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Not able to find a stylus pen that will work in Photoshop

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
January 24, 2025
4 replies
978 views

I have been unable to find a stylus pen that will work in Adobe Photoshop. My goal is to open a photograph in the app , create a new layer, and then trace certain elements in the photo in the new layer, which will then become my new line drawing. I use an HP Spectra Windows 11 laptop with touchscreen. I can do this using my finger, but I have not been able to find a stylus pen that will work in the program. I've searched everywhere for a compatibility list with no results. Any recommendations, and no, I am not interested in connecting an external drawing tablet. I want to use a stylus pen on my existing touchscreen. Thanks for any assistance you may offer me.

Windows

Correct answer Trevor.Dennis

I have decided that there is an issue with the stylus, but unfortunately my question to the community of what brand stylus others are using in this program has not been answered. If you have some insight on that, would be great and thanks for your time.

By @Swaters

You need to answer our questions if you want help. I doubt you'll get any more responses while parroting the

above.

T

twistedquilter

Inspiring

Hi,
Are you using an iPad or Galaxy tablet or a touchscreen computer? If
someone has already answered your question, you can just ignore this
message. If you haven't received an answer, reply and I'll try to help. I
know what you are experiencing is frustrating

Becky

S

SwatersAuthor

Participating Frequently

Very kind of you to try and troubleshoot this. I have decided that there is an issue with the stylus, but unfortunately my question to the community of what brand stylus others are using in this program has not been answered. If you have some insight on that, would be great and thanks for your time.

Trevor.Dennis

Correct answer

Community Expert

I have decided that there is an issue with the stylus, but unfortunately my question to the community of what brand stylus others are using in this program has not been answered. If you have some insight on that, would be great and thanks for your time.

By @Swaters

You need to answer our questions if you want help. I doubt you'll get any more responses while parroting the

above.

Peru Bob

Community Expert

Does the stylus work OK on any other program?

S

SwatersAuthor

Participating Frequently

I really appreciate your response. I have decided that there is an issue with the stylus, but unfortunately my question to the community of what brand stylus others are using in this program has not been answered. If you have some insight on that, would be great and thanks for your time.

S

SwatersAuthor

Participating Frequently

Brett, thanks so much for your response. Regarding the stylus in PS, instead of drawing a line for example, I would just get a string of seperated dots. Whether or not this is the stylus or the touchscreen, I think, is a bit like which comes first, the chicken or the egg, sigh. That's why I was trying to confirm with other users if anyone has gotten any stylus to work within the PS app. So this is my first question, yes or no, a stylus will work within PS. Then, my second question is if someone has successfully used a stylus in PS, which version of PS are they using, and what hardware are they using, specifically the brand of the stylus and laptop/tablet. Any insight you have to lend and thanks for your time.

Trevor.Dennis

Community Expert

Regarding the stylus in PS, instead of drawing a line for example, I would just get a string of seperated dots.

By @Swaters

And you don't see this when using a mouse?

What does the brush preview show in the Brush Settings panel?

You can see that the preview exactly matched the stroke below.

The crucial question is does your stylus work with other apps?

What stylus are you testing with?

Does it come with drivers, and are they installed?

Glenn 8675309

Legend

Thanks so much for your response. I have decided that there is an issue with the stylus, but unfortunately my question to the community of what brand stylus others are using in this program has not been answered. If you have some insight on that, would be great and thanks for your time.

The series of dots is due to the brush spacing setting. If you purchased a drawing tablet it would have individual brush settings as well. I had a nice tablet, and gave it away after 6 months- I lack what I like to call "true artistic ability" and thought it would speed things up, it did not. The pressure stuff while using brushes was cool, but I'm a stick man sorta drawer.

Did you use the HP software to confugre your laptop for use with a stylus?

https://support.hp.com/ph-en/document/ish_7791449-7791493-16

BrettN

Community Manager

Does the stylus not work at all within Photoshop? Or are you missing some of the more advanced features like pressure, tilt, rotation, etc? For whatever is not working in PS, are these same features working outside of PS?

My best guess is what you are experiencing is simply a limitation of the touch screen, it doesn't matter what stylus you use. Full feautres of stylus use often requires feeback between the stylus and the surface in order to for these features to work. Like you can't just use a stylus on the surface of your desk, it requires a tablet so that the two will communicate with each other to create the interaction. Similarly, if your touch screen is not communicating with the stylus, some features may not work.

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