I got an automated response to a thread I started awhile back which says if the issue still exists to report it again. Here it is again except I discovered something new since the initial report:
- click on a photo layer
- click the mask button in the layers panel
- a new mask layer is created below the photo layer
So what I originally thought was that I had to select the new mask layer in order to start painting on it. The problem is the new mask layer actually is selected already and I can use it immediately, it's just the Layers panel doesn't highlight it. So it's misleading and looks like it's not selected. If it's selected, it should be highlighted in the panel.