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TMTI user 1
Known Participant
October 27, 2020
Question

Photoshop 2021 path direct selection tool issues

  • October 27, 2020
  • 7 replies
  • 2543 views

If I draw a simple rectangle, switch to the (path) Direct Selection tool and select by the top two points by dragging the across the area the two points are in, then move the points with the cursor keys - the whole shape moves despite only the two top points having a solid fill indicating they are selected. In previous versions this action would only move the top two points.

 

If I then click on the top right corner point and move it, the point has been duplicated and moves leaving behind another point.

 

If I only select one point, it is selected correctly and moves as expected and I can select multiple points thereafter as I could in previous versions.

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7 replies

Participating Frequently
November 17, 2020

Hey all

 

I've just downloaded the latest version (22.0.1) and the issue seems to be fixed. Hurray!

Loomax
Participant
November 17, 2020

Yeaaah It's fixed !! 🙂

Participating Frequently
November 8, 2020

 

it's so critical issue for me.. is it a bug?? then please fix and update it ASAP.

 

I need to set up the 2020 version again until it's updated..

 

November 2, 2020
Participant
November 2, 2020

I'm having the same issue and it's infuriating. Hopefully Adobe can fix this terrible bug.

Loomax
Participant
November 2, 2020

Same issue here. It drives me crazy !!

Participating Frequently
October 30, 2020

Hey all

I've noticed the same. This drives me crazy 'cause this is my essential tool. The worst part, however, is that it acts unpredictable - sometimes (rarely) it works as it used to, sometimes it moves too many anchors (including not selected ones) and sometimes, when I try to figure out wtf and move my mouse or pen, it just moves the whole path randomly.

 

HEY ADOBE - WE ALL PAY A LOT FOR YOUR SOFTWARE AND WE USE IT TO EARN A LIVING. PLEASE, FIX THIS OBVIOUS BUG!

Grant H
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 27, 2020

If you select the top two points and press right arrow key once then left once then you can press up and it works as expected. This does look like a bug to me. You may wish to log a bug report.

 

/G

Participant
October 28, 2020

Here's why it is a bug (or at worst a user-adversatial regression): In previous versions of PS, the Direct Selection Tool allowed for the direct selection of arbitrary points within any shape, and when the user nudged those points, no other points in the shape would move.  Not only that, if the user constrained that movement to the direction of the edge, the shape would retain its "live shape properties." Only if the selected points were moved counter to the edge would those properties be lost (the live shape would become a regular shape).

As of Photoshop 22.0.0 this longstanding behavior has changed, which is why I'm freaking out a little bit. Now when a shape is placed—let's try a normal rectangle—and the user selects two of its corner points and attempts to nudge them, the entire shape moves (as @TMTI user 1 mentioned above), the same as if the user selected the entire shape with the Path Selection Tool, like a savage. The only way to force Photoshop to behave correctly is to manually break the "liveness" of it by first intentionally moving the selected points in an "off" direction, then continuing in the intended direction. However, doing that means you can never round the corners later, as you could in prior versions of Photoshop, since you had to commit the shape just to make it longer or taller.

 

I'm fully aware that live shapes can be resized using the numeric entry fields in the top bar—that's always been the case. However, it's a massive chore to be sizing things numerically when directly nudging points by eye is what you're after. (If you're in usability I know I don't need to tell you that.)

 

The Direct Selection Tool is the tool I use the most, and I nudge shape points hundreds of times per day. This tool-breaking feature of 22.0.0 is driving me up a tree. I hope someone from the mothership sees this note.