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vincent_8939
Participant
January 28, 2026

P: Photoshop drawing random lines when using tools (Remove, Brush and other drawing tools)

  • January 28, 2026
  • 161 replies
  • 5004 views

Bonjour,

Quand j'utilise l'Outil Correcteur Localisé en cliquant avec ma souris sur une zone de la photo à l’écran, une multitude de lignes partent dans tous les sens. Donc cet outil ne fonctionne plus depuis plusieurs jours. Est-ce un bug ?

    Pinned Reply By Bkelley01

    I was having the same issues with multiple tools in Photoshop. Finally after a day of trying all things, we have found a solution on Reddit. I tried it and it fixed it right up. This is for PC only.

    1. Create a text document with Notepad. Name it “PSUserConfig.txt”
    2. Write “UseSystemStylus 0” in the text body (that’s a zero not an “O”)
    3. Save it in “C:\Users\*YOUR USER NAME*\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Adobe Photoshop 2026 Settings

    (In step 3, *YOUR USER NAME* is unique to whatever your username is.)

    Restart photoshop and the tools should work again. 

    Credit to u/Professional_Use442 on Reddit for sharing this fix. Note: If you want to use the stylus again you’ll have to follow their instructions on how to re--enable the stylus mode.

    161 replies

    Participant
    August 19, 2026

    I am totally frustrated trying any "fix" mentioned and nothing makes it work and stay fixed. I cannot do the work I need to do with the program I am paying for. 

    Also irritating that any possible contact us just sends me in circles. 

    Participant
    August 14, 2026

    I worked all day trying all of the suggestions and none of them worked. I went back to Version 26.7 and everything works fine. No more updates for me until this problem is fixed.

    Ged_Traynor
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    July 31, 2026

    @Bettybbb your issue may be related to this thread, have a look at the pinned answer to see if it helps

     

    c.pfaffenbichler
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    July 31, 2026

    What have you done for all-purpose trouble-shooting so far?

    Restoring Preferences after making sure all customized presets like Actions, Patterns, Brushes etc. have been saved might be a good starting point:

    https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html

    https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/basic-trouble-shooting-steps.html

     

    What is your input device? 

    Bettybbb
    Participant
    July 31, 2026
    Why are Photoshop tools suddenly becoming uncontrollable, forcing me to scribble randomly the first time I click the button? They're just drawing randomly following the mouse cursor.How can I do??😭 I already try to restart computer and PS but still no use.
    It suddenly turned like this when I was using the software.
    Please, can someone help me? It's urgent.🙏

     

    anthony_9108
    Participant
    August 4, 2026

    A combination of Resetting All Tools, Uninstalling and Reinstalling Photoshop (twice), and restarting my computer (twice) finally fixed it for me.

    Ged_Traynor
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    July 28, 2026

    @anthony_9108 your issue may be related to this thread, have a look at the pinned reply to see if it helps

     

    anthony_9108
    Participant
    July 28, 2026

    I have uninstalled and reinstalled the latest version of photoshop, and I have reset all tools. Neither helps.

    First click with lasso does this.

     

    Participant
    July 26, 2026

    Hello,   I have the same problem, photohsop has become unusabled….. how come such a company destroy their own product???????  I’m not an IT specialist and do not intent to become one to solve the problem.  Is there a simple way to fix it?    i’ve tried simple different things (update pilot GPU, reset brush, disactivate GPU, resintalled older version that used to work but do not work anymore….. etc.) but nothing works.  should i switch to Affinity???????  Completly frustrating, is there any any help desk on Adobe?????   Best regards

    Community Manager
    July 27, 2026

    Have you tried the pinned comment above?

    1. Create a text document with Notepad. Name it “PSUserConfig.txt”
    2. Write “UseSystemStylus 0” in the text body (that’s a zero not an “O”)
    3. Save it in “C:\Users\*YOUR USER NAME*\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Adobe Photoshop 2026 Settings.

    This method was quite effective.

    Participant
    July 27, 2026

    I wanted to thanks you because it looks like it is working. Looks like everything is less smooth than before (as if there an additional layer that slow down everything, but it still works!).     May i ask if i can upgrade back to latest Photoshop version (and the trick still works?) Or should i remain to old version?    Many thanks again!!!!!!!

    Participant
    July 22, 2026

    Hello,

    I'm experiencing a reproducible issue in Photoshop 27.8.0.

    Environment:

    Photoshop version: 27.8.0 Release

    Windows

    Original Logitech wireless USB mouse (receiver)

    Adobe Illustrator and Paint 3D work correctly with the same mouse.

    Problem: A single mouse click with the Brush Tool, Spot Healing Brush Tool (and other brush-based tools) creates a short random line instead of a single dot. The line direction changes randomly with every click.

    What I tested:

    Disabled GPU acceleration.

    Reset Brush Settings.

    Different brush presets.

    Reduced file size.

    The issue also occurs with the standard Brush Tool.

    Mouse works normally in Paint 3D.

    Illustrator works normally.

    This appears to be Photoshop-specific.

    Could you please investigate whether this is a regression in Photoshop 27.8.0?

    Thank you.

    ACEkin
    Participating Frequently
    July 23, 2026

    You may want to read the article I published on my website on this specific issue and how I resolved it. The cause, at least in my case, was not related to Photoshop. The link to the article:

    https://www.keptlight.com/strange-photoshop-problem/

    I hope that may be of help.

    ACEkin
    Participating Frequently
    July 21, 2026

    I found a solution to my problem in a very odd way. It still does not explain what was causing the problem.

    I created a new user on the same computer, logged in with the new credentials, started Photoshop, and all the tools were working fine even with scaling more than 100%. Then, I moved all my files from under my original user account to the new account, including all the AppData folders. Now, I can run it at high resolution with 150% scaling, and everything is working OK. I am still using all the applications installed on this computer under the original user. Phew! (Until the next mystery problem!)

    ACEkin
    Participating Frequently
    July 22, 2026

    I can now trigger this problem at will! I use an image viewing software, FastStone viewer, but it may happen with other applications too. HiRes screens make it difficult to see the menus and other screen elements and much advised process is to change the HiDef screen handling from the EXE file properties. Putting a checkmark in that box and selecting to override high DPI setting, and then choosing System (Enhanced) option and saving it starts the problem. Even though it is not Photoshop.exe files proerties are changed, after the above changes to FastStone.exe file, Photoshop starts showing the odd behavior along with another one I tried to solve for quite a long time. From now on, I will not override the high DPI setting in the properties. They even recommend the same change to be applied to Photoshop.exe file to enlarge the UI. WARNING, if you do this, immediately chech how Photoshop is responding.

    ACEkin
    Participating Frequently
    July 22, 2026

    I wrote an article on my site to summarize my findings:

    https://www.keptlight.com/strange-photoshop-problem/