Hand tool stuck in CC 2014

[StanfordAlan]

On both of my Macs, both running the latest versions of Mavericks and Photoshop CC 2014, the hand tool keeps getting stuck after use. It's getting worse and worse. I appear to switch to a different tool based on the toolbar, but it doesn't behave like the tool. Just the Hand tool.

I have the following without success:

• Toggling the Hand tool with both the keyboard shortcut H, the spacebar, and clicking around.
• Resetting the preferences.
• Reinstalling Photoshop and even Mavericks.
• Switching to a different keyboard.

I have restarting Photoshop. Sometimes it works, but it can take three or four restarts. Sometimes, I just have to restart my Mac.

One Mac has a Wacom tablet; one does not. The file size does not matter.

What am I missing and what can I do? This is a major bug. I had the same issue in CC, but only rarely. I never saw this before CC. I see in the forum that other have posted about this on different versions. There must be some way to get Adobe to look at this and the other posts.

Thank you.

[Chris Cox · Accepted solution]

If the problem isn't cleared by restarting Photoshop and resetting preferences - then the problem exists outside of Photoshop.

It could be a bad keyboard (stuck key), an OS utility (like the assistive services), a utility program, a bug in a driver (like a tablet driver), malware, or even a bug in a third party plugin (not as likely).

Other users are not seeing this. It is not likely to be a bug in Photoshop.

Previous posters with similar issues have found the cause on their system: bad keyboards, MacOS assistive services, bad utilities, bad drivers, etc.

[StanfordAlan]

Thank you of your reply. It is sometimes cleared by restarting Photoshop, sometimes not.

My two Macs are set up pretty differently, so I'm trying to figure out what they have in common. One is a MacBook Air (August 2011 version), and other is a maxed out iMac (December 2013 version). I've now tried four keyboards, so I don't think that's the issue. Accessibility isn't enabled on either of them. Virus scans give both a clean bill of health. Only one has a Wacom driver.

I looked over the posts about this again, and I'm going to have to disagree with your assessment that it's not been reported by others and that it's also been solved by others. I pulled out on the ones that were clearly not solved. Most are Mac, but a few are Windows. These go back a pretty long way.

Re: stuck in hand tool in CS6

Photoshop CS6 Stuck on Hand Tool in ACR & PS with Mac/ Mountain Lion

Stuck with hand tool in Photoshop CS4 under Lion

Re: Photoshop tools messed up. All tools are Hand Tool(Fixed by restarting computer)

Has there ever been an official explanation of the stuck hand tool? (Photoshop Elements but with references to Photoshop)

Re: Need Solution to Program getting stuck on hand tool

How do I stop my Cursor from being stuck on the Hand tool icon? (Illustrator but same issue)

So, it seems like a bug to me that's happening to others who also don't have a solution.

[rleahbird]

I'm having the same problem, so far only in Photoshop.  Restarting Photoshop always works--so far-- haven't tried anything else.  Using a Wacom tablet exclusively, running the latest driver.

Thanks for any help.

[everythingmia]

I have the same problem. Running Photoshop 2014 on MAC (OS 10.8.5) with a Wacom tablet.

Restarting Photoshop does not fix it, I always have to restart the whole system. It's really frustrating.

[wildharegraphics]

I am having the exact same problem on my Mac running Mavericks. Only mine is the hand tool that gets stuck in Illustrator. What the heck? I've tried restarting and it still does it on every document I open. And no, it isn't my keyboard. Sounds like we need a fix.

[Sam_Pricey]

I am also having this problem, it started in Photoshop and has now moved to Illustrator,

[Jesper Storm Bache]

You you seeing this issue when using both the mouse and the wacom pen?

What kind of mouse are you using?

