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?

[JokingJ]

You know, when I deliver a final product with major flaws that a client notices, I do this weird thing where I either a) fix it immediately, or b) give them at least some of their money back.

I get that there's a workaround, but knowing a problem exists and actively choosing not to solve it with the next update is the issue here, not whether there's a band-aid solution during the intervening months. My post, this one, and all those like it are here to point out to Adobe that the problem persists and that we notice.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

A workaround has been posted for this issue many times in this thread. 

[c.pfaffenbichler]

The work-around is not necessarily working on a Work Path but maintaining a Work Path; as long as a Work Path exists, even if it is just one PathPoint, one can work on the named Paths as expected. 

[JokingJ]

Ah, good to know that there's essentially nothing anyone can do in any medium then; we're all just at the mercy of Adobe's monolithic will to add new features and attract more users at the expense of basic functionality...

I can't help but think that sounds like apologist nonsense that only helps to quell/mask outcry over major flaws: "don't openly complain or point out long-term issues here -- that's not good for the community!" Okay, so what is "good for the community" and where is the place I should be airing valid grievances? At least here I know the feedback is being "acknowledged," whatever that means.

And btw, just because more pages get added doesn't mean that what little "helpful" advice there is gets diluted in any meaningful way (or at least not more than it already is). If one Googles this issue, there are multiple forum posts dealing with it that turn up, and the first 1-2 pages people get directed to from search have the info. Likewise, new posts several months on saying "yeah, this still doesn't work -- get it together Adobe!" is in fact helpful as it lets readers know that if they want to avoid this problem, they still need to roll back to a previous version. I honestly wouldn't have posted a new comment (perhaps a reply) if someone had said as much in the past 2 weeks letting everyone know this was still unresolved.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

It seems strange that Bug Reports here don’t seem to feature a »vote«-functionality anymore. 

Feature Requests do and I would assume that that might provide a more meaningful metric than the number of posts. 

[jeffq54858521]

Regarding a previous bug in InDesign, I communicated with someone at Adobe. She urged me to add commentary to a thread on the topic to help bump it up on their priorities. Although somewhat therapeutic for users experiencing the same bug, I agree that venting frustration probably doesn't help solve the problem, but continued reporting of instances, at least according to the individual I communicated with, does help get the problem resolved.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I don't think this is an effective forum for providing *additional incentive* as the people monitoring the forum are in no way responsible for making the changes. Venting and complaining just degrades the signal to noise ratio of useful information in the thread, and makes the forum far less useful as a help forum. Some people seem to think this a platform for venting, and I understand the frustration, but when the venting actually obscures the helpful information, it is of no value to anyone but the venter. This thread is now six pages long, with about a 8:2 ratio of venting to problem solving. That just makes it harder for problems to get solved, it does not in any way prompt quicker solutions.

[JokingJ]

And yet here we are nearly 2 months later and nothing has changed. Acknowledgement is great I suppose, but a fix is what we're all after.

Bottom line: clearly some additional motivation is needed. Hopefully more vocal and unhappy paying customers chiming in provides some additional incentive to get a move on, but who knows with Adobe anymore.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

If you look at the title heading of the post you can see that it is marked "Acknowledged".

[JokingJ]

Yeah, I don't pay a subscription service for bugs, I pay (in theory) for functional software, or at least timely fixes to major issues (and no, 1-2 months+ isn't a timely fix, not that this has actually been resolved anyway...).

The point of bringing it up again in spite of any finger-in-the-dam solutions is simply to make the point to Adobe and their devs that this isn't acceptable and is precisely the sort of thing that makes me contemplate switching -- something I have zero problem doing when there's a better option that suits my needs available, as was/is the case with Capture One vs. Lightroom.

In any case @jq1969 hits the nail on the on head: wasting my working time with searching for workarounds and/or installing an update only to then re-installing multiple versions of Photoshop just to find the one that doesn't break crucial features I rely on costs me money. That's really all there is to it; I'm a freelancer and this is business, and I sincerely wish it wasn't just business-as-usual for Adobe to deliver software that's this flawed (and I'm thankful the competition is catching up, otherwise they'd continue to have zero incentive to improve).

[c.pfaffenbichler]

No one is contesting that it is a bug and that it needs to be fixed. 

And it was, in my opinion, quite the disappointment that it went unfixed in 22.3.2 

Alas – if only all bugs in Adobe software had such »simple« work-arounds … 

[jeffq54858521]

I appreciate your input sincerely, but it's still a bug that needs to be fixed, so users should continue to post until it is fixed. Every time someone encounters the issue, they have to spend non-billable time finding this workaround (like I did this morning). We pay subscriptions for operable apps, not band-aids.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

There is a simple workaround for this issue that has been posted many times in this thread.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Thank you. I will do that.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

There is a simple workaround that has been posted about a dozen times in this thread. Create a work path, and leave that work path in the path list. You can then create new paths with + and name them what you like, and the pen tool will function normally. There is no need revert to previous versions.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Until they do - please see the workaround that has been posted multiple times in this thread.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

ADOBE - PLEASE FIX ASAP!  

Until that happens you can either keep a Work Path while working on named Paths or roll back to Photoshop 20.x.x

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Thanks for the work path advice, I did not see that. I rarely use or have to use forums and I missed that advice but saw the advice to roll back to 22.2, which I did. When these things happen I always think its is something I clicked that changed something and I waste time resetting tools and wondering what I did (I did create a new work path at the time btw which didn't help). I'm 52 and been using Photoshop since 1996 and the type of work I do now is so dumb that the prime accomplishment is moving it out the way and going on to the next one, with more distractions than ever.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

The disruption and frustration comes from all the time you spend wondering what the heck happened to the program before you go looking for the solution online, and I get it, but this has been a lesson for me on how few people read through the comments on an issue.  And to be fair, it really is on Adobe to make sure there aren't issues like this in the first place.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

You do not need to to revert, you merely need to keep a work path in the path list. Create a work path and leave it in the path list, then create as many paths as you need, and name them what you like, as long as there is a work path present, the tool behaves normally.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Does it really overtax you to maintain a Work Path? 

This work-around has been mentioned again and again on this thread and so far it seems to be reliable. 

[Ozzie Ciliberti]

I'm having the same issue.... Going back to 22.2 as well

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

*kerrymaxwell I respect your patience on this thread. By now, you probably have a Copy/Paste response ready to go! People, read the past thread comments! 

[c.pfaffenbichler]

To be fair: At current this thread seems to have 5 pages of replies so it might be fairly easy to overlook the pertinent ones. 

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I get being frustrated with a bug, but when I have an issue and go to a forum topic on the issue, I generally read the comments.