Move tool NOT WORKING in version 2020!

[badbluesman]

I have used this simple tool for two decades without ever needing any support for it. Suddenly, it doesn't work in Version 2020! When I click on a layer it won't move! Instead, a stream of iritating little numbers flies past the cursor.

I tried resetting general preferences to no avail.  For those of us who work in this program day after day, it is an incredible DISRUPTION when an "upgrade" forces us to waste hours or days trying to do a simple everyday task that we have done for decades. There is just no excuse for this.

A project I am working on today will now be delayed at least an entire day because of the time it will take to get an answer on this forum!

I recently set up a brand new MAC with clean installs of everything, hence the brand new version of Photoshop without any of my previous settings or preferences.

[Chuck Uebele · Accepted solution]

Can you post some screen shots of what you're getting? possibly the numbers? Do you have auto select checked with the move tool? I think that's on by default, so if it is, you might just be moving something you don't really see and if you are getting numbers, you might have smart guides turned on, which can be very irriatating with many layers.

[badbluesman]

Yes, the problem was "auto select." What an incredibly stupid default setting that disables the primary function of the tool! It is not even remotely apparent by the name of the setting what it could possibly have to do with the main function of the move tool.

This really needs to be be fixed in the next PS update. "Auto select" should NOT be the default setting. I have been using photoshop since version 3.0 and have subsequently installed many different versions. I never had an issue like this with any previous installation.

I also question whether it makes any practical sense to even have an auto select setting in the move tool. It is part of a disturbing trend in Adobe software to over-automate various tools for inexperienced users, making it harder for experienced users to do manual adjustments. I had a similar issue earlier this year with the curve tool in the latest version of LRC. Some bored software engineer decided to automate the curve tool, effectively turning it into a useless curve-on-training-wheels designed for people who don't know how to use a real curve tool. It took a post like this one to figure out how to override the training wheel version and get to a normal linear curve that professionals rely on every day (the option was accessed by clicking a tiny dot on the interface that looked like a graphic design element).

Anyway, many thanks for your correct diagnosis!

[Chuck Uebele]

Many of us have recommended that the auto select not be the default. It is useful on occasion and if it was eliminated,  there would be many who scream that its removal ruined their workflow. Yes, some changes have us scratching our heads.