P: Pen Tool Not Working as it should

[David_Jacklin]

I have just updated Photoshop to v22.3 (10 March 2021). When I try to use the Pen Tool it puts the nodes in but doesn't create a linking line. I have closed everything and re-started my PC but the error still there. I've been trying to find a way to report this to Adobe but this is the only feedback area I can find. I have been using Photoshop for over 20 years and using the Pen Tool all that time. I need to complete a job but I'm now stuck as I need this tool.

Can I uninstall this update?

Anyone else having this problem?

Do Adobe monitor this feed?

[Hannu K5E87]

I have 22.4.2 as well and can't even see the nodes.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Just updated to Version: 22.4.2 and the PEN tool still does not work properly. No lines visible between the nodes.

[Hannu K5E87]

@Bill_C 

That's the version that killed the pen for me. I checked my Asus laptop (23.1 I think) before update and worked fine. Updatet to 22.4.1 and the pen is toast. Same happened on my desktop.

Looks like video problem to me. If you keep clicking and don't see the anchors and lines, move the screen up or down or sideways or turn the layer off and back on, all the lines are there.

[kbnz85]

That update was the one that killed it for me. I've rolled back to an earlier version.

[JokingJ]

Oy... This is my least favorite recommendation (even if it does work sometimes). So many things in PS somehow hinge on my custom preferences -- you know, the things I do to make PS more efficient for my use case...

Resetting is obviously possible, but literally costs me money as I either a) work slower, or b) Google to remember where things are by default.

On a side note, I've been playing with Affinity Photo when I have time; thinking I could be proficient enough in a month or two!

[Josie Martinez]

Could you help us out @Nikunj_Muglani ?

[Josie Martinez]

@jbculpepper  agree with you. Real problem. 

[jbcul]

@Nathalie Perkins

That's it exactly. Considering 90% of what I do in Photoshop for work involves layers and the pen tool, this is really a problem.

[zebra]

I tried to download 2019 to install (its on my old Mac Pro - but I never installed it on my newer iMac Pro) but it is not available in  my previous versions within Adobe Creative Cloud. Where can I download the cc 2019 version?

[ReneDamkot]

@steve_reid_8wcmna5zpi4y3 : thanks for reminding me about the 'turn rulers off' workaround in PS 2019.

That works for me as well (MacPro 5,1). So back to PS CC 2019 until PS CC 2021 (and Bridge!) are actually useable again.

[zebra]

hilarious car analogy!

[Klickflip]

There was a huge lag in 2018/19 with cloning / masking brushes . - that is 70% of my workflow . 
Nobody really commented here on that. 
I had Adobe tech run my Mac Pro xeon remotely to try to sort it out . 
Was told I should be using an consumer level i5 or i7 for best compatibility! 

finally i sussed it only happened when I had rulers visible - try turning rulers off to stop lag  .

nobody in Adobe sussed thus workaround . .. with workaround bring the key word ..  

if you rented/ bought  a car that wouldn’t go 60 in 5th gear -  would it be fine if company said it’s fine-

 it will if you wind down window, accelerate to 60 in 3rd , then put in 6th , pretend you’re in 5th ! 

[Klickflip]

Seriously Adobe this is completely unacceptable.

Everybody start emailing all the photography / graphic design / software online magazines and websites etc to do a review and call them out. 

till Adobe actually fixes this and concentrates on core reliability not what  version has ‘new’ stuff in it. 

[zebra]

I agree with Bill. The LAG issues is a big problem (same with memory leakage) - I notice the lag with cloning and brush when I am zoomed in at 100% or more in particular on files that are 30 inches at 300PPI 16bit Adobe RGB —  Brush works fine when my images are small - but I can't see at that scale. I know this has to be a preference setting adjustment for the tile cache perhaps? Maybe someone can recommend a preferences setting for photoshop that will fix the lag at zoom (and I have tried with and without video card settings checked)? ..... sometimes the gradient tool just lags and freezes during the lag until time goes by and the slow-mo task is completed - like wading through mud indeed. Big Sur just updated on my Mac and I am about to go into photoshop to edit some raw files. Let's see how that goes. Mostly I have been working in PS 2020... Truly, 2021 has been the worst release of photoshop and granted, empathy to the coders at Adobe... but really - we professionals who need and pay for this software to work, are not your beta testers on release versions of photoshop ( I think that is why the employees at Adobe are paid - you are getting paid, right? Earlier today, I decided I would work in C1 Pro - my god, the brush tool on a multi layered image was fluid and fast even zoomed in (So I know its not my hardware or even Big Sur which I am not overly enthusiastic about).... if C1 had a pen tool I would cancel my Adobe subscription. I am tempted to re-examine the Affinity suite of software for both their photo editing and design software. AND I AM AN ADOBE fan boy.... so to speak. My workflow is an Adobe flow across several Adobe programs. Is there a general thread to discuss all the problems with photoshop and ACR in the latest release? Hate to keep mentioning non-pen tool related problems in the pen tool thread. (And work-arounds are not the solution - much like a solution to keyboard shortcuts no longer working is to use the drop down menus... but then what's the point of having keyboard shortcuts to quicken a work flow? - thanks for the workarounds none the less - you folks are not being ignored and are appreciated - much of what is being aired here and reported is frustration in a professional program that has become unreliable in many aspects and works best by rolling back to a previous release. Makes one mistrust updates). We know you guys at Adobe are capable... Soon we will be seeing the 2022 release....maybe that will fix PS 2021? LOL yes that was a joke. 

