Select and Mask tools do not work -- none of them

[casinclaire]

I am trying to use the new Select & Mask for the first time. I have seen MULTIPLE discussion threads -- mostly complaints -- about what does and doesn't work but none have addressed my specific problem -- namely, that NONE of the tools work once I'm in the S&M (no icky pun intended) workspace.

I've tried making a selection using the Quick Selection Tool.  I've tried EVERY tool.  None of them does anything at all. the photo just sits there laughing at me.  I've tried making my selection before entering the workspace.  Nothing.  Nothing, nothing, nothing.

I have a 32GB ram machine, i7 processor, high-ram video card, etc., etc.  I absolutely cannot figure this out. Is PShop broken or is there some setting I need to change?  I've tried all the views, have tried showing/not showing "original," "edge," etc.  Tried all the sliders from 0 to 100%.  What in the world is going on?

Help, please and thank you!

[Donald J Sherman]

PS CC 2017.1.1 on Mac OS Sierra: crop tool missing

[casinclaire]

What???

[Derek Cross · Accepted solution]

Try resetting your Photoshop Preferences, which you can do in recent versions  of Photoshop in Photoshop Preferences under the General tab (select Reset Preferences on Quit).

[casinclaire]

Thanks, everyone, for your great suggestions.  The one that worked, finally, was to have PShop reset my preferences.  I'll try to retain the preferences and see if the S&M continues to work, but if not, I will leave the "reset" option in place.  I am not crazy about this new tool -- it seems to lag behind, performance wise, but it is what we have for now.  Hopefully it will be refined or perhaps the hue-and-cry will get the old tool back.  Again, I appreciate the replies and the help!

[Terri_Stevens]

could you post the image you are trying to mask and maybe a workflow could be created for you.

[davescm]

Hi

A couple of things - if the tools in Select and Mask don't do anything , try adjusting the GPU settings in preferences (e.g. from advanced to Normal (or basic) . Also try switching off Open CL in the same preferences.

However - before you do that :

Ccan I check that you are not trying to use S&M in onion skin mode on a duplicate layer. If you are , the tools can appear to do nothing as the identical layer below just shows through any masking giving the false impression that nothing has happened. Just to check, try S&M on a single layer (the only layer) with Onion Skin mode and transparency set to 50%.

Dave

[screamkitty]

I literally just encountered this issue (i.e. Select and Mask not working --- at all) while processing some photos. In fact, I had just successfully processed a photo and was working on a second one (I'm just doing product on white background photos, so using Pen tool then Select and Mask to extract the product from the background).

Select and Mask worked perfectly for the first photo, but when I started the next photo (PS was not closed or anything) I got the Pen tool outline done, converted to selection, then used Select and Mask (with settings to output to New Layer w/ Layer Mask)—but it just output a layer, with a blank (white) layer mask.

Tried again with a 3rd photo, and when it still didn't work, I started getting worried. Rebooted my Macbook Pro, issue persisted. Then I saw that there was a pending PS update—so I performed the update; issue persisted. That's when I came to the forum and found this thread.

1. Tried adjusting GPU settings; issue persisted

2. Tried resetting Preferences; issue persisted

3. Lastly, I turned OFF the Open CL option — THIS seems to have fixed the issue, at least for now. However, I've only tested once with a quick square selection on a single layer. WHY this would have had any effect, I do not know. As I said, it was working fine up until today—and the first photo I processed did not encounter this issue.

SO, what's the deal? Why would it work perfectly for one photo, but then suddenly stop working literally minutes later when I hadn't changed anything or even closed the application.

I've been shooting and processing these product-on-white photos for years—and while I didn't care for the Select and Mask tool replacing Refine Edge, I've been able to make it work for me. However, I've never had an issue like this occur and it's quite troubling, to be honest, that a process/feature I regularly use could just randomly stop working mid-edit and require me to change the PS settings that were working just fine moments before, with no real reason why.

Please explain what could cause this and how I can avoid problems like this in the future. Thanks!

Jeremy

[davescm]

screamkitty  wrote

................Please explain what could cause this and how I can avoid problems like this in the future. Thanks!

