Potential bug when trying select a layer that starts with a dash (-)

V
Posted By
v6v6v6
Mar 12, 2009
Views
328
Replies
8
Status
Closed
Hi, I’m wondering if anyone is able to confirm this… I’ve got a text layer that starts with a dash (-) and I’m unable to select it via the contextual menu when I right click it (or control-click) on the canvas. For example, create 2 text layers containing "test" and "-test".

I’m on CS4 11.0.1 running on a MacBook Pro OS X 10.5.6. Thanks!
Related Tags
bug dash layer select start try

MacBook Pro 16” Mockups 🔥

– in 4 materials (clay versions included)

– 12 scenes

– 48 MacBook Pro 16″ mockups

– 6000 x 4500 px

AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Mar 12, 2009
I tried it and they both become targeted in the Layers Panel normally here.

Are you Control clicking on the composite image exactly on the actual Text itself?
V
v6v6v6
Mar 12, 2009
Thanks for testing. I believe I am selecting the actual text. I created a brand new file and created the 2 aforementioned text layers. Here’s a screenshot of the contextual menu when I was zoomed in at 3200%.

< http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k156/darthsauce/mac/dash_t ext_select.gif>
CC
Chris_Cox
Mar 12, 2009
Probably because the OS menu system treats items starting with a dash as a menu separator. Photoshop needs to custom filter out names with a dash (and we don’t).
V
v6v6v6
Mar 12, 2009
Ann, what OS and Photoshop versions are you running?

Chris, do you have suggestions for how I might correct this on my end?
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Mar 12, 2009
I am using CS4 on OSX 10.4.11.

I have just checked it again and the "-Test" Layer (with a hyphen) is targeted by Cmd Clicking on it but Control Clicking produces the "Show Similar" — and then targets both Type layers.

However, "_Test Layer" (with an under-score) which is what I had when I first tested this earlier on, DOES show in the list when you Control Click on it.

The real point is that you can always re-label the names of your Layers.
V
v6v6v6
Mar 12, 2009
Sorry for the confusion, didn’t mean to throw you off by calling it a dash. While inconvenient, re-labeling the layers will work fine. Thanks for taking the time to confirm this bug.
CC
Chris_Cox
Mar 12, 2009
v6 – I don’t think you can change it on your end.
It’s a limitation of the OS, that Photoshop failed to work around (I guess we didn’t think about people naming layers with a hyphen as the first character).
V
v6v6v6
Mar 12, 2009
Ok, thanks. I feel the probability of users manually naming layers with a hyphen is pretty low, but the automatic naming of a text layer because users create a list, for example, may be more common.

I realize I may raise some obscure use cases, but I hope things like this are helpful for you.

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections