Photoshop interface glitch

[James.alfred]

I don't know if anyone else has dealt with this: for the past several months, whenever I open photoshop or open an image in photoshop, I can't use the interface - any tools, actions, etc until I click outside the program (click on the desktop or another program) and then go back to it.   At which point everything is available to use and back to normal.  Not a huge issue but it's getting very annoying.   Last year this wasn't an issue.  I have a fuzzy memory of this being the case for a while a few years ago, maybe?

Is this a bug in the program?

(I'm using macOS Monterey 12.3.1)

[Sameer K]

Hi James,

Thanks for reaching out. We are sorry for the trouble with Photoshop. We are here to help.

Could you please share the exact version of Photoshop from Help > About Photoshop? Does this behavior happen right at launch or just after opening a document?

Have you tried any troubleshooting steps?

You can ensure Photoshop has the permissions needed on the Mac by following the steps here with a video (https://bityl.co/BsB1). Afterward, proceed with the below-mentioned steps.

• Ensure you are working on the latest version of Photoshop v23.3.1. (https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/uptodate.html)
• Go to Preferences > Performance > Advanced Settings and uncheck the 'GPU compositing' option.
• You can also optimize Camera Raw, which handles Raw images in Photoshop, by going to Photoshop > Preferences > Camera Raw > Performance > Uncheck Graphics processor and increasing the cache sizes
• Restart Photoshop.
• If disabling GPU compositing does not help, you can uncheck the  'Use Graphics Processor' and restart Photoshop.
• Reset Photoshop by following the steps in this article: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html

Let us know if this works.

Thanks!

Sameer K

[James.alfred]

Thanks- I'm using version 23.3.2 of photoshop- always keeping it up to date.  I did just make the changes to the permissions as you suggested, as well as unchecking the "GPU compositing" option.  

I then closed everything and restarted my system.  The issue remains.  I can open a file and use whatever tool is currently open, but choosing a new tool with the keyboard shortcut or doing an action with the keyboard is unvailable until I click outside the program and back, OR use the mouse to click on a new photoshop tool- which might be a new option now, like the problem is half-fixed in that regard.       Either way, once I've done that, my keyboard is fully functional until I close it.  Like I said, not a big deal, but annoying when I can't just open something and immediately use my keyboard shortcuts to begin.      So next:  I have yet to try your "Uncheck Graphics processor" option.  I'm concerned though that this will affect performance- or are you saying I can try that and then switch back?

Also, I'm wondering if I need to reset my macbooks PRAM/NVRAM or SMC for this issue?

[jane-e]

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@James.alfred wrote:

 So next:  I have yet to try your "Uncheck Graphics processor" option.  I'm concerned though that this will affect performance- or are you saying I can try that and then switch back?

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Yes, you can try it and switch back. Be sure to restart PS after checking / unchecking the option.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/troubleshoot-gpu-graphics-card.html

This will determine if the issue is related to your graphics processor or driver. Updates on Macs come with updates to Safari, so check that.

Another thought occurs to me, though, and it's just a guess. I've read this paragraph several times:

"but choosing a new tool with the keyboard shortcut or doing an action with the keyboard is unvailable until I click outside the program and back, OR use the mouse to click on a new photoshop tool- which might be a new option now, like the problem is half-fixed in that regard. Either way, once I've done that, my keyboard is fully functional until I close it."

What I hear is that your keyboard shortcuts don't work in Photoshop until you click away and click back or use the mouse to click on a tool. That sounds like a different issue to me.

Can you watch your Application Title bar when you launch PS and the shortcuts aren't working? Does it say you are still in PS or has macOS switched you into the Finder or another application? If this is the case (I'm not saying it is), then clicking on a tool with your mouse would reactivate PS.

A second thought is to check to see if another application is taking over your keyboard shortcuts — it could be a browsers. Reboot with nothing else open — you may have to look in StartUp and close those too. If needed, try booting in Safe Mode. If Photoshop works normally with these launches, another application is causing the issue. Launch them one at a time to troubleshoot.

Other volunteers may also have more ideas.

Jane