Layer select and drag rescent change bites the big one!

[csgaraglino]

Ok, I am SOOOOO done with the recent change to selecting and dragging layers with the move tool.

Previously, if I selected a layer or multiple layers and then used the move tool to click (anywhere) & drag them to a new position, they would ACTUALLY be what "moved."

With the recent changes, if I select a layer or multiple layers and use the move tool to click & drag them to a new position, whatever I clicked on the canvas actually moves instead! This is the way it has been for 20+ years!

Seriously, how do I set this back?

I tried, really tried, but I need to set this process BACK to how it used to be - I am wasting so much time and screwing up too many placements t [removed by moderator], and then I bail on the project.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer · Accepted solution]

Hi @csgaraglino check your options bar at the top - what do you have set for "Auto Select"?

[csgaraglino]

I searched EVERYWHERE in the settings and didn't find it - I never thought to look there!

Thank you!

[Trevor.Dennis]

The only Photoshop feature that is more annoying than Auto Select, are these two Devil worshiping horrors. That's not to say that Auto Select is not an intense PITA.  I think it is put there to punish us for needing to reset Preferences.

[D Fosse]

@Trevor.Dennis 

Don't knock auto-collapse! My whole workspace and workflow would, er...collapse without it 🙂

Of course, this is Norway, home of black metal, so we've had our share of Devil worshippers. But I swear, I never had anything to do with that 😉

[ProtectorOfThe Realm]

@Kevin Stohlmeyer  @csgaraglino  none of your susggestions work nor doe theuy help. This has nothing to do with auroselect... the software is horrible now. Simple horrible. Feels worse than v. 1.0 in 1995.

[ProtectorOfThe Realm]

It used to not be like this. Why can't they just change it back. The new version provides no advantage whatsoever and is a monumental step backward in intuitive workflow.

[D Fosse]

@ProtectorOfThe Realm 

What you're describing in your first post is precisely what "Auto-Select Layer" does. That is what's causing this.

This checkbox has always been there (or at least as far back as I remember). Nothing has changed.

If it doesn't actually turn off when unchecking, you have a corrupt preferences file, and you need to reset preferences.

[jane-e]

This checkbox has always been there (or at least as far back as I remember). Nothing has changed.

By @D Fosse

Not always, but for a very, very long time.

Way, way back the "secret handshake" was to Cmd+Click to select a layer (Ctrl+Click on Windows) and that continues to work. Then Adobe added Auto-Select, but left it turned off for a few versions. It's been at least a decade — maybe more — that it's been enabled by default. 

Reading through the thread, @csgaraglino is the OP and said "Thank you" on March 10. AutoSelect solved it for CSG. Four months later, @ProtectorOfThe Realm joined the thread and said it has nothing to do with Auto-Select and the reason is because the software is horrible now.

@ProtectorOfThe Realm it sounds like you have a different issue than the OP. Please tell us what is going on for you. We can branch your thread if your issue is not AutoSelect.

Jane

[Conrad_C]

The new version provides no advantage whatsoever and is a monumental step backward in intuitive workflow.

By @ProtectorOfThe Realm

There are many users who do like Auto-Select for, ironically, the exact reason you stated: It’s more intuitive…for those used to other applications where if you want to select an object (layer) in the document window, you click it. Before Photoshop had Auto-Select, that was not possible, it was not consistent with other applications, clicking to select did not work as one might intuit from those other applications. With Auto-Select on, if someone clicks to select as they would in other applications like Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, etc, the selection change intuitively works.

But, the whole reason Auto-Select is optional is because it can also be very annoying if you mostly click the Move tool in the canvas to do something other than change the selection. Like for me personally, what is most productive is to leave Auto-Select disabled to avoid accidental selections, but when I do want to select by clicking, I use the “Auto-Select on demand” shortcut of Command-clicking a layer on the canvas. That combo — Auto-Select off by default, activate only on demand — works best for me.