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Inspiring
August 14, 2019
Answered

"Add To Selection" not working

  • August 14, 2019
  • 3 replies
  • 5159 views

I'm pretty sure this is one of the many quirks that got added in the new version but I can't find anything in any forum on how to get it to work as in the old Photoshop versions.

I select an item using the Laso tool. The I create a path using the pen tools that intersects the the items selected with the Laso tool but the path is a bit bigger. The end result is for me to add the path I created to the Laso selection. So with the pen still selected, I right-click the path and select 'Make Selection' from the dropdown menu. Here is where it's not working as it used to. Before all I had to do was select 'Add to Selection' and I would get a merged selection made by the Laso and the Pen tool. But ever since the 2019 update this doesn't work anymore. Now it seems to be doing something similar to the 'Intersect' option; It only selects area of the path that didn't intersect with the Laso selection. I tested the other options and they don't seem to work either. The 'Subtract from Selection' option selects only the area of the path that intersects the Laso selection, but everything else gets unselected.

Is there some setting I can set to make it work like it used to?

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Correct answer chavab1

Thanx guys. Yeah, as I noted in my second message the problem was with the path selection itself. Somehow after the 2019 update it got switched to the inverted option. The places I searched said to look for the 'Add Path to Area' option in the Options bar but I couldn't find it anywhere. So I just started testing out the options available until I finally was able to get it back to normal. The option to select is 'Combine Shapes'. I guess maybe it replaced the 'Add Path to Area' option.

3 replies

chavab1AuthorCorrect answer
Inspiring
August 14, 2019

Thanx guys. Yeah, as I noted in my second message the problem was with the path selection itself. Somehow after the 2019 update it got switched to the inverted option. The places I searched said to look for the 'Add Path to Area' option in the Options bar but I couldn't find it anywhere. So I just started testing out the options available until I finally was able to get it back to normal. The option to select is 'Combine Shapes'. I guess maybe it replaced the 'Add Path to Area' option.

Semaphoric
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 14, 2019

It's working as expected for me. Do you possibly have your Pen tool set to a mode where it draws an "inverted" path?

chavab1Author
Inspiring
August 14, 2019

I think I might have found out what is causing it but I don't know how to fix it.

Every time I create a path and try to make a selection from it the selection is getting inversed.I found a thread where someone else had this problem and they undid it. But I can't find how to do in the 2019 version.

The thread says to check the Options bar and make sure it's set to 'Add Path to Area'. I can't find that option anywhere.

Any help??

JJMack
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 14, 2019

A path and as selection are different things.  You can save a section as an alpha channel and you cans convert a path to a selection and you can add a saved selection to the active selection.  Path have modes  one mat ba add and onem may  be subtract they can be the inverse of the other. Perhaps this will help you.

JJMack
chavab1Author
Inspiring
August 14, 2019

Thanx, yeah I realized that was the problem. Somehow it got switched from 'Combine Shapes'. The problem was that I was looking for 'Add Path to Area' option because someone else had mentioned that was the way to fix it. I couldn't find that option so I figured it was probably replaced with the options you have highlighted.