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Question

How to create an arrow?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
December 31, 2024
4 replies
2664 views

Hi everyone here,

How to create a simple arrow in Photoshop? I've spent a lot of time researching the way to do that, but to no avail. Even after finding that missing custom shape tool, I sure I'm nowhere to have found a way to draw an arrow.

By the way, currently my toolbar on the left hand side only goes half way down the page. Why can't I add more visible tools in the toolbar?

Thanks,

-Ron

macOS

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

Even after finding that missing custom shape tool,

What is that supposed to mean? Did you reset the Toolbar (Edit > Toolbar > Restore Defaults)?

Could you please post screenshots the pertinent Panels (Toolbar, Layers, Options Bar, …) visible?

S

SSL-ADTAuthor

Inspiring

L

LAMY2017

Legend

Ron, easily creating "simple" arrows has frustrated me since early versions of Photoshop.

(by the way, don't bother following the ...arrow.html link. It's just a Photoshop app sales pitch)

Surely a denizen of this forum will show us a tutorial.

Larry

Trevor.Dennis

Community Expert

Do you know that the Line tool has thee option to add arrow heads?

I am sure it has changed in recent years. My memory is that the arrow heads used to change size relative to the line thickness, but they remain at the set size regardless now.

If you open the Shapes panel, and click on the menu bars in the top right corner, you will see Legacy Shapes and More. Load that aand you'll have a host of arrows to play with.

Conrad_C

Community Expert

When I click on Legacy Shapes and More, absolutely nothing happens.

Are you sure that absolutely nothing happens, or is it that you didn’t see anything happen?

What should happen is that a new shapes preset group, Legacy Shapes and More, is added to the Shapes panel. But you might not notice it added if the bottom of the list is not visible in the panel. Expand the Shapes panel and/or scroll it down to see Legacy Shapes and More, then expand it and expand the All Legacy Default Shapes subgroup to reveal the Arrows preset group.

If this seems like too much trouble (it’s definitely not intuitive), and if you’re drawing with the Line tool, you can just add the arrows. Arrowhead options are available in the options bar when the Line tool is selected; or if another tool is selected they’re in the contextual task bar.

Arrowhead settings in the Options bar for the Line tool

Arrowhead settings in the Contextual Task Bar

Peru Bob

Community Expert

How to create a simple arrow in Photoshop?

See here:

https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/arrow.html

Peru Bob

Community Expert

Why can't I add more visible tools in the toolbar?

By @SSL-ADT

Try resetting the tools and/or preferences.
To restore preferences quickly using a keyboard shortcut:

Press and hold Alt+Control+Shift (Windows) or Option+Command+Shift (Mac OS) as you start Photoshop. You are prompted to delete the current settings. The new preferences files are created the next time you start Photoshop.
Note: Using the keyboard shortcut, preference files for custom shortcuts, workspaces, and color settings will also be reset to default.

from here:

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

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