Skip to main content
J
Jason253673881ubc
Participant
June 24, 2023
Answered

When using brush then Option to select colour

  • June 24, 2023
  • 8 replies
  • 6238 views

Hi All,

 

I hope this is going to be a quick fix... dont know why Adobe have to change thing that work really well.

 

But when I'm using the brush tool and need select a diffrent colour, I hold down "option " eyedropper shows up the then select the colour I looking for... But it assigns it to the background pannel which it never did before this update,  It always put the new colour on the forground pannel which made perfect sence.

So you have to keep switching the pannels, I hope Im missing a quick fix here 🙂

 

    Correct answer csscms

    @Jason253673881ubc Not sure if you found a solution to this but this was bugging me as well - here's the fix that worked for me: https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/brush-tool-opt-click-used-to-set-foreground-colour-but-now-sets-bg-colour-how-to-fix/m-p/15363066#M868309

    8 replies

    C
    csscmsCorrect answer
    Legend
    June 10, 2025

    @Jason253673881ubc Not sure if you found a solution to this but this was bugging me as well - here's the fix that worked for me: https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/brush-tool-opt-click-used-to-set-foreground-colour-but-now-sets-bg-colour-how-to-fix/m-p/15363066#M868309

    Trevor.Dennis
    Community Expert
    Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 26, 2023

    Jason, I think you might have misunderstood Jeff's post.  Open the Color panel and look for the fientest of outlines around the background colour.  That indicates that the background colour is active, and will result in the behaviour you are experiencing. 

    Clicking on the forground color will fix it, but it really is a subtle change, and easy to miss.

    What I do is just hit the D key to switch to the default Black foreground colour and white background, and just happens to also reset the color picker.

      Jeff Arola
      Community Expert
      Jeff ArolaCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 26, 2023

      If you've already clicked on the Foreground color chip in the Color panel to make it active and Option clicking with the Brush Tool still doesn't work, then you could try resetting your preferences the manual way as described in this Adobe kb so if it doesn't work you can put the old preferences back.

       

      https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html

      J
      Jason253673881ubcAuthor
      Participant
      June 26, 2023

      Jeff, My apologies I had forgotten about the color palette, it has been set on the foreground for years, and I've never had to change that even through cuntless updates until this one! Thanks again. 

        Jeff Arola
        Community Expert
        Jeff ArolaCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 26, 2023

        What i was saying is that whatever Color Chip in the Color panel is "active" is the Color in the Tools panel that Option/Alt clicking will pick the color for.

         

        So did you click on the Foreground Color chip in the Color panel to make that one active so when you Option/Alt the Foreground Color in the Tools panel is the one choosen?

         

        J
        Jason253673881ubcAuthor
        Participant
        June 26, 2023

        Yep got that... But, If you are retouching an image using the brush tool, you can hold down the option to select another color in that image, Yes? with the latest Photoshop update, it adds that color to the background chip even thou the info tool palette says that it will change the foreground color.

        Jeff Arola
        Community Expert
        Jeff ArolaCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 26, 2023

        Did you click on the Color Chip in the Color panel to make it active so when Option/alt clicking with the Paint Brush Tool the sampled color is set to the Foreground color chip as in the clip below?

         

        Michael Bullo
        Community Expert
        Michael BulloCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 25, 2023

        The Adobe Creative Cloud app allows for the simultaneous installation of multiple versions of Photoshop. Can you compare the current behaviour against another version?

        Michael Bullo
        Community Expert
        Michael BulloCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 25, 2023

        Have you tried any of the general fixes such as…
        - Restarting Photoshop
        - Restarting the computer
        - Resetting the tool
        - Resetting Photoshop Preferences

        J
        Jason253673881ubcAuthor
        Participant
        June 25, 2023

        HI Jeff,

        Ya, I get all that, But when I have my paintbrush selected and hold down the option to open my eyedropper and select a color it adds it to the background chip. and if you have the info window open It says it will add it should add to the Foreground Color.

        Jeff Arola
        Community Expert
        Jeff ArolaCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 24, 2023

        In photoshop go to Window>Color and click on the Foreground Color chip to make that active.

        The outer most square around the color chips is supposed to be darker on the active one, but it's not easy to see.

         

          Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
          Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices