P: PS 27.0 TabKey navigation not working in dialogs on macOS Tahoe 26.0.1

[Anders_L]

Photoshop version: 26.11.0 ("up to date" according to Creative Cloud app)

System: macOS Tahoe 26.0.1

Steps to reproduce: Open a new document, make some edit, close the document (CMD+W). In the dialog that opens and asks if you want to save, don't save or cancel, try to use the tab key to switch to the discard option. It doesn't work. The only way to discard unsaved changes is to use the mouse.

Expected behavior: Tab key should switch between every available option in dialogs, so you can press spacebar to choose that option.

The same behavior is seen in other dialogs, such as when trying to do something that would cancel an open action (e.g. editing a text box). Tab key just removes focus from any option and it never comes back. Only escape key (cancel) and return (choose the default option) work.

[Sameer K]

Hey, @Anders_L. Welcome to the Photoshop Community. I've moved your post to discussions for now. 

I'll need more info to help you figure this out. 

Please share a video recording of what you see. Also, please test and confirm if Photoshop (Beta) has an issue. You can get Photoshop (Beta) from the Creative Cloud > Apps tab > Beta Apps section. 

Thanks! 
Sameer K

(Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

[Anders_L]

Ok, here's a video. You obviously can't see it, but I'm pressing tab many times at each dialog. The first tab press just removes focus from any button and then it never returns.

[Anders_L]

I've now also tried it in Photoshop (Beta) and it's the same behavior there.

In other apps, tab moves focus between all the buttons and other fields in dialogs. It also works in the save dialog in Photoshop, which looks like it's using the standard AppKit dialog and not a custom one like the one that opens when you try to close a document with unsaved changes. For comparison, I've attached screenshots showing the unsaved changes dialog in Photoshop and in TextEdit, showing how tab has moves focus to the Delete button in the latter.

[Conrad_C]

Is Keyboard Navigation enabled in macOS System Settings > Keyboard? Because it works for me in macOS 15.

There are many dialog boxes in Photoshop that do not respect macOS keyboard navigation, such as Image > Image Size, but the Open/Save/Cancel type of dialog boxes in Photoshop should respond to both keyboard navigation and traditional keyboard shortcuts, unless you’re saying it’s broken in Tahoe specifically.

If the public Photoshop beta is testing code that would finally let Adobe declare Tahoe compatibility, and Adobe can reproduce this in the public beta in Tahoe, they should mark this as a bug.

[Anders_L]

I'm saying it's broken in Tahoe specifically. And yes of course I have keyboard navigation on otherwise it wouldn't work in other apps or in some Photoshop dialogs (like the Save dialog).

It works fine in Sonoma (macOS 14). I skipped Sequoia so can't speak for that, but recently decided to install Tahoe fresh (old install had been updated through quite a few versions and had developed some issues, thought it was a good opportunity).

[Anders_L]

Forgot to ping you @Sameer K 

[Jeff Arola]

Just reporting that the same issue still persists with the just released Photoshop 2026 (ps ver 27.0)

on macOS Tahoe 26.0.1

It seems you can get it to work if one enables Full Keyboard Access in

Apple>System Settings>Accessibility>Keyboard, however, that seems to create a host of other issues system wide.

[Anders_L]

Yes I tried that too, but it's not a viable solution for users who don't need it. And besides, Keyboard Navigation by itself should be enough as it works in other apps and even those Photoshop dialogs that use standard AppKit code.

[ExUSA]

It appears to be working fine here with Keyboard Navigation enabled. 16" 2019 Intel MacBook Pro, Tahoe 26.0.1 and today's release of Photoshop 27.0. Partial control was working with Navigation disabled, the tab key just didn't move between all dialog box controls.

[Sameer K]

Hey All! Thanks for the report and confirmations. I've logged this as a bug for the team to investigate and review. It appears to be Tahoe-specific, so, imo, a shared fix from Apple may surface down the line. 

Thanks! 
Sameer K
(Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

[Anders_L]

@Sameer K I've now tried again on Photoshop 27.0.0 and Photoshop (Beta) 27.1.0 and can confirm I'm experiencing the same issue still. Tab key removes focus from the Cancel button (where it is by default when the "save changes before closing?" dialog opens) but doesn't move it to the other buttons. Focus just vanishes and no number of tab key presses returns it.

[ExUSA]

Do you have any software (Default Folder type stuff) that would modify dialogs? Since this is working for me on Tahoe, it might be something on your computer.

[Anders_L]

@ExUSA No, nothing I can think of. This isn't the regular save dialog (where tab works), it's only in the dialog that shows when trying to close a document with unsaved changes and (from what I've seen so far) the dialog that asks if you want to discard changes to e.g. a text field. Are you saying that tab works in all of these dialogs for you?

[ExUSA]

In the unsaved dialog, Esc presses the Cancel button. whether it is highlighted or not. Command-D is Don't Save. That's standard across all apps. However, yes it looks like the dialog is broken specifically in Photoshop.

I tested a number of other apps- Pages, Word, TextEdit all use a different type of dialog for unsaved changes. VSCode (which is an Electron app) is the only one with the same unsaved dialog as Photoshop, and the Tab key works to move between buttons there. BBEdit has a custom dialog.

This is the Tahoe dialog for unsaved changes in Apple Pages, Adobe should be switching to this format:

[Anders_L]

@ExUSA In 26.11.0 CMD-D wasn't working (for me at least), but you're right it works in 27.0, so at least there's a way to avoid having to reach for the mouse. Thanks for the tip!

Microsoft's office apps also use a custom dialog for unsaved changed, where tab works.

So I think the issue really has something to do with how they've coded those dialogs in Photoshop specifically that's broken keyboard navigation on Tahoe. But at least CMD-D now works 🥲

[Conrad_C]

This is just a side note, but over the years I’ve definitely seen that various Mac apps can have different shortcuts in the Open/Save dialog box.

Most support Enter/Return for OK and Esc for Cancel.

Some also support Command . (period) for Cancel.

Some support Command-D for Don’t Save, and any other buttons can be “clicked” by pressing Command and the first letter of the button.

Some don’t require the command key and you can just press the first letter of the button, so in those apps you can just press D for Don’t Save.

So when I try a keyboard shortcut and it doesn’t work in a certain app, I try it the other way (with or without the Command key).

In macOS 15, I just tried the “Save changes…?”  dialog box in Photoshop, and it responds to both D and Command-D for Don’t Save.

Photoshop also responded to both Esc and Command . for Cancel.

That’s nice and flexible!

(But there are other internal Photoshop dialog boxes where keyboard shortcuts don’t work as expected.)

[Anders_L]

@Conrad_C that's why I prefer Keyboard Navigation, so I can always (ahem) tab-tab-spacebar without having to guess or remember how each app works. I do remember having used "first letter of the button" back in the day though.

I just tried what you did, and all of those are working for me in Tahoe with PS 27.0. It's only tab to move focus that fails. I can live with that, but would be nice if it was fixed.

[ExUSA]

I'm a mouse/pen guy and rarely use shortcut keys in dialogs beyond Return or Escape. I use Photoshop tool shortcuts a lot though.