How To Turn Off Layer Style Window

Question

At least I KNOW ya'll will understand my agony! I'm using a Slim Blade Pro on a Mac Display, Sequoia 15.3.2. 99% of my work is in Photoshop/InDesign, with lots of image editing. My latest conundrum is this...Virtually every time I click on a layer in a multi-layered file in Photoshop it opens the Layer Style options window. If I try to move 4 layers, yes, it opens Layer Style window 4 more times.

I've contacted Kensington, Adobe and yeah, here I am.

Is there a way to deactivate the Window Style option/window? I can't get anything done, as each task takes 4x longer.

Also, my trackball has gotten picky about grabbing. I can't move open images/pages/ anything we all normally drag a bazillion times a day. Maybe one out of three grabs works. Trackball is a year and a bit old. Mac Studio M2 Ultra is a year and a half old. This stuff should just work.

I've reinstalled software 3x and gone back and forth between KensingtonWorks and SteerMouse. Tried to use the beta of Kensington Konnect, but it would not load. Also, I'm in far northern Minnesota, near Manitoba, so the nearest Apple Store if a 5-½ hour plus drive. I'm on my own.

Ideas? Condolences?

Kathy

Nancy OShea · Accepted Answer

Do you have a spare mouse you can use?  They do wear out with repeated use. A sticky or non-responsive mouse usually signals that the sensor pads are dirty.  It might just need a thorough cleaning.

Conrad_C · Answer

If Layer Style is opening, then the OS registered a double-click, and it sounds like you only intended to click. If you combine that with the difficulty you’re having in selecting/dragging, those problems are all tied to whatever button on the trackball is designated as the “primary click” or “left-click” button. If that button is sending intermittent signals (too many clicks, or not holding a click so you can drag), one possible cause is that the contact switch for that button is dirty and needs to be cleaned. If it isn’t that, there might be another mechanical problem making the click switch inconsistent.

I haven’t used a Slim Blade Pro but is it the kind where you can click by pressing down the trackball, and is that how you click to select? If so, there is a chance that dirt on the trackball has gummed up a switch. I have read the Slim Blade Pro product sheet and it looks like it uses optical sensors, which can get blocked. I recently took apart and repaired a 20-year-old accessory that malfunctioned because its internal optical sensor got blocked by some dust that I had to clear off.

The Kensington web page I looked at had a link to a guide to cleaning a trackball:

https://www.kensington.com/news/ergonomic-workspace-blog/best-way-to-clean-a-trackball/

But that might not apply if the problem is with one of the switches around the trackball, which might need different maintenance.

To help confirm what's wrong, use standard “process of elimination” troubleshooting:

If the “accidental double-click” or “unable to hold a drag” problems happen in all software, even out on the Mac desktop, then the problem is not with any specific program such as Adobe software. It would either be in the device driver (which you’re already reinstalled) or in the device (such as a dirty switch or sensor).

If the problems stop if you temporarily switch to another input device such as a mouse, trackpad, or graphics tablet, that will confirm that the problem is with the trackball specifically.

It’s unlikely that the problem is with Photoshop or macOS.

This reminds me of when the original Mac and PC mice rolled on a ball. If that ball got dirty, mouse operation got erratic.

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