide Feedback — this change has been flagged by several users, and Adobe tends to revert or tweak such behavior if enough reports come in.

I agree it’d be nice if major workflow changes were opt-in rather than surprise defaults — consistency is a big part of why many of us stuck with Photoshop in the first place.

[D Fosse]

I would still maintain that the magic wand has not changed. But everything else has, including users' expectations.

And of course, document resolution plays a part. The fewer pixels the more obvious it gets.

[MyWebMaestro]

Thank you for the detailed response... though, when I go to Preferences / Performance, there's no option to enable "legacy compositing"... the only compositing thing I see is a checkbox for "multithreaded compositing" that can be checked or not.
I thought of the bit depth thing myself and checked to make sure - my normal file I'm working in is a straight forward RGB 72dpi setup, I couldn't find anything different in the file settings... plus this recent change has been happening for the last few different files I've had open and was working in. 
I'll definitely submit some feedback, though it tends not to be my first response as I've not had a lot of experience where large companies seem to pay that much attention to individuals. I know that enough push back can get change, but it can be hard to get enough momentum going. 

[Trevor.Dennis]

I won't say that I never use the Magic Wand tool, but it's a rare day when I do.  

It soulds like you have a solid colour on the same layer as other content.  If that solid colour was on its own layer, you could Ctrl click the layer icon top load it as a selection.  You would not select and invert that selection fill an area that surrounds the solid color. You'd fuse another layer below it in the layer stack and completely fill the larger area with the different colour.  Otherwise you are risking an anti alias fringe. 

Selection tools are so good now with Select Subject and Remove Background working like magic tricks, they are huge time savers.  In fact so much has happened with Photoshop, and other Adobe apps, in the last year or so, and that change does not look like pausing any time soon does not look like pausing any time soon,  it would be a real pity to miss out on the changes to workflow they involve.  

[MyWebMaestro]

It's a solid color, rasterized shape. If the magic wand has some options for interacting with all layers instead of the one maybe that would do it? I'll have to look.

I know there's a lot of new stuff going on, things that can be done, and I'm not a ludite. New things can be exciting. However, when using tools for a job, it's best if those tools don't magically transform under your fingertips in the middle of a workday. Imagine trying to build a house that way, if the hammer or nailgun might suddenly aim differently? 😕