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Problem with keyboard shortcuts - randomly stop working.

Participant ,
Feb 14, 2019 Feb 14, 2019

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Hi!
Lately, I have a strange problem with photoshop. When working on some files randomly most of the shortcuts stop working - I can't change tool, resize brush with [ ] etc. I got windows error sound every time. Still, I can click tool from tool shelf and change brush size with Ctrl + alt with drag but it is annoying. For example today. Anyone had the same problem?

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Adobe
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Feb 14, 2019 Feb 14, 2019

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Hi

What version of Photoshop and OS do you have, have you tried resetting the Tools

If that doesn't help try resetting Photoshop preferences

Reset Pref.jpg

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Participant ,
Feb 14, 2019 Feb 14, 2019

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Thanks for the tip, I'll try that. I have windows 10 64 home. My specs are : ryzen 2700x, 32 GB RAM, GeForce 1060 6GB, 250GB Samsung 960 EVO PRO for catalog and system, SSD Samsung 850 for working files and WD HD for archives.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 14, 2019 Feb 14, 2019

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Also it's worth checking whether some keyboard shortcuts have been reassigned to another function.

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Participant ,
Feb 14, 2019 Feb 14, 2019

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They were not. I was checking it. The problem is not that they don't work at all. They work to some point and then stop. I can work on file 20 minutes with no problem then I switch for example from the stamp to brush and that's it. Then for some time, they do not work at all. Sometimes they start to work again after switching tool, sometimes I can't use them to the very end of processing the image.
I was just talking to my friend and he has the same problem.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 14, 2019 Feb 14, 2019

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Hi

Have you any other application running that might be hijacking the shortcuts e.g. screen capture software ?

Dave

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Participant ,
Feb 14, 2019 Feb 14, 2019

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I don't think so. I try to keep applications number as low as I can. I have Qnap sync app, adobe app, dropbox and Eizo Color Navigator running next to photoshop, lightroom and browser. That's it.
EDIT:
I was trying to check if it is my main computer thing and it is not. When running PS on laptop I got the same behavior.
And I forgot - Photoshop is lates CC, build Adobe Photoshop: 20.0.3 20190130.r.57 2019/01/30: 1204598  x64

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Participant ,
Feb 15, 2019 Feb 15, 2019

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It did not help. After resetting tools and preferences I had this problem like a minute ago. When I have created a mask, inverted it and wanted to paint something on it shortcuts just stopped working. I could change brush size from brush panel on the top, with ctrl, alt, RMB and drag I could change tool with tool icon but trying to use [] or shortcuts to change tools only gives me a windows beep and has no effect.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 15, 2019 Feb 15, 2019

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How To Use System Restore (Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP)

Go back to a date before this started. The manually created restore points work much better than the automatic ones. Also reset the cookies under privacy tab in most major web browsers.

Unfortunately Windows is very susceptible to unwanted software, and there are even many spoof Adobe flash update installers that are not from Adobe.

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Participant ,
Feb 16, 2019 Feb 16, 2019

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Well, so I can't make this step because I don't make a system restore points. I just make one - after the fresh install of the system. It was 2 weeks ago. But, if I remember it correctly, I had this problem before this Windows installation.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 16, 2019 Feb 16, 2019

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FWIW - I have occasional shortcut issues, and I've narrowed it down to language and region settings as the most likely cause.

I have English Windows and English Photoshop, but Norwegian keyboard layout. Windows normally handles this (there are separate settings for language and keyboard) - but sometimes I see Windows reverting to English keyboard for whatever reason. This mixes all shortcuts up.

But it also happens sometimes that the shortcuts in Photoshop simply stop responding - without the Windows settings changed. I do suspect it's the same underlying issue, because I've never heard of any of our UK or US residents having these problems. For me, however, it's been consistent on every system I have laid my hands on (quite a lot) forever. The only thing they all have in common is this English app/OS - Norwegian keyboard configuration.

Strangely, in the latter case hitting ctrl-alt-shift-K always kickstarts everything back into normal operation. This opens the shortcuts dialog. That particular shortcut always works.

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Participant ,
Feb 16, 2019 Feb 16, 2019

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I have both polish keyboard leyout in windows and polish photoshop. I'll try the thing with ctrl+shift+alt+k next time. 

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Community Expert ,
Feb 16, 2019 Feb 16, 2019

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Dag - that would certainly explain why I've never seen this happen with English OS and applications and a UK keyboard

Dave

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Community Beginner ,
Nov 30, 2023 Nov 30, 2023

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LATEST

I use US language and keyboard setting, and I get the same problem ALL the time!

Ever since I switched from using a Mac to Windows at my job, I just figured it was yet another annoying bug I have to "work around" on the Windows version (Windows 10 Enterprise and Photoshop 24.7.0).

It turns out that I was right, because hitting ctrl-alt-shift-K to open up the shortcuts window does in fact resolve the problem (temporarily)!

