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Hi,
I never had this problem before. I've been working on a project in Photoshop and for some reason, it is now only working in grayscale. When I used the color picker to change color, it doesn't work. I know remember doing anything different to cause it to work only in grayscale, but I can't seem to figure out how to switch it back to color mode and I'm in the middle of an important project. Does anyone know how to solve this problem?
Penny Jones
Look at the Document tab at the top. RGB/8 should be the norm. If you somehow tapped "q" on your keyboard, then it would read
"Quickmask/8" and the color picker would not select a color. Tap q again to get it back to RGB.
Always check the Document tab, it will clue you into what you have selected. It would read "Layer 0, Layer Mask/8" if you selected a layer mask.
Finally you may have selected a Color Channel and it would read Layer 0,Blue/8. Cmd/Ctrl 2 can get you back to RGB.
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Check the your Editing in a Color mode like RGB and you are targeting a layer not a grayscale layer mask.
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Sounds like a layer mask is active in the Layers panel. Click the image thumbnail to shift focus from the mask thumbnail.
Or are you in Quick mask mode? Press Q to exit.
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Look at the Document tab at the top. RGB/8 should be the norm. If you somehow tapped "q" on your keyboard, then it would read
"Quickmask/8" and the color picker would not select a color. Tap q again to get it back to RGB.
Always check the Document tab, it will clue you into what you have selected. It would read "Layer 0, Layer Mask/8" if you selected a layer mask.
Finally you may have selected a Color Channel and it would read Layer 0,Blue/8. Cmd/Ctrl 2 can get you back to RGB.
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No such comands in Version 2020
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why it becomes basic like the paint that comes with windows ??
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Under Edit > Preferences > General, choose the Adobe Color Picker instead of the Microsoft color picker. Sorry, I'm using a Mac, but same idea.
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I just now, really just now, experienced the same problem on my Windows laptop. Never happened before. So when I checked th Preferences > General,vit was set to Adobe. Okay, I changed it to Windows and . . . and it now is working. Go figure, if it breaks again I follow the advice and not be the bull in the china shop. Good Luck!
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Let me please add to what I wrote above, it worked one time and now is broken. I need the Good Luck!
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I tried that but with the opposite solution, Mine was set to Windows and I changed it to Adobe, and then it worked again.
This resolved my issue. Thanks!
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I'm having this issue as well. It's also affecting the Hardness/Softness indicator on the brush tool and anything else that would have the indicator.
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maybe you can check your layer point sample, make sure that sample is "All Layers". i can resolve it with this
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I just had a similar issue and the problem was indeed the sample size that changed from point sample (the color picker will take the color of the single targetted pixel) to 31x31 average, making the picked color an average of the targetted 31x31 pixels area. Changing it back to point sample solved the problem, however I don't know why it suddenly changed, I guess I must have hit the wrong keyboard shortcut
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This was my issue. I was losing my mind trying to figure out the issue. Not sure how I changed the sample size, but so thankful for your response being the answer!
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Thank you somuch, this worked!!!!!
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Please select the colour code to RGB while opening a new document, I had the same issue and then tried opening a new document and found that The colour code was in Greyscale.
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I noticed this question on a search for answers as my colour picker was no longer offering the usual slider option. Yes the Q is from 2016 but others have had the same issue more recently
I found this answer and it worked for me.
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Personally none of these solutions worked for me until... I read a reply mentioning the Sample size or whatever it's called (don't judge me, I know little to nothing of these programs)! I then remembered setting it to 3 by 3 by accident when i right clicked with the magic wand tool. I changed it back to point sample, and my problem was fixed! I am full to the brim with jubilation at having found out what the problem was, and I would like to thank all of the wonderful, tech-savvy individuals willing to help out kindred souls (such as myself) by making quite successful attempts to alleviate the negative effects of Adobe's increasingly apparent lack of design prowess, such as unnecessary Scratch Disk failures, having to downgrade Premiere projects, or, in this case, the colour picker malfunctioning. I only have myself to blame, however, as I knowingly changed the Sample size (even though I wasn't sure exactly what it meant), and despite sneaking suspicions that it was the 3-by-3 average that was screwing me over, I did not even think to investigate the potential (and actual) root of the problem.
Rant over.