Hi Jeremy

I can't explain that. I am a Photoshop user the same as you, I don't work for Adobe. In the early days of Select and Mask I did experience some crashes with Open CL enabled on by AMD graphics card. At that time I had to turn off Open CL to get it to work reliably.  Updates to Photoshop followed and it is now reliable on my system with Open CL enabled. Are you using the latest version (Photoshop CC2017.1.1)?

Dave

[Camerai]

I am having the same problem. The tool works initially, then PS [2017] freezes. I can't even get to the refine edge tool. I have to close the program (ctrl/alt/delete). I have also rebooted the computer (I use Windows 10). Problem still there.

I have also:

- Adjusted GPU settings; issue persisted

- Reset Preferences; issue persisted

I went to turn of the Open CL option, but it was already turned off. No option to turn on. ISSUE PERSISTS

This is just too infuriating. I have never been able to successfully used the former tool as it overselects an image.

I have seen the issue raised as early as October 2016. Why hasn't Adobe corrected this??

-Terry

[screamkitty]

Dave,

Thanks for responding! I know you don't work for Adobe—I didn't mean to imply that. You just seemed to have some pertinent knowledge so I figured I'd ask (in case you or anyone else viewing this thread could shed some light).

As I mentioned, I thought I was running the latest PS version (I generally install updates as soon as I see them), but when I encountered the issue—and after rebooting my Macbook—I then checked for updates and saw there was one. I applied the update, but the issue persisted. Wasn't until I turned off Open CL that the tool started working again. Just to re-iterate, it had literally just worked fine with Open CL ON on the first photo I edited, then the second photo is when I encountered the issue. I hadn't even closed the previous photo before I started on the second one (something I usually do to try and keep color adjustments consistent in photo sets), so absolutely nothing had changed on my system—the tool just stopped working suddenly.

That said, I'm definitely running the latest PS version, now. I'm also running OS X El Capitan 10.11.6—haven't migrated to Sierra yet because I wanted to give Adobe time to patch any issues first. If anyone is running Adobe PS CC on Sierra, I'd be interested to know how it's working.

I used to work on Windows, where I never had any real problems with Photoshop (not to say there weren't any, I just never encountered them in my workflow). Wasn't until I moved over to a Mac that I started noticing little things here and there not working—most of which I've just gotten used to working around, but nothing like this where a tool/function just completely stops working at all, right in the middle of an edit, no less.

Anyways, if anyone knows anything about this topic/issue, it would be great to know what might be the cause of such an issue, so I can try to avoid it.

Frankly, if I was in Terry's (the most recent comment on this thread) position, I'd be pretty ticked off right about now. At least turning Open CL off worked for me—Terry seems to be having the same issue, but caused by something else perhaps. That's even more disturbing, because there could be something else at play that we don't know about. Of course, each system (computer) is different, so it could be something local to the machine, but without knowing what to look out for, there doesn't seem to be a good way to be proactive about avoiding such a problem.

Thanks again and good luck to anyone else having this issue! Hopefully, some light will be shed on this at some point or Adobe will find/fix the bug (if indeed it is one).

Jeremy

[Camerai]

So, I may have found why I can't use the Select and Mask tool. I have a Cintiq monitor that I use along with the stylus pen (which perhaps is why the OpenCL is not accessible?). When I use the screen with the pen in the Select and Mask mode, that's when it freezes. But I can use the Cintiq screen with my mouse and it doesn't freeze while in that mode. Of course, I much prefer to use the Cintiq pen, as that is why I have the Cintiq. I am able to use both Cintiq and pen while not in Select and Mask.

Isn't this the definition of a 'bug'?

[Terri_Stevens]

I think you have answered your own question here. If it works with a mouse but not with a pen on your Cintiq then it's quite likely to be a conflict between Select and Mask and the Cintiq driver. Select and Mask in Photoshop uses GPU acceleration to take the load off the system CPU, but not all graphic subsystems are happy with that. Have you tried actually disabling GPU acceleration completely? How about calling up Refine Edge with the mouse and then using the Cintiq. Refine edge doesn't take advantage of GPU acceleration so it's surprising you cannot use it?