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A
adampricephoto
Inspiring
November 26, 2022
Answered

PS 2022/2023 keyboard shortcuts not behaving consistently

  • November 26, 2022
  • 8 replies
  • 7888 views

2018 intel mac mini

macOS 13 ventura (occurred with macOS 12.xx too)

 

Ever since the released of ps2022 and beyond, keyboard shortcuts do not behave consistently. In one good bit of news, ps2023 has this occur far less often but it still remains roughly 20% of the time. What is happening is when I press my shortcut key, the icon in the tool bar will darken (as if pressed) but as soon as I release the key, the tool I want will deselect and return to the tool I'm currently using. To resolve this, I tap the keyboard shortcut for the tool I want many times quickly. Then it will stick. It primarly affects all brush tools. I have uninstalled and reinstalled all adobe cc apps with no luck. I have deleted ps preferences with no luck as well. I have tried another keyboard thinking the one I'm using might be defective somehow, but the bug remains.

Edit 12/6/22 - This is a "feature" added in photoshop versions after 2021. I have unchecked the box for "Spring-loaded Tool Shortcuts" and now PS is behaving like it should. This feature is awful as all my coworkers have been complaining about it and nobody knew what was happening.

    Correct answer D Fosse
    quote

    What is happening is when I press my shortcut key, the icon in the tool bar will darken (as if pressed) but as soon as I release the key, the tool I want will deselect and return to the tool I'm currently using.


    By @adampricephoto

     

    This sounds like the normal behavior known as "spring loaded shortcuts". You're just holding the key a little longer than the specified threshold time set in Preferences > Tools.

     

    To switch tools permanently you tap the key quickly. If you hold the key a little longer, it will revert to the previous tool when you release it.

     

    Again - a feature, not a bug.

    8 replies

    BlackChrome
    BlackChrome
    Participating Frequently
    March 19, 2024

    THANK YOU FOR THAT TIP!

     

    "I have unchecked the box for "Spring-loaded Tool Shortcuts" and now PS is behaving like it should".

    PS was driving me crazy that my single key tool commands stopped working. It's also happening in AI and ID (I assume/hope the fix is the same). Thanks!

    K
    Kelly27676338d9eb
    Participant
    February 22, 2024

    I've been running into this issue and it's been driving me absolutely NUTS. Thank you so much for figuring it out. I can get back to work without screaming now.

    DavinciWhite
    DavinciWhite
    Participating Frequently
    September 9, 2023

    Thanks for this ...

    Also still having trouble with the way to reach certain shortcuts because I don't press the keys in the correct order (I used to press "ctrl+space" to get the Zoom tool, but now I have to press "space->ctrl" to get it) 

    nicoleh92742010
    nicoleh92742010
    Participant
    July 28, 2023

    Thank you!!! After fighting with this for ages, I finally had enough and searched for a solution, and this worked!

    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 6, 2022
    quote

    …all my coworkers have been complaining about it and nobody knew what was happening.

    By @adampricephoto

     

    Because this is affecting more people than yourself, be sure to explain to your coworkers that this behavior is a feature that many other users like to take advantage of. You can tell them that it increases their flexibility because it is now possible to switch to a tool for just a few seconds without having to press the shortcut twice to get back to the previous tool:

    • If you want to switch to a tool for a long time, tap its shortcut key. 
    • If you want to switch to a tool briefly just to make one quick change, hold down the shortcut key only for the time you want to use that tool, and then release to return to the previous tool you were using. 

     

    In short, simply train them in the difference between “tap” and “hold down.”

     

    Or, if everyone agrees they don’t like spring-loaded shortcuts, you can show them how to turn it off as you already have for yourself.

      B
      bibi_6792
      Participant
      April 16, 2025

      This is not a "feature" this is hell. 

      PECourtejoie
      Community Expert
      PECourtejoieCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 16, 2025

      Spring loaded tools have been in Photoshop for years.

      It is a 17 years old feature: http://jnack.com/blog/2008/09/22/cs4_sweating_the_details/ 

      And way before that the spacebar was working as a spring loaded tool, you could move/zoom in or out and return to your tool but it is only a few years ago, like 2020 that issues started to pop related to that, hence the addition of that preferences to adjust the responsiveness of spring-loaded tools.

      I am not sure if something in the code of Photoshop changed, or if the operating systems are listening, auto-correcting, etc. but something in the environment has changed in regard to keystrokes.

        D Fosse
        Community Expert
        D FosseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
        Community Expert
        November 28, 2022
        quote

        What is happening is when I press my shortcut key, the icon in the tool bar will darken (as if pressed) but as soon as I release the key, the tool I want will deselect and return to the tool I'm currently using.


        By @adampricephoto

         

        This sounds like the normal behavior known as "spring loaded shortcuts". You're just holding the key a little longer than the specified threshold time set in Preferences > Tools.

         

        To switch tools permanently you tap the key quickly. If you hold the key a little longer, it will revert to the previous tool when you release it.

         

        Again - a feature, not a bug.

          A
          adampricephotoAuthor
          Inspiring
          December 6, 2022

          Thanks. I disabled spring loaded tool shortcuts and will report back should this issue remain.

          A
          Autantpourmoi
          Known Participant
          November 28, 2022

          Did face exactly the same problem with 2023, as also impossibility to use some shortcuts if i leave photoshop open and the computer go to sleep mode, can't use anymore Cmd + Space for zooming. Seems that there's also a bug with my wacom ( which as the last updated driver ) suddenly it's only the raser which is selected and i need to save and turn off Photoshop. For the Cmd +Space need a restart of computer. So almost impossible to work with photoshop with comfort. I don't face anymore your problem of shortcut going back to Pshop 2022 but still got the other bugs

          A
          adampricephotoAuthor
          Inspiring
          November 26, 2022

          Update: After changing the "shift" button preference under tools, this bug still remains. It's not behaving correctly. When this box previously (unknowingly) checked by default, I could get the keyboard shortcuts to work by pressing the key repeatedly a few times. After unchecking that box this morning and restarting photoshop, the new tool will deselect and return to the tool I'm currently on.

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