Photoshop tablet bug, keyboard shortcuts temporarily won't work

[S_Gillihan]

Hello

I've noticed a strange bug with photoshop when working with a pen and tablet. I was wondering if anybody else has experienced this issue. I'm using the CC version on the latest Mac OS

While working on an illustration I'll frequently use keyboard shortcuts. command+z, i, r, z, option, etc. Someties after making a stroke with the brush tool, I'll go to undo with command+option+z and nothing will happen. Other keyboard shortcuts do the same thing—no response.

I've found that to fix this, you have to click the canvas again to make photoshop the active program or something to that effect.

This is incredibly annoying and seems to happen at random. Has this happened to anybody else? Any suggestions on how to fix this problem?

[PECourtejoie]

Hello, are you on Mavericks 10.9?

Do you have any other software that might interfere? Does it happen when you get a notification? The engineers might need more info to be able to reproduce the issue.

[S_Gillihan]

Yep, I'm running Mavericks 10.9

I don't have anything that would cause a notification to appear, though the problem definitely does seem like it. It's as if there's another program in the 'foreground' recieving the commands, hence having to click on the canvas to make photoshop the active program again.

I can't imagine that there's anything else running that might cause this to happen. On this macbook pro I only have the creative suite, cyberduck, chrome and flash installed. 

I did a bit more testing and the same thing happens on my desktop running Windows 7. I seems to happen at completely random intervals.

Right now i'm using a wacom Intuos 4 with the latest software updates.

As for how often this happens, sometimes I'll be able to go 5 minutes without problem while using hotkeys. Other times I'll make 5 brush strokes and attempt to use a hotkey and the problem will happen.

[maryvarn]

I'm having this problem too. You described exactly what I'm experiencing. I even started another user in which I made sure to only install the bare minimum of software, and this is still occuring. I'm on a Macbook Air, running Mavericks 10.9, using Photoshop CC with a Wacom Cintiq 21UX. The cintiq is uing the latest wacom driver for it's type - it's a legacy driver.

I've also tried using a Huion graphics tablet and get the same problem.

I've tried uninstalling Photoshop, removing the preferences as I do so, and reinstalling. Still having this very frustrating issue.

What appears to be the same problem is described here, and an Adobe rep says he was able to replicate it.

[S_Gillihan]

Ah! I'm glad to see that this isn't just an isolated issue. Here's to hoping for quick resolution. This has got to be one of the most annoying bugs I've dealt with to date.

[JodyPrody]

I'm having exactly the same issue! Any news yet about a fix?

Very new MacMini with Mavericks, Photoshop CC, Cintiq 13HD. I can't see a pattern in the behaviour...

[HeleenSG]

I'm also experiencing the same bug. As far as I know I don't use Maverick (If it's possible ).

I'm on a MacBookpro With mac os x 10.9.1. Using photoshop CS6.

The problems only occur when I'm using my tablet (Wacom intuos 4).

Photoshop does seem to be the active program running because when I try to switch tools (and photoshop doesn't respond) I can still use the active tool. For instance if I have my brush selected and press "e" it still continues to draw instead of erase.

I'm using my shortcuts a lot while drawing so it's getting a bit frustrating.

Does anyone have a solution or work around? Will a reinstall of photoshop do the trick?

For me the problems started after I traveled to a diferent timezone (not sure if it's related though). My photoshop was set to korean instead of European. I switched it back but it didn't solve the problem.  Before this my photoshop worked perfectly on this exact setup for a year.

Any advice is most welcome.

[donbarrum]

10.9.1 is Mavericks

This bug is common, I think it happens to pretty much or everyone using Mavericks with a wacom tablet....in addition to other problems caused by Mavericks as well...like the polygonal Laasso Tool autocomplete. Both bugs have been around since the release of Mavericks and we are all hoping for some kind of solutions soon.

[leedog83]

I've got the same issue, I have to press keys multiple times to get the shortcuts to work or they don't work at all and I have to use the menu.It is crippling to my workflow.

[MartinJagl · Accepted solution]

Had the same problem.

For me, this worked fine:

1. close Photoshop

2. go to
Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop [your version] Settings

3. delete (or move to another place)

Adobe Photoshop [your version] Prefs.psp

4. install this:

Menus, shortcuts, Lasso tool, or Photoshop stop working when using a Wacom tablet | Mac OS

5. restart Photoshop

[iantm]

THANK GOODNESS. I have dealt with this for so long, I put up with it but at times I wanted to throw both the laptop and the tablet out the window it was so random.

That seems to have done the trick, thankyouthankyouthankyou.

[brinylon]

Thank you! This works. It was beginning to drive me crazy.

[badjwhipple]

Had the same problem for ages, and this has fixed it up a treat. Makes my life so much better again. Thank you

[Sophiajisu]

Thank you thank you thank you so much! I've been dealing with this problem for nearly a year and it was driving me crazy! It got to the point I stopped using my mac for my university graduation project and used my much less powerful windows laptop.

