Choosing which layer gets selected after a layer is deleted

[nickfromthefirm]

So lets say I have 3 layers. if I delete the middle layer, after I delete that layer, the layer below it will automatically become the layer I have selected. Some people might like this, personally I'd prefer the layer above to be the one I have selected. Would love to be able to have this as a changeable option

[Stephen Marsh]

Until such a feature arrives, you can use keyboard shortcuts, actions or scripts to combine the steps of delete + select forward layer. With the Script Events Manager, you might be able to automate the process of automatically selecting the forward layer when the layer deletion event is triggered.

[Stephen Marsh]

The Script Events Manager works a treat to automate this task!

https://prepression.blogspot.com/2021/10/photoshop-script-events-manager.html

1) The edited XML file where I added the valueClass of layer to the default entry created from the Script Events Manager interface entry:

2) The single-step action set/action using the ALT/OPT + ] keyboard shortcut when recording:

3) The final Script Event Manager interface setup:

Now whenever a layer is deleted, the upper layer is automatically selected!

EDIT:
I forgot to mention, if the forward layer is invisible, then a slightly different action recording setup would be needed: