Turning off markup tools on an iPhone

I rarely use the markup tools at the bottom of the screen when I annotate photos. I almost always add shapes and texts. Normally, I can tap on the screen and get a 'select all' option and then copy all the shapes and texts to paste in other phots. However, when the markup tools accidentally get tapped, I cannot turn them off! When I tap the screen I either get dots from whatever tool got turned on or a blank circle for the eraser. Sometimes—days later—the tools will turn off and I'm back in business. I just cannot find a way to do this directly. I have tried power-cycling the phone, but that hasn't helped. I tried resetting the phone and then created major headaches.

iPhone 14 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Dec 27, 2024 12:14 PM

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Posted on Dec 27, 2024 3:32 PM

By hitting every icon there is to hit, I figured out a work-around, but it doesn't stick from photo to photo, so I'm still looking for how to get it back the way it was. The work-around is to select the + icon, then Image Description, then Cancel or Done—it doesn't seem to make any difference. The selection bar "Select All-Paste-Insert Space" or "Select All-Insert Space" shows up and you can paste or copy all the added shapes, text, etc. But it needs to be done at every photo; it won't stick from photo to photo.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 27, 2024 3:32 PM in response to JOHOCO2021

By hitting every icon there is to hit, I figured out a work-around, but it doesn't stick from photo to photo, so I'm still looking for how to get it back the way it was. The work-around is to select the + icon, then Image Description, then Cancel or Done—it doesn't seem to make any difference. The selection bar "Select All-Paste-Insert Space" or "Select All-Insert Space" shows up and you can paste or copy all the added shapes, text, etc. But it needs to be done at every photo; it won't stick from photo to photo.

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Turning off markup tools on an iPhone

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