Trouble seeing tools in use on photoshop elements

Report · Jan 07, 2023

I can't see the spot healing tool while using it in photoshop elements 2021 version on photographs. In my older version of 2019 it's easy to see, but not in the newer 2021 version. Is there a way to make tools in use more noticeable?

Report · Jan 07, 2023

Hi Nancy. I'm not entirely sure what you mean. There should be no difference in the visibility of the tools between Elements 2019 and 2021. Do you mean Elements 2023 which is version 21? If so, beginning with Elements 2022, there has been a slightly lighter user interface. This brighter interface cannot be changed in Windows, although I understand some changes can be made in the Mac OS.

If you are talking about something else, please give us more details.

Report · Jan 07, 2023

Sorry, it is for the 2023 version. And I honestly cannot find any tool I'm
using after I open an art file or a photograph. As an example, the spot
healer tool just disappears over the art file unless it is in the outside
margins, making it impossible to use to edit. If there is a way to make
the tools show up more, I would love to know how.

Report · Jul 24, 2023

Dear Fellow-Struggler Nancy,

I am 100% needing the exact same help.

The Spot Healing Tool / brush is indeed the hardest to use for me . .

for EXACTLY the reasons which you are naming here.

Those with clearly better eyes seem to have trouble seeing *what you are pointing to*,

(they seem to find your POINTER & its POINT of reference difficult to discern . . .

almost as if it disappears against the background of their personal visual experience ? 😄 . . . )

but the fact is that

for you, for me & I'll bet MANY MORE,

who likely haven't bothered to reach out from their private experience of frustration,

the Spot Healing Tool, like others,

EFFECTIVELY VANISHES FROM THE WORK AREA

*regardless* of what radius you might assign to it.

I am constantly dragging the tool BACK OUT out to the gray app frame around the work area,

where the tiny cross-hair becomes (semi-)visible again.

That then gives me a current position, from which I then attempt to follow the almost-invisible path of the tool

as I SLOWLY drag it towards its intended target.

I basically try to maintain either the x-coordinate value or the y-coordinate value as I drag carefully from its

LAST SEEN LOCATION as an aid to getting the tool to the spot where I need it to get some work done.

But this should ABSOLUTELY be an EASY FIX

-- and I believe that there at least used to be 3rd-party plug-ins addressing this --

which allow you to

alter the visual definition of the tool's center & perimeter,

adding a bit of extra Aliasing/Anti-Aliasing Tool-Border Contrast-Effect, etc

& maybe bit of ADDED TOOL BRIGHTNESS DURING ACTIVE DRAGGING, etc,

(which turns aff after the rapid drag-movement is over so as not to distort the visual values of the target area itself)

sufficiently for people like me to be able to use it,

making it more attractive for me to use

& thus more attractive an idea for me to

RECOMMEND ADOBE SOFTWARE

to fellow lifelong shutterbug retirees.

I'm going to keep looking for a solution, and I'll update this thread when I find anything.

(For me, the impact of ALL OF THE STANDARD ADJUSTMENTS AVAILABLE in

'Preferences' > 'Display and Cursors'

as helpfully referenced by Greg_S

SIMPLY DON'T DO ENOUGH to solve the problem for me.

I think I need a more ON-POINT PLUG-IN . . .

if someone still makes one.

Please update with anything helpful that you might find,

and THANK YOU, Nancy, for doing your best

to shift this aggravating, productivity-reducing aspect

of this Adobe product

---- one which I'll bet causes a progression

from Silent Frustration --> Aggravation --> GIVING UP IN DISGUST

for more than a few old-eyed retirees like me

who would like to become happily, proudly productive Adobe customers

as we process, for example, a lifetime of photos & scanned images, documents & objects for posterity ----

THANK YOU, NANCY

🙏 👁️👁️ ❤️ !!!

for doing your part to move this issue from the Silently INVISIBLE to the Shared & VISIBLE !!!

😀👍

Barry

Report · Jul 24, 2023

Screenshots always help explain your issue- try not to take them with your phone- they are often blurry, and leave out important info.

It sounds to me like you might be zoomed in quite a bit.
You could also be using a brush that is much largerthan your canvas.

Some other possible causes come to mind as well.

Report · Jan 07, 2023

Do you mean the mouse cursor? Try going to Edit>Preferences>Display and Cursors and changing the available settings to see if that helps you.

Also, with respect to the Spot Healing tool, I believe that the default size of the brush is very small and usually needs to be increased to make the cursor visible in a high resolution image. Try using the right square bracket key ( ] ) to increase the brush size.

Report · Jul 24, 2023

@BFJacobson, it is very difficult to understand exactly what your problem is and whether it may be possible to fix. A picture is worth a thousand words. So, it would be better if you could give us a screenshot of what you are seeing (or not seeing). @nancy27842880d54s mentioned that the cursor is easier to see in Elements 2019 than in Elements 2021. But this makes no sense since AFAIK there has been no change in the tool's visibility between those two versions. So, either the monitor or its settings are different or the tool and brush sizes are different.

If you are interested in some more helpful advice, please also give us a screenshot of the Edit>Preferences>Display and Cursor dialog that is currently active.