How do you deselect in Photoshop?
Ctrl + D — Deselect
Press Ctrl + D (Cmd + D on Mac) to drop the current selection. Ctrl + Shift + D reselects it afterwards, and Ctrl + Shift + I inverts it instead of clearing it.
Deselect drops the marching ants entirely; if you meant to hide them while keeping the selection active, that is Ctrl + H (Extras) - a distinction that has confused Photoshop users for decades, because a hidden selection still constrains every edit you make.
Reselect (Ctrl + Shift + D) brings the last selection back if you dropped it too early, and Ctrl + Shift + I inverts instead of clearing - often what you actually wanted when the selection covers the wrong side of the image.
Related Photoshop shortcuts: Selection & Mask
| Shortcut | Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + A | Select All | Select entire canvas. |
| Ctrl + D | Deselect | Remove current selection. |
| Ctrl + Shift + D | Reselect | Restore last deselected selection. |
| Ctrl + Shift + I | Inverse Selection | Invert selection. Useful after background removal. |
| Alt + Ctrl + R | Select and Mask | Open workspace for refining selections. |
| Shift + F6 | Feather Selection | Soften selection edges. |
| Ctrl + Alt + D | Feather (Dialog) | Feather selection with specified radius. |
From the Photoshop reference (69 entries) · all how-to answers
Deselect versus hide
Ctrl + D removes the selection entirely; Ctrl + H hides the marching ants while the selection stays active and still constrains every tool. New users mix these up and then wonder why a brush only paints in one region — if that happens, press Ctrl + D and try again. Ctrl + Shift + D brings the last selection back, which is worth knowing before deselecting a complicated one.
Keeping a selection for later
Select › Save Selection stores the current selection as an alpha channel, and Ctrl + click on the channel or a layer mask reloads it. For a selection you will refine repeatedly, convert it to a layer mask instead: the mask is editable with black and white paint and never needs deselecting.
Related keys
Ctrl + Shift + I inverts the selection, Ctrl + A selects everything, and Select › Modify offers expand, contract, feather and smooth. Q toggles Quick Mask, where the selection is painted rather than drawn; pressing Q again converts the painted area back into a selection.