SHIFT Key doesn't contrain Scale Transform (version 20.0.0)

[gregjobes_lhh]

100% reproducible bug ... can't wait to see what other goodies we have broken ...

[John Waller · Accepted solution]

It's not a bug, it's a new feature. The behaviour has been reversed. Default is now proportional (constrain) - no Shift required. Shift for non-proportional.

New and enhanced features | Latest release of Photoshop CC

Scaling Images with shift no longer works after update (20.0)

It can be disabled if required.

How do I turn off the new proportional scaling by default behavior while transforming layers?

To revert to the legacy transform behavior, do the following:

1. Use Notepad (Windows) or a text editor on Mac OS to create a plain text file (.txt).
2. Type the text below in the text file:
   
   TransformProportionalScale 0
   
   
3. Save the file as "PSUserConfig.txt" to your Photoshop settings folder:
   • Windows: [Installation Drive]:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings\
   • macOS: //Users/[User Name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings/

[gregjobes_lhh]

Wow ... that's a "usability improvement"????  It's completely counter-intuitive ... ESPECIALLY dragging a center handle from the top, left, bottom or right. Who thought this was a good idea??

Going back to the previous version ...

[Muqqarib Hassan]

Hi, Go to Edit>Preferences>Performance and enable Legacy Composting then reboot your photoshop.

[Daniel Presedo]

Legacy Composting check box has nothing to do with Transform tool changes.

[Trevor.Dennis]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Daniel+Presedo+%3E+dramenon  wrote

Legacy Composting check box has nothing to do with Transform tool changes.

That's alright. We all think that Muqqarib Hassan has nothing to do with Photoshop. 

[Trevor.Dennis]

I've just had a play with it, and I am sure that it will take minutes to learn the new behaviour.

It is simple to turn the centre handle back on.  I did wonder if Adobe might have made the centre handle snap, but that is still not possible (a pain with things Step & Repeat using angles, where the last rotation does not line up with the first.)  I put up a fix for this a while back.

1.   Place a guide intersection at your desired rotation axis
2. Drag the grid zero to that intersection, which will snap
3. Start your Free Transform and drag the centre handle as close to the guide intersection as you can manage
4. Go up to the Options Bar,  and enter a zero in the X: and y: fields.  This will give you a perfect reference.

I am sure those people affected will have realised this, but if you want to resort to the legacy behaviour with PSUserConfig.txt file, and you already have that file enabling WinTab for tablet pressure sensitivity, you can just add to the existing file and re-save it.  So

TransformProportionalScale 0

UseSystemStylus 0

Note, I have not tried this, and am assuming it is the same file in the same location, so please correct me if I have this wrong.  I will definitely go with the new behaviour, because these changes have always felt right to me, when you get used to them.  I remember hating the change to the Crop tool with CS6 for instance, but I'd hate to go back now.

[Nalendra007]

DAMN this is what was i looking for.

I have already use manual change PSUserConfig.txt with "TransformProportionalScale 0" but it no change.

until i follow this and add "UseSystemStylus 0" too in the file.

thankyou now its works

[davescm]

You don't need the text file at all. With v20.0.5 you just go to preferences and turn it off - as shown by John in post 57 of this thread.

Dave

[kaiser-wb]

Adobe Why??!! who are you serving?

[m90583877]

it does not work on transform, only om cmd+z behavior

[benjamin.a]

This doesn't have any effect on the transform controls for me...

[JonArnold1172]

Thank you for this John Waller. I switched my PS back to be consistent with previous versions AND consistent w the new version of Illustrator.

Adobe, WHAT were you thinking??????

[worekarolis]

Thing is that its not even consistent in the Photoshop itself! Try transforming smart objects

Its crazy how little effort Photoshop developers take to test their product before releasing. Every new photoshop version comes with double amount of bugs and broken functionality... And now update 20.0.1 completely broke Photoshop

[The Queen of Anneland]

THANK YOU JOHN WALLER!! So happy to revert back to the 20+ years way of scaling...

[RobSpacial]

Just to elaborate, I came here as I was also experiencing a hideous flickering/juddering of the item being transformed on PS CC 2018. By following the instructions for changing back to the previous style of shift-transform I also have eliminated this judder issue - hopefully that will help others in the same boat. For ref I am on a brand new 27" iMac with a Radeon 580 graphics card. The issue went away if I switched off 'Use Graphics Processor" under preferences > Performance in PS, although this is not what you want to be doing with a brand new machine!

