ZBrushCentral

Navigation stuck in Mask mode (option key stuck)

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I am wit’s end with zBrush 4R8 on an iMac Pro (base model) running Mojave. I’m using it on a Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 hooked up to that iMac Pro . The problem - the application lets me work for several steps, and then locks the pointer into masking mode. I just updated to the latest version of MacOS to resolve a separate issue, and also updated the Wacom device to its latest firmware. I thought that fixed the problem, but now it just comes back at random, making it impossible to continue sculpting because all the software wants to do is mask - no rotation, no panning, no magnify, no brushes, no smoothing brush.

Any idea how to deal with this? It is seriously causing me to question why I even upgraded to R8.

#2

Why are you using 4R8? We’re now on ZBrush 2019, which is also a free upgrade for you. You’re missing a few versions of new features and bug fixes.

#3

Sorry, my bad. It is 2019 - latest version (though not 2019.1. which was announced a few days ago). I also downloaded the latest MacOS Mojave version, and the latest Wacom drivers for the Cintiq24 Pro. The look into mask mode continues to plague my workflow, typically manifesting itself after a few minutes of sculpting. Basically, I’ll hold the option key down to draw a mask on the model, and then the program refuses to let me do anything but draw more masks - no rotate, no pan, no smooth, no brushes of any kind. Extremely frustrating.

I also notice that after I quit the application in an effort to get around the problem, the program often fails to relaunch, requiring a full system reboot to resolve the problem. And after a system reboot, the mask lock problem rears its ugly head again after 20-100 steps. I’ve been using zBrush with Wacom Cintiq displays for many years and I can’t say I’ve ever seen this kind of fundamental and unpredictable problem with the interface. Any help you can offer would be most appreciated.

#4

The first thing that I would recommend would be to install ZBrush 2019.1 using the stand-alone installer from My Licenses. This will create a new folder on your computer, mostly unrelated to ZBrush 2019.

If that doesn’t fix the issue, the next thing is to delete /Users/Shared/ZBrushData 2019. This folder is used by both releases of ZBrush 2019. Delete it while ZBrush is closed. When you restart ZBrush, the folder will be created again automatically, with default contents.

Do both of these tests without making any changes at all to either the ZBrush folder or the ZBrushData folder. If the problem is resolved, then you’ll know that something corrupted your ZBrush installation in some way. Be very careful then with introducing anything new such as plugins, ZStartup items or a custom UI.

If the issue is not resolved by these steps, you’ll next want to fully reinstall your Wacom drivers and software. It’s likely at that point that something has gotten messed up there which is affecting ZBrush.

Hopefully that will resolve your issue! If not, please submit a detailed Support ticket, including full system specs.