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

@Nikunj_Muglani

It doesn't fix the issue. It's july and the pen tool is still not working correctly under version 22.4-2 

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

@Nikunj_Muglani Hi. I updated to 22.4. When using the pen tool it doesn't work as it should. See the example. When I try to create a path  it does not allow it as usually did on prior versions.
Any ideas as how to solve this issue?

[kbnz85]

Hi there,
I have the same problem. Updated to 22.4.1 on Windows 10 and my pen tool isn't working at all. I click with it and nothing shows up on my page. Although if I click really fast it starts showing points after a while. 

[jbcul]

@Nikunj_Muglani

I am on version 22.4.1, on Windows 10 using creative cloud. The pen tool fix did not roll out to my version and is still broken. Is there anything special one needs to do or settings that got changed because of the bug? 

[GaryJAnderson]

I have the same experience.  Start a path and the lines joining the nodes are not visible. Turn the layer off and back on and the lines appear.  Add to an existing visible path and the lines are not visible until on/off step is executed.  Version 22.4.1 updated 4 days ago.

[Hannu K5E87]

@Nikunj_Muglani 

I had 23.1 on my laptop and just updated to 24.1. Pen tool stopped working correctly as it did on my desktop. Click and click and no nodes or connecting lines even after closing. Hide the layer and turn back on and the nodes and lines are there. If I click and drag, works normal. Win10 up to date. 

[JokingJ]

Do you fully appreciate software product cycles and the timeframes for making any changes in a program as complex as Photoshop?

I suppose I don't entirely, but suffice to say that two months of waiting (and an in-between  release after one month that didn't address the issue) is hardly befitting a major developer like Adobe when they know about the problem, regardless of the apparent complexity of Photoshop (and no amount of apologism will change that). I mean, what other prominent tech/software company creates a major bug and then proceeds to sit on it for months? And while that is mostly a rhetorical question, I do know there are other examples -- the problem is those companies are often greatly loathed by their reluctant clients (a feeling I relate to more and more as an Adobe subscriber).

Likewise, if Adobe is/was wont to avoid "sudden decisions" that cause notable pitfalls in their own software, this wouldn't have happened in the first place, but I digress...

And fwiw, something I do know a bit about is the propensity for growth-focused companies to release new versions of their apps/platforms with "new and exciting" features to attract more users, often at the expense of breaking existing functionality (I've worked for a few such companies, sadly). And if that doesn't describe the modern Adobe, I'm not sure what does...

In any case, I have no problem being respectful when it comes to voicing ongoing dissatisfaction though, and if this is the only place for that, so be it. But I'm also not likely to accept apologist notions of "don't you know how hard this is?" when issues like this are both avoidable and have the potential to be better handled.

[Dominik Sourcé]

Thanks for fixing the node problem, but unfortunately a new bug seems to be introduced: I cannot copy a path elements from one path to another. See here: https://feedback.photoshop.com/conversations/photoshop/photoshop-224-paths-are-still-broken/60a388e4...

[c.pfaffenbichler]

First off: For now this is the place to communicate Photoshop issues to the Photoshop team. 

what prompted the seemingly sudden decision to fix a two-month old bug 

Do you fully appreciate software product cycles and the timeframes for making any changes in a program as complex as Photoshop? 

I think there is precious little room for »sudden decision«-s. 

I am no Adobe employee but I feel fairly certain that the complaints in the last two weeks could not have had much if any influence on the fixing of this particular bug anymore. 

We only get to know which fixes are implemented when a new version is released so it is impossible to say at which point in time a fix is a certainty, so by all means continue making your voice heard – respectfully if possible. 

[JokingJ]

So just out of curiosity, what prompted the seemingly sudden decision to fix a two-month old bug (albeit a major one) affecting a pretty essential path-related tool in Photoshop?

I've been told (repeatedly) that this specific thread/forum isn't the proper place to air grievances about ongoing issues, however, anecdotally I saw that this thread gained a lot more "squeaky wheels" in the past two weeks, and suddenly we get a "hey all, we fixed it."

So, is it useful/helpful to have people weigh in weeks/months on from the initial report saying "hey, this still isn't working," or is there a better place to convey that info/dissatisfaction?

[ktk1959]

Just updated to 22.4 pen tool all working again!

Lets see what else they have broken this time......