MilestonePhoto Forge
MASK1B: painting and editing layer masks
Layer masks can now be painted directly. The Layers panel lets you choose whether you are editing a layer's pixels or its mask.
Illustrative photograph. It does not show Forge software.
Masks are how professionals make changes they can take back. MASK1A gave Photo Forge the mask foundation: adding, deleting, enabling, compositing, and saving layer masks. MASK1B makes masks something you can actually work with.
What MASK1B adds
- An edit target. Each layer with a mask has two editable parts, its content and its mask. Clicking a thumbnail in the Layers panel chooses which one you are painting on, and the active target is highlighted.
- Mask painting. The brush paints into the mask when the mask is targeted. Each stroke is a single History step.
- Safe tool boundaries. Tools that do not apply to masks are blocked while a mask is targeted, and switching targets cancels any half-finished text gesture instead of committing it to the wrong place.
What did not change
The .pforge document format version and text schema are unchanged. The edit target is interface state, so it is never saved into documents.
Verification
MASK1B was completed and verified on October 11, 2026. Its dedicated tests passed alongside the existing mask, effects, engine, and text suites, and the full save-and-reopen regression harness.
