I can not fix a shape in an image

[tonyhunt]

When I put an arrow or shape in an image and hit return they disappear. How do I apply them.

[jane-e]

@tonyhunt 

• Do the arrows have a fill/stroke?
• Is the layer they are on hidden by another layer?

Please post screenshots so we can see what you are seeing. There are several possible reasons for this. Use the Insert Image button in a reply window.

Jane

[tonyhunt]

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Please include all pertinent Panels (Toolbar, Layers, Options Bar, Paths, …) in the screenshots @jane-e already requested. 

[tonyhunt]

[Trevor.Dennis · Accepted solution]

Those diagonal red lines indicate that both fill and stroke are turned off

In the example below I have fill set to red and the stroke set to black. One or both of fill and stroke need to be set to a colour, or you'll see nothing.

[tonyhunt]

Thanks Trevor, that worked of course. I need to pay more attention to the tutorials. Thanks again.

[Trevor.Dennis]

The greatest Photoshop user of them all is Bert Monroy, of the Times Square gigapixel illustration fame.  Bert says when things get weird, the first step is to check the Options Bar.  It's actually not a bad thing when Option Bar settings need tweaking as it shows you have become advanced enough to be using the Options Bar.  When that fails, reset the tool  — I tend to reset All Tools — as there is so little downside to doing so, and everything gets put back to its default state.  This is so much better than resetting Preferences that can be a PITA as there is so much to put right after doing so.  I am always reluctant to suggest resetting Preferences in forum answers because of this, plus it is gennerally best to find out exactly why things are not working as you expect — like with the Shape tool settings that caused you to start this thread.  Throwing a 'Reset Preferences' safety blanket over things might put things straight, but you don't learn anything. 

Having wrote the above, I need to remind myself, and others, that sometimes Photoshop really does get its knickers in a twist, and resetting Preferences is absolutely required to put things right.  This is something that I have found a need to do more often as Photoshop gets ever more powerful, and complicated.  Between Program files and Appdata (I am a Windows user) Photoshop now uses 6Gb of drive space.  I can remember when Photoshop came on a dozen (that's a guess) 1.44Mb floppy disks.  The install files would have been compressed, but I bet it only amounted to 30Mb or less on your hard drive.