Simple, quick Desaturate layer function?

[Foomandoonian]

On 6/26/2021 at 10:49 AM, kirk23 said:

Why  black&white  from library panel is not simple enough for you guys?  it's just one click.   Or you a can always add your own macro to the library if black&white s not good enough.   You could do an action that put " black and white"adjustment layer on the very top  for example.

I wish I could set F keys for macros although. Same way I can in Photoshop

If I just want to make a monochrome photograph, the B&W style is fantastic.

But I have many uses where I want to quickly and destructively desaturate a layer. Maybe I'm creating a bespoke mask or building some kind of advanced selection or using it as a texture overlay or I don't even know what, I just know that I need to do it a lot and it annoys me every time. 

Let me ask you this: Do you use Layer > Invert* much? It even has a shortcut (cmd + I). Why not just use Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Invert (no shortcut), then Merge Down (cmd + E)?

Because it's a faff. Invert is a common task that has been recognised and supported as such. Now maybe not enough people want to desaturate a layer as invert one, but I'm willing to bet that I'm far from alone.

(* Yes, I recognise that Invert is probably given special treatment because it needs to operate on alpha channels, and those would already be greyscale by default. But that's not all inverting is for!)

[Vixmag82]

Go to layer menu at the top - new layer adjustment - recolor - then use the desaturation slider.