Cannot draw a simple straight line in Photoshop

[Olympia5EEB]

Hello,

I cannot believe how difficult Photoshop makes it to draw a simple straight line and then adjust the line weight. In the attached screenshot, I am simply trying to draw a line where the baseboard meets the floor to distinguish the adjacent materials after I have applied a tile pattern.

You can see in the toolbar in both screenshots, that no matter which line weight I enter, the "line" stays the same rectangular shape. If I adjust the line weight higher than 1, I receive an ugly black border around it, along with an additional blue line in the middle, but the line weight itself doesn't adjust. I have tried adjusting the Linetype amongst all the options - Shape, Path, and Pixels, and receiving the same result. My Alignment is set to center as screenshot #3 reflects. Just to repeat: All I want to do is draw a subtle grey thin line that resembles grout to illustrate where the floor ends and the baseboard begins. 

Spent and just wasted two hours of my life on trying to troubleshoot what should literally be the simplest thing to do in Photoshop. Tutorials and problem solving forums don't seem to help. I use PS 2018. Can anyone help me out? I would really appreciate it!!

Thank you!

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Say what? 

If you want a line, as opposed to a rectangle, you may want to use the Pen Tool. 

[Olympia5EEB]

Hi,

Thanks but Pen Tool doesn't really seem to solve my problem. Ideally I hould be able to select and control the line weight (I am refering to "thickness" when I say "line weight"). Also I can't seem to select the color of the pen tool, it stays Blue and there doesn't seem to be a property that allows me to change the color. Screenshot attached. How starnage PS defaults a line from Pen Tool to a Blue color? Do they expect users will need to use Quick Select tool to highlight the line and and then color match to a new color opened in a seperate tab?

Lastly, when I click in the Pen Tool boxes to close the path and then move the image and all their layers into an existing artboard, the line completely dissapears. It appears the layer is only visible in its own tab, but that effects cannot move to new Artboards? 

Sheesh. Really would have thought this would be easier. A real win for AutoCAD when drawing lines!

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Set the Pen Tool to »Shape« (in the Options Bar) and set the intended Stroke. 

Then clicking two times in the image should create a »line« with the corresponding Stroke. 

Edit: 

[Olympia5EEB]

Okay- I figured out a workaround here. I select Line tool (which unfortuantely defaults to a rectangle with a line weight that Photoshop makes unable to be edited). So to acquire the line thickness (or in my case, thinness) I need, I then use the Marquee Tool to select a general thinness, CTRL + C, and then deleted the layer completely and then CTRL+P which leaves the copied section selected with the Marquee Tool. Next, I Transformed the line to the width I wanted it, and selected Free Transform to rotate it into the diagnoal position that I need it to be in. It appears Shapes don't allow Pattern or Clone Tool to paint over them, so this workaround really only works if your objective it so make the end of the line subtlely imperfect as opposed to perfect.

Anyway, still have a gripe with that fact that PS makes it impossible to draw straight lines and adjust their line weights and change colors easily. What developer decided to make the "line" shape a rectangle and default at the same size - as if we're all creating the same illustrtaion. Good one, guys.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

What is the problem with using the Pen Tool? 

[Olympia5EEB]

Hi there-

I appreciate your trying to help me, I truly do.

Unfortuantely when I follow your suggestion with the Pen tool, my line is not even nor uniform. Please see attached.

And really, the gretaer issue here - is why Photoshop makes it so difficult to enact what should be the simplest function. I can draw a straight line by Clicking and Holding Shift and then clicking at the end of a point when straightening out a pattern or clone stamp application, for example. So then taking that foundational functionality, a user should be able to select Line Tool and then select a Fill color, click and hold Shift and then click at the end of where they want their line to be, and use a sliding bar to adjust the weight to either thicker or thinner. Incredibly frustrating that this isn't already the process for creating a straight line when the functionality is already embedded. Who is developing these functions to be overly superflous and highly unintuitive? I feel like I pay a hefty Adobe Suite monthly subscription only to often lose hours of my life lost in these forum boards and canvassing YouTube tutorials for what should be easy solves. (And no, sorry, I don't always remember every command from University having graduated 15 years ago). Developers- if you're reading this, please consider my suggestion for the Straight Line command. These programs should be fairly intuitive, not necessitating the need to learn a never ending series of arbitrary and nonsensical commands.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

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Unfortuantely when I follow your suggestion with the Pen tool, my line is not even nor uniform.

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You did not follow my suggestion. 

»Set the Pen Tool to »Shape« (in the Options Bar) and set the intended Stroke. 

Then clicking two times in the image should create a »line« with the corresponding Stroke.«

[D Fosse]

Olympia, you're fighting the application, not working with it. You're missing the distinction between raster and vector editors. Photoshop is not a vector application like AutoCAD, or Illustrator. If you did this in Illustrator you'd find it works a lot more like you want.

Photoshop has some vector tools, like the pen tool, line tool, rectangle tool etc. But they are mainly aids for making pixel-based selections and masks. Everything in Photoshop will eventually end up as pixels. It simply doesn't work like a vector app because it isn't.

Once you realize that fundamental difference, it becomes much easier to find ways that work better. c.p's method works well, but I'd just put this on a separate layer with an appropriate color fill and mask in the required line. A mask can be reworked and finessed as you go.

[jane-e]

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Olympia5EEB wrote:

I can't seem to select the color of the pen tool, it stays Blue and there doesn't seem to be a property that allows me to change the color. 

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Hi

You are using the Pen tool in Path mode and drawing paths, which I think of as being a "cousin" to a selection. @c.pfaffenbichler is using the Pen tool in Shape mode and drawing shapes, which can be edited in the options bar or Properties panel. You can choose the mode in the options bar.

Adobe changed the way the line tool works a few versions back. It used to be what is now called Pixel mode, so when you drew a line you actually drew a rectangle.

You are using PS 2018 and the current version is 2022. I don't remember when it was changed, but someone else will. @c.pfaffenbichler , do you remember how PS 2018 treated this?

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/line-tool.html

"A real win for AutoCAD when drawing lines!"

I prefer Illustrator!

EDIT: The post from @D Fosse came in while I was typing.

Jane

[c.pfaffenbichler]

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c.pfaffenbichler , do you remember how PS 2018 treated this?

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No and I haven’t Photoshop CC 2018 installed anymore so I can‘t check … 

[Leslie Moak Murray]

. If I adjust the line weight higher than 1, I receive an ugly black border around it, along with an additional blue line in the middle,

...........................................

Before drawing the line, select the brush size and color. They dictate the weight and color of the line drawn by the pen tool. The reason  you have that "black border" is that you probably have "Stroke" selected while in Shape mode, FYI. That won't happen in Path Mode.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Have you been able to understand how to use the Pen Tool to create Shape Layers with Strokes yet?