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Chris2592073355ou
Participant
October 17, 2024
Answered

Crop Overlay Broken During Action

  • October 17, 2024
  • 3 replies
  • 1055 views

I am running into a very frustrating problem on Photoshop 25.12 running on Mac OS Sonoma 14.6.1 on a 15" M1 Macbook Pro. I have an action recorded for finishing portraits that completes the following steps:

  • switch to 8 bit color
  • save full-res jpg
  • downsize for web
  • save web jpg
  • step back to full resolution
  • 5"x7" 300dpi portrait crop
  • close

My problem is that the Crop Overlay is not functioning correctly when the action runs. I have the action set to require confirmation during the 5x7 step so I have the opportunity to properly frame and size the crop, but when I get to that step in the action the Crop Overlay never pops up. It doesn't show the handles around the outside of the bound area and is not showing the thirds overlay lines, just the Crop Shield. I cannot make any of the different overlay options work despite switching between grid/thirds/diagnol/triangle/etc.

 

The weirdest part is that the Crop tool functions normally in basically every other context I can test it. If I use the Crop tool by itself without running the action then the Overlay appears as expected. If I select the 5x7 step in my action and play the action starting at that point, then the Overlay appears as expected.

 

I have already reset the Crop tool using the context menu for the tool. When that didn't work, I went into the settings window and completely reset Photoshop settings. I also deleted and re-recorded the action using this latest version of Photoshop in case it was a problem with some legacy action since I've had it for several years, but none of these methods restored the normal Crop Overlay during the action.

 

I have attached a screenshot of the lack of Crop Overlay when I run the action Any help would be appreciated as I've pulled out most of my remaining hair.

 

[Edited by Moderator]

    Correct answer Elise_Claire

    A colleague and I were having issues with the crop overlay missing during actions, inconsistently. We've found that if you have the crop tool active before running the action, the grid is visible. If you have another tool (move, brush, etc), there is no grid. This is reproducible on 3 different machines, so it doesn't seem preferences-related. Very strange, hope this workaround can help someone else until the bug is fixed.


    Edit: Probably worth noting, our actions only crop/save/repeat so this may not work if a user has other tools being used throughout the action.

    3 replies

    Elise_Claire
    Elise_ClaireCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    March 12, 2025

    A colleague and I were having issues with the crop overlay missing during actions, inconsistently. We've found that if you have the crop tool active before running the action, the grid is visible. If you have another tool (move, brush, etc), there is no grid. This is reproducible on 3 different machines, so it doesn't seem preferences-related. Very strange, hope this workaround can help someone else until the bug is fixed.


    Edit: Probably worth noting, our actions only crop/save/repeat so this may not work if a user has other tools being used throughout the action.

      C
      Chris2592073355ouAuthor
      Participant
      March 13, 2025

      Genius! Just tried and reproduced this on my machine with the action I described in my original post. Obviously the actual solution would be for the crop tool to function as well as it did a year and a half ago, but this works in the meantime. THANK YOU.

      Stephen Marsh
      Community Expert
      Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 15, 2025

      As a workaround, an action can indirectly activate the crop tool by loading a crop tool preset... Or script step in the action can directly call the crop tool before the rest of the action steps.

        K
        keanu_7977
        Participant
        October 18, 2024

        I too am experiencing this issue. At one time I was able to crop an image with just  shield visible stop the action, and then  reset Photoshop and it would remedy the issue. My current fix is to use Photoshop Beta and even then the action is still buggy and needs to be reset after a few hundred photos. 

        K
        keanu_7977
        Participant
        October 18, 2024

        I made my last post before I started my next job, and the issue is now persisting in all versions of Photoshop.

        K
        keanu_7977
        Participant
        October 18, 2024

        I was able to get the overlay to show up during an action on my copy of CS5. The overlay is hidden initially, but you can refresh it by clicking on it in tool tip at the top. 

        Stephen Marsh
        Community Expert
        Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        October 18, 2024

        I'd backup actions and other presets and reset preferences.

          C
          Chris2592073355ouAuthor
          Participant
          October 18, 2024

          Hi Stephen,

           

          I appreciate your recommendation but as noted above I have already reset all the preferences, both for the crop tool specifically and the entire Photoshop application.

           

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