Legacy gradient doesn't work

[jfraze]

I simply can't stand, and can't function with, the new gradient tool in Photoshop 2024. It's every bit as horrible as the gradient tool in Affinity Photo, and that was really one of the few reasons for not switching over completely to Affinity. But fine, Photoshop says I can just use the legacy version by selecting "Classic Gradient" from the top bar.

But that doesn't work. When I choose "Classic Gradient" it will ONLY make a gradient from black to transparent, until I go into the gradient settings and manually change both the start and end colors individually to what I want. This is a ridiculous additional bother to add to a tool that used to work extremely well, intuitively, and without effort.

Is there some way to get it back to using the foreground and background colors which I already have selected, as it used to?

In case it matters we're still on Monterey.

[Jeff Arola]

Over on the left hand side of the Gradient Tool options is where the Classic Gradient Tool selection is.

[jfraze]

I don't think I understand the response. I already said I'm using the Classic Gradient exactly as you describe. The problem is that it doesn't actually work like the legacy gradient tool. When I choose "Classic Gradient" it will ONLY make a gradient from black to transparent, until I go into the gradient settings and manually change both the start and end colors individually to what I want. This is a ridiculous additional bother to add to a tool that used to work extremely well, intuitively, and without effort.

I would like it to use the foreground and background colors which are already selected, as it used to. Is it supposed to be doing that, but it isn't working that way on my system?

[Semaphoric]

How does it "only" make black to transparent? Can't you select another Gradient?

[jfraze]

I specifically said "until..." In 30 years of using Photoshop I never had to tell it to use foreground and background colors. Either this is new, or it's been keeping my default selection every time I upgrade so I never noticed before. (2024 seems to have ignored all my preferences when I installed it so maybe that's why.)

[Jeff Arola · Accepted solution]

After you select the Classic Gradient go the gradient picker, click Basic and the first choice should be Foreground to Background using the colors from the tools panel foreground and background colors.

[jfraze]

Ah, that's the missing piece of the puzzle. I didn't know that option was under there. Thanks.

[Trevor.Dennis]

It should remember the previous settings.  It can sometimes be had to remember  how tools used to function before upgrades, but I have a feeling that at one time the Classic gradient was not working _exactly_ the same.  When it was set to Foreground to Background, and those colours had been changed since the Classic Gradient was last used, it would still be set to use the previous colours.  You had to use the drop-down and click on that option to change to the current colours.  It works as it should now though.  We can change Foreground Background colours with the Classic Gradient selected, and the preview will change in real time.

As a long time user, I expect you know that the main advantage of Foreground to Transparent is that we can use multiple gradients on the same layer to build an effect or mask, rather than each application overwriting the previous one.

I do urge you to persevere with the new gradient, as it is pretty damn powerful.  It did take me some trial and error to work out how to get to the edit panel, and I do think that is unnecessarily convoluted.  Right now I am double clicking the layer icon to open the Gradient Fill, and then double clicking the Gradient Fill to get to the Gradient Editor.  I'd love to know if there is a beter way of doing that?

Check out this video by Colin Smith who shows us how to use the new Gradient tool in place of the no longer available Lighting Effects.