How to extend the toolbar in photoshop?

Is this the goal, @SSL-ADT? If yes, use the 3dot button (or Edit > Toolbar) to drag each Toolbar icon into its own group. (Groups have spacing between them.) 

Realistically, you are unlikely to ever need access to all of Photoshop tool's set. You might try this as an exercise, and then either re-group the ones you may rarely use or drag them to the Extra Tools column.

Now, I'm actually here because you inadvertently asked a Photoshop question on the FrameMaker forum. I came over here to see if you recieved an answer to that question and then got distracted by this question. The X appears when the character you want isn't available in the font you have assigned, which doesn't necessarily get copied over with the character. However, let's not further muddy this thread—if that question is still outstanding, please ask it again as a new post on this forum. One of us can provide the details in that new post.

~Barb

My toolbar only take half the height of my screen, even though I have more tools added than what is visible.  Is there a way to extend the size of the visible toolbar towards the bottom of the screen?

The double-column view of Photoshop's toolbar is restricted to the height you see in your screenshot.

If you want to see more tools at once, the only way currently is to switch to the single row view as shown in @11424030's screenshot.

Edit: When I tried this the other day, the toolbar did not update its height. After a reboot of my Mac it is extending as expected, when tools are moved out of their groups.

I would also like a more modern solution like a freely scalable toolbar, with more columns and rows, with tear-off toolgroups and stuff. But it is as it is, and I doubt that Adobe will improve this soon.

even though I have more tools added than what is visible

 

By @SSL-ADT

What do you mean by that?

If you drag a tool out of its group in Edit > Toolbar, it will appear on its own in the toolbar immediately.

You can extend the toolbar by collapsing it into a single column by clicking on the arrows indicated in the screenshot below. Is that what you are looking for?