I didn't have to delete the Prefs.psp file but just followed the instructions in the link you provided.

Funny how I never came across the adobe help page when I searched for a solution all those months...

In case anybody needs a reference the problems I came across in Photoshop were:

-Lasso tool goes crazy if I even attempt to use it (delayed response, never closes, if I try to deselect it automatically starts a new selection which goes on in an infinite loop and forces me to restart photoshop). So every time I needed the lasso tool I switched to my mouse.

-Short cuts will not work (if I use a short cut immediately after I use the brush or any other tool on the tablet then it works. However if I delay for even a second I have to click on the canvas or some other button to make it work)

-Wacom tablet shortcuts also do not work with the same symptoms as above.

-Photoshop suddenly not the most forefront program and even if I click it it won't go back in. I have to go into mission control and select it then it responds again

These problems were specific to when I am using a Wacom tablet (one I bought 7 years ago and one 6 months ago). I thought maybe my old wacom wasn't compatible with the latest Macs (even though it worked perfectly with my old mac and my new windows laptop) so I bought a new one which didn't solve the problem (to my horror).

Version of Photoshop: CS6

OS: Mavericks

[McCallister81]

Yes!  Thank you.  An old problem apparently but I've been struggling with this for some time.  I thought it was just a wacom driver thing.  Just wish I wouldnt have waited so long to do a little web research on this.  Would have been solved way sooner.  Thanks again!

[georgecoghill]

#4 solved an issue for me where the spring-loaded key presses were non-responsive and laggy. Same for just about all keyboard shortcuts. Thank you!!!

[Trent Benge]

Is there possibly a windows version for that?

[rickd74474784]

This totally worked for me, thank you so much!

[darkmadartist]

Quoted:

"

Had the same problem.

For me, this worked fine:

1. close Photoshop

2. go to
Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop [your version] Settings

3. delete (or move to another place)

Adobe Photoshop [your version] Prefs.psp

4. install this:

Menus, shortcuts, Lasso tool, or Photoshop stop working when using a Wacom tablet | Mac OS

5. restart Photoshop"

-------------

What about those who use Huion Pen Monitor Tablets? My previous laptop was a 2011 model and my Huion tablet had no trouble with it in the past. I recently got a new laptop, a 2015 MacBook Pro and this similar problem been happening since the installation of Photoshop CS6.

Info:

- Operating system is macOS High Sierra (Version 10.13.3)

- Photoshop on laptop is CS6 (Version 13.0.6 x64)

- Huion Pen Monitor Tablet is Huion GT-190 with latest drivers installed

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

[Michael J White]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  It works.

MacPro 2010, 24GB, OS 10.12.6

PS CS6 13.06 x64

Intuos Pro 2015 driver 6.3.28-2

[christinag-g-photographer]

I also have a Huion tablet and have issues with the keystrokes getting stuck and being glitchy. The Workaround plugin didn't seem to help.

Mac OS High Sierra ( though it also does this on my Windows 10 machine)

Photoshop CC 2018

Huion H610 Pro

Any help would be appreciated as this drives me nuts! Thanks!

[Sujay Setty]

I face the same problem But i use windows machine, how to fix please help  

[Sujay Setty]

I face the same problem But I use windows machine, how to fix please help  

XP-Pen Deco01 V2

Windows 10

PS 2019

Please help!!! it's crazy every time I have to alt-tab 

Likes

[elbuenrolex]

It's so annoying that i'll just put my tablet back into the drawer ...a shame

[HenryB115]

Hi All,

I know it's been a while since the previous comments here. But I'm facing the same problem described above. Namely, Photoshop CS6's keyboard shortcuts behaving erratically, sometimes responding, but frequently not (when using Wacom tablet). It makes workflow feel unstustainable. The only "workaround" I've found is clicking the very top bar of Photoshop where it says "Adobe Photoshop CS6" every time a shortcut isn't responding. This seems to "wake up" Photoshop's ability to recognize the shortcut. But at that rate, it's almost like just clicking on the toolbar for every tool.

I'm with macOS Sierra 10.12.6, on 2009 Mac Pro, using Photoshop CS6, similar to Michael J White above. Tablet is Intuos Pro with 6.3.40-2 driver. People have been enthusiastic about the "White Window Workaround" plugin method described above. I followed that method to a "T," but the problem still persists. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling PS before doing the White Window method, and still no improvements with the shortcuts. I even tried installing PS CS6 on OSX El Capitan 10.11, and the same problem exists there, even with the White Window plugin installed.

I know CS6 is old, but it seems it should be able to work fine on my OS. The tablet appears to be the issue, since the shortcuts work flawlessly when using a mouse. Wacom not compatible with PS? It's hard to imagine. I'm hoping maybe there's some little step or detail I'm missing to fix the problem. Could someone please let me know if there's any hope for getting these shortcuts to work consistently with a drawing tablet? And if so, what's to be done?

Thanks much!