6.0 Line Tool
Used for drawing
straight lines and arrows
Found at # 25 in the Toolbar diagram at left
The line tool is grouped with the shape tools in the toolbox. If it
is not visible, click on shape tool icon to find the pop-up menu from
which you can select it.
Drag in the image to draw (perfectly) straight lines.
Note that line width is not chosen by selecting a brush size, but is set according to the Weight value entered in the line tool's options bar.
To limit the a line to multiples of 45°, hold down the Shift key while dragging.
The line drawn will be the color which is currently selected foreground color. This is found, and set by clicking on the foreground color square in the toolbar, or in the Colors palette.
The keyboard shortcut key for the line tool is the letter U. You cycle through all the shape tools by holding down the Shift key while pressing the letter.
See also, the Colors palette, and Swatches palette pages.
The illustration below, is the line tool's options bar. Options available for the line tool are different according to which of the three buttons you choose from the left end of the tool's options bar. The three are shown, enlarged at the top, below.
The left most of the three is the Create New Shape Layer. This creates the line on its own layer, filled with the current foreground color, and includes a layer clipping path. Try it. It's easier to see what it does than to explain it. The options available when that button is clicked are shown topmost in the full menu bars with an orange style selected. That style will be applied to the line created. For information on styles, see the Styles page.
The middle button is the Create Work Path choice. When selected, the line created will be a work path recorded in the Paths palette, and editable with the various paths tools such as the pen tool. The options available when that button is clicked are shown, second from the top, below the three buttons.
The third button, Fill Region, will create a filled raster line, not a vector object. Its available options are shown third from the top.
Other options available in one or more of the three options bars include the box titled Mode, and showing a setting of Normal. This is a drop down menu of all the blend modes you can choose from. In the box titled Weight, enter a width for your line. Choose Anti-aliased if you want smoothing for your curvy, or slanted lines..
The last illustration below, of the options bar shows what it looks like after you have created a line, but before you have accepted it. This is the edit mode for all the shape tools. The icons near the left end of the bar can be used to determine how the new shape interacts with any other shapes that it overlaps. They are, from left to right, Add to the Shape Area, Subtract from the Shape Area, Intersect Shape Area, and Exclude Shape Area. Clicking the large check button at the right end of the options bar will return you to the previous options bar formats.
Note that this edit mode bar does not appear when the Fill Region button is chosen, since that option creates raster, not vector shapes. Note also, that the bars are not different sizes; I did screen shots at different scales for longer or shorter options bar. Also note that the check mark in the last bar has been edited to be close to the options. In reality, it is at the extreme right end of the options bar.
In the palettes above, if you click on the little down pointing arrow to the right of the custom shape (and left of the Weight box) you will find the Arrowheads box shown below. The percentage values are in relation to the line width value that you have entered in the Weight box, above. Concavity refers to how open the V of the arrowhead will be. Values can be from minus 50 % to plus 50 % .
The checkboxes titled Start, and End determine whether the arrowhead appears at the starting point or end point of the drawn line.
Photoshop Tips | 6.0
Palettes | Effects
Links | FreePhotos | Animal Rights
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jay@arraich.