P: Moving pen tool anchor points on the fly

[Guest]

I'd like to see the pen tool in Photoshop function like in Illustrator where you can hold down the spacebar and move a point while you're drawing it out.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Unfortunately, the spacebar is already in use in Photoshop to activate the hand and zoom tools.

[Jeanne Rubbo]

I think he's talking about when the mouse button is still down. In Illustrator, holding down the Spacebar at this point allows you to move the anchor point you were drawing. In Photoshop, holding down the Spacebar at this point does nothing -- you just keep editing the control handles of the anchor point.

[marcbjango]

Yep, I think Peter's talking about moving the pen toll points while the mouse button is still depressed. This is possible in Illustrator, but not in Photoshop.

It's a nice feature.

[PECourtejoie]

Yes!
Like we can move a selection that we are creating, with the same shortcut without issue.

[Edward Caruso Photography]

i kind of like how the pen tool works and i use it everyday. i'd be nervous about anyone making big changes and abandoning how things are now. I know it is a difficult and daunting tool for alot of people but after alot of practice it should become second nature.

[Jeanne Rubbo]

This isn't asking for a big change to the Pen tool -- right now the spacebar does nothing. This would just be adding functionality to the spacebar when drawing a path.

[Guest]

Yep, that's what I'm talking about.

[Guest]

It wouldn't interfere with the way you can use the pen tool now and it's also a transferable skill for people who use illustrator too. I agree the pen tool is hard to learn how to use, but I find it a lot easier when you can move the anchor points without having to switch over to the direct selection tool. I think that standardizing tool behaviours across the suite as much as possible is really helpful.

[Edward Caruso Photography]

I use a Wacom tablet and assign the shift/option/command keys to the Wacom buttons. So since my hands are already on the tablet its really easy to press the command button to move the anchor points around as I draw a path. And assigning the stylus button to right click gives quick access to add/delete points. Would using command in Photoshop be the same as using the spacebar in Illustrator?

[Guest]

No, it's not the same thing. When I have lay down an anchor point in Illustrator, if I'm pulling out the control handles, I can hold down space bar to move the anchor point, then let go and continue drawing the control handles (much the same way that I can move a selection while I'm drawing it by pressing the space bar).

[davide83533667]

I use Illustrator Pen tool all the time and I find when I use Photoshop pen tool I can't use the space bar to move the nodes.

I would like to have all the pen tools to act the save way across all the adobe suite.

[040767]

Even in CS6 they were not able to change this! Unbelievable!
All other Adobe drawing apps allow this: Illustrator, Flash, Indesign – even Fireworks though its the command key here 😉

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

The behavior in Illustrator is superior. Adjustment of the anchor point is enabled on a click and hold while also pressing the spacebar. On release, the hand tool can be used to adjust the view in the usual way. As I see it, this is an additional feature that does not interfere with the behavior of the other tools. I would love to see this behavior across the entire suite; it is absent from Photoshop and After Effects.

Additional question, did AE previously have this feature? I could have swore I was masking and shaping layers in AE using space to adjust the anchors on creation.

[PECourtejoie]

The spacebar modifier to move anchor points on the fly has been implemented in Photoshop CC: http://blogs.adobe.com/richardcurtis/...

[jeep57]

Is that documented somewhere in the help manual for photoshop cc?

[PECourtejoie]

It is incorrectly listed as "Shift" at the very bottom of: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/usin... (I just reported it)

[PECourtejoie]

And it is not yet listed on: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/usin...

[StrongBeaver]

I can get to work on new created paths, I can't get it to work on existing ? I followed the tutorial on this page; http://blogs.adobe.com/richardcurtis/... and I can't get it to work