John's original post was truncated from the info on the page he linked to. In full it is as follows:

1. Use Notepad (Windows) or a text editor on Mac OS to create a plain text file (.txt).
2. Type the text below in the text file:
   
   TransformProportionalScale 0
   
   
3. (Windows) Save the file as "PSUserConfig.txt" to your Photoshop settings folder. [Installation Drive]:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings\
   
   (macOS) Do the following:
   1. Save the file as "PSUserConfig.txt" to the desktop.
   2. Control-click PSUserConfig.txt saved at the desktop and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.
   3. In the Finder, choose Go > Go To Folder. In the Go To Folder dialog box, type ~/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings/
   4. Paste the copied file at this location.
   5. Restart Photoshop.

Just to add, on a Mac the Text Edit program doesn't give an option to save as .txt - I made an .rtf and renamed it .txt but this did not work. I used Microsoft Word in the end which created a .txt file and this then worked. Hope that helps someone deal with it in future!

[Jeff Nitzberg]

Thank you thank you thank John Waller. I signed up just to post this. Your fix text-file works. Why on earth did adobe think this was a good idea to reverse this functionality? Makes absolutely no sense. We should at least have an option to revert back to legacy use shift transform as it has been since the beginning of time. As the saying goes, if it aint broke... please don't break it. Good lord.

[bcmava007]

Thanks!  Just to add to another of Adobe's stupid updates... When you try to rotate an object after pressing CMD + T, if you click to far outside from the transform box, the controls disappears and you have to press CMD + T all over again. It looks like adobe made it,that you only have a small radius around your transform box that allows you to rotate your object. If you go beyond that, the transform goes away.

[GrandfatherTrout]

Yes, this actually deserves a separate thread. This is another brick in the wall of making life harder rather than improving anything. Having the freedom to click and drag quickly without having to think or carefully take aim is essential to an effective workflow.

[RobSpacial]

It does defy belief that there isn't an in-app button to toggle it on and off at the very least, given that it is so fundamental, and also the norm on every other app. Having to write code and insert files to change it, whilst not especially difficult in itself is an unacceptable way to treat paying customers IMO.

I only "upgraded" to CC from CS6 because aparently after 5 years using a legit copy it was suddenly deemed to be not legit and I was forced into it (another long story). One massive reason I didn't want to move to CC was the constant updating and potential for bugs which ruin workflow though - imagine turning up to your office and the landlord has rearranged your furniture and desk and hidden a few things and changed the way others work, and even worse, broken some tool you use every day and not even noticed! It would be entirely unacceptable, and perhaps Adobe need to start seeing it in these terms??

[roekone]

Yes! Thank you for the easy fix!!

[jessiek74234510]

This is ridiculous!!!!! Why do UI developers sit around and think of ways to break the functionality of a program that has existed this was from the beginning — nothing was broke — don't "fix" it. Sheesh.

[GG_Dynamix]

Just found I had this problem too, spent the last hour turning off Anti-Virus and experimenting to work out what was causing it. . .well now I know!

Well done Adobe. . .who in the whole of the wide world would have thought it a good idea to change the behaviour of the shift key to be the opposite of what it was since version 1.0 of Photoshop, let me guess - none of the other Adobe Creative Suite programs are swapping to this behaviour? NO REALLY who thought that was a good idea???? You are breaking long standing conventions across multiple applications not just yours, this has real efficiency ramifications for those of us who have been using your programs for decades. . .come on!!

Here's an idea, why don't you just concentrate on making all of your programs lightening fast to launch and operate, and just leave the Shift Key alone, it's behaviour really wasn't broken. . .stop the tinkering.

Thanks.

[TheSchmieginator]

Exactly! Couldn't of said it better. WHO?

[MatoH]

It's like Adobe is trying to ditch one of their best features - cross application consistency. Now transforming in Ps and Ai behaves differently and that's not good for workflow. Want to change the default behavior? Then change it everywhere across the whole suite!

By the way, same goes for shortcuts - for example an elipse has a different shortcut in Ps, Ai, Xd, … same for rectangle, and many more... Adobe keeps developing all these new apps, but forgets about one of the most important things - consistency.

edit: I just noticed that it works normally for the shapes, but is reversed for raster layers and type - so the inconsistency is even within the Photoshop itself.