Selector Tool Quit working in Paint Shop Pro 2023

[aaanativearts]

My selection tool just quit working. It was working fine one minute, and now the next minute when I try to select something, I can see it draw the rectangle, but as soon as I release my mouse the box disappears, so I can't select anything. I've Closed and Reopend the program, Reset the Defaults, made sure the Show marquis is selected.

[LeviFiction]

What is the selection mode set to? Is it set to "Replace", "Add", or "Remove"?

EDIT: Quick explanation for my question.

By default, the mode is set to "Replace" meaning it'll always replace the current selection (if any, or make a new one if a current selection doesn't exist) with the new one you're trying to draw out. The shortcut keys "SHIFT" and "CTRL" are used to temporarily change the selection mode. SHIFT changes it to "Add" which just like "Replace" will create a new selection if one doesn't already exist, but will also add onto an existing selection. CTRL will change it to "Remove" which will subtract from the current selection wherever the outlines intersect. But unlike the other two, does not create a new selection if one doesn't already exist.

What's more, because PSP saves the last used settings, if you either on purpose or accidentally, had CTRL pressed down the last time you used the selection tool, and then moved to another tool the last used mode will be "Remove". And will stay that way until the next time you create a new selection with one of the other two modes. This has a tendency to catch people off guard.

Or if you have Sticky Keys turned on on Windows and Windows thinks you're constantly holding down the CTRL key. But, check the selection mode. That's what I'd look for first.

[aaanativearts]

Thanks, if I hold down the Shift key while I draw the selection it works. But the next time I also have to hold down the Shift key or it won't work. I don't remember having to do that in the past. Is there somewhere to set that to be the default behavior without needing to click on extra keys?

[LeviFiction]

My apologies I clearly didn't represent what I was asking properly.

On the tool options palette there is a drop-down with the label "Mode" what you select here is the default mode while you're using the tool. SHIFT and CTRL are temporary mode switching hotkeys that switch modes only while you're holding them down. I believe you have "Mode" set to "Remove" and holding SHIFT temporarily changes the mode to "Add". What you want to do is change the Mode on the tool options palette to "Replace". This is the default that you normally use.

SelectionMode.png

The reason that it suddenly defaulted to "Remove" is because of how it saves the last used settings. To fix this all you need to do is change the Mode to "Replace". Use the selection tool once. Then switch to the paint brush and back again. It should then default to "Replace" until the events that lead to it changing happen again. Just be aware of that Mode selection if it ever starts acting up again.

[aaanativearts]

Thanks for your help. That worked.