I'd call that a bug.

 

Thank you for that "work around"!

Cheers!

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2021 Mar 10, 2021

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NONE of these have helped. Sometimes they would just stop working. And then all of a sudden they would come back for no apparent reason. WTF Adobe??? This doesn't happen on any other programs in Windows 10!

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New Here ,
Apr 03, 2021 Apr 03, 2021

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It's been an issue with my system for a little while now. Not sure when it started, I feel like it's been 6 months. The keybaord short cuts in Photoshop (I updated all adobe software on my system to newest versions) work for a while and then they stop. I'm running Catalina Macbook 2018 (10.15.7). I'm wondering if upgrading to Big Sur will fix it? My job's IT says we shouldn't upgrade yet. 

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New Here ,
May 12, 2021 May 12, 2021

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This is happening for me as well. I haven't found a pattern of which tools tend to cause it, but for example, I was just sketching with a hard round brush. I hit ctrl-T to transform, hit enter to accept my transform, and after that all shortcuts stopped working. Actually, that's not entirely true. The following keys did the following actions:

 

* ctrl-t (which should do a transform again) rotates the layer

* [ and ] will only raise and lower pixel size by a few steps, then won't go further

* l, which should grab my lasso tool, activates the move tool

 

It's weird. This happens to me at least once a day. Restarting photoshop seems to fix it, but it's really annoying to hit the issue, especially if you're in flow.

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Community Beginner ,
Jul 18, 2021 Jul 18, 2021

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Found the answer to this that works for me on the subreddit. Try pressing escape next time it happens. "It can happen when you press Alt because it highlights the menus and waits for you to press the corresponding letter (like F for the File menu)."

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New Here ,
Jan 27, 2022 Jan 27, 2022

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Thank you!  I have definitely noticed the "alt = menus" thing and will try Escape next time that happens!
However, I have also lost shortcut ability randomly as others have described above but where the Menus don't appear to be activated.  It just happened and I tried the Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K solution mentioned above by D Fosse and that worked.  It opens the shortcut dialog box, and then you have to close it but then the shortcuts work again.  

I've experienced this random shortcut disabled/mixed for a few years now on multiple different machines in different studios.  At least 3 years.  You go to increase brush size and get the Windows error tone instead.  Or you hit S to switch to Stamp tool and it selects the Paint Bucket tool instead.  Maddening.

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New Here ,
Mar 30, 2022 Mar 30, 2022

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had this happen to me yesterday and today and since i am the new person in the office i thought someone was playing a trick on me but it again happend in the middle of moving the mouse so at 2:08 pm it started acting up quit adobe and restarted didnt work, restarted the finder mac didnt work, finally was getting ready to reinstall the adobe cc and went to check for updates then i also quit safari as well as microsoft office and then went to open up the apps from a file that i know worked and at 2:48 pm it came back to working correctly so it was in illustrator photoshop indesign that the space bar did not want to work along with the zoom in zoom out keyboard shortcut we will see if this happens again at the same time tommorrow 

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New Here ,
Aug 22, 2022 Aug 22, 2022

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i'm having this issue too, when i want to switch from one tool to another

 

for example, i hit B for brush, then i want to select so i hit W for wand

it'll choose want then jump back to brush.  if i want to erase i hit E, it'll jump to erase for like a second then back to brush, I have no other applications open that use the same shortcuts as Photoshop as no other applications have photoshop shortcuts that i use in them

the only other applications i usually have open are either my media player or music player so that i'm not working in a deafening silence.

 

is there actually a fix for this or is Adobe just gonna give the same copy-paste useless solution to the issue.  We should have Adobe go back to the one-time purchase method and just have it updated instead of this monthly crap.  Photshop was actually useful and reliable before the monthy subscription method, now there's nothing but problems

 

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Participant ,
Oct 24, 2022 Oct 24, 2022

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I have this problem for a long time, I even changed the keyboard, I tried all your solutions and nothing worked. It's very frustrating at any time the shortcuts stop working, I had the solution to click out of photoshop and when I came back it worked again, but it was really bad for the workflow. After several attempts I found the problem that causes this. this is caused by view in "consolidate all tabs", resolves and no longer happens in Windows/Arrange/Float in Window. I'm on macOS Ventura with the latest Photoshop 24.0. It would be nice if Adobe fixed this, thanks

Untitled-1.png

 

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Explorer ,
Jul 17, 2023 Jul 17, 2023

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I am having the same issue. Found that when I have my brushes panel floating in my window ( which I LOVE to have because I use it all the time for graphics ) I cannot use my keyboard shortcuts to change between my tools and sizing. It is SOOO frustrating! And a waste of my time! So it's either go to the tools by hand, ( no keyboard shortcuts )  or open the brushes panel every single time I am changing something. And that is ALL the time! I thought an update was supposed to be a good thing?? I am so frustrated! such an annoying glitch in this version!!!

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