[Sam_Pricey]

i'm using the pad on my Mac, but its the same when i use my Wacom, which i don't always have plugged in,

[StanfordAlan]

As I wrote, I have this one two Macs. I sometimes use my Wacom tablet on my iMac. I have never used my Wacom on my Macbook Air; the drivers aren't even installed. I have this problem on my computers. So, I doubt the Wacom tablet or drivers are involved, but it's a good lead for one of mine.

[gregstenson]

I'm having the same issue with the inevitably permanent hand tool, except it's across the board in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Never had this issue until I updated to CC 2014 a few weeks ago.

[Chris Cox]

Again, you're looking for something outside of the applications - an OS setting, a stuck keyboard, a driver, or a utility program.

[gregstenson]

I wish I knew what to look for then, because I've never experienced this problem prior to updating to CC 2014. I don't have any keyboard issues, nor do I have problems with any other applications

[clarkhook]

Same here. This was never an issue for me until cc2014.

[StanfordAlan]

I wish I knew what to look for too since it's on different machines, and people have been reporting the issue for a while. (See my post from above.)

Chris, you said that no one else has reported it, but what about those I listed? You said those had found resolutions; most did not. What about those? I appreciate your help, but you're clearly seeing something that none of the rest of us can from those reports if they have truly been resolved.

[Pieter_Owen]

All four retouchers in our studio have this same problem since a recent upgrade to Mavericks and CC 2014.

[Karl_Rouwhorst]

We are having the same issue, it tends to show up when using the patch or clone tool a bunch. The more we use, the quicker we use it the problem of the stuck hand tool appears. I'm running a mac book pro, this happened in CS6 and I've just updated to creative cloud and it's still happening. This problem isn't unique to this machine, it seems to happen anytime we are using these tools.

[fridaybaby]

Here's what just worked for me: Duplicate the image (Image>Duplicate). Close out the original. Save as the original replacing it. As soon as you make that duplicate the hand tool goes away, and tools work properly. The hand tool for me gets stuck when zooming in and rotating a lot. Restarting doesn't solve it nor clicking on the desktop or into other programs for me.

[willcheyney]

I too am running into the problem countless times a day. The only solution I've found that works is to quit all Adobe apps (leaving any open stops the fix from working) and literally waiting 2-5 minutes! Very frustrating when mid-flow. This should definitely be recognised as a common problem.

Set ups effected:

MacBook Pro 13" / Yosemite / CC 2014 & CS5/6 / Photoshop & Illustrator.

I'm wondering whether it's something to do with Wacom tablets?

[DMartin]

Having the exact same problem. Seems to happen after zooming in and out using keyboard shortcuts and then using hand tool to pan around.

Mac Mini 2012 / Yosemite / Adobe Photoshop CC 2014

[Dave_Mole]

Same problem here too, illustrator CC2014 constantly hangs on the hand tool, very occasionally happens in Photoshop, this is infuriating, the only way I can cure it is to restart the Mac (27" iMac-OSX 10.9.5, approx. 9 months old), the reply from Staff is not very helpful to be honest, as a previous poster mentioned, if its nothing to do with adobe, then we would appreciate some speciific guidance as to where we should be looking.I've ditched illustrator prefs but to no avail, I've not installed any utility software, just need answers.

This issue occured with and without a Wacom tablet attached ,i.e. problem was evident prior to Wacom software/hardware being installed, so for me that pretty much rules Wacom out!

Any help would be greatly appreciated by myself and many others.

[clarkhook]

I'm having the same problem, primarily in InDesign. Running Mavericks and latest updates for all of CC. The hand tool gets stuck in InDesign multiple times a day. If I quit InDesign and restart, problem persists. I have to restart the computer. Incredibly frustrating. I have it happen on occasion in photoshop and illustrator. Constantly in InDesign.

[elchufa]

Same problem here when using wacom tablet. Using lasso tool in Photoshop, then stuck in handtool.

MacBook Pro OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 Photoshop CC 2014.2.2

[station_two]

Definitely an Apple issue.

[Dave_Mole]

Why is it an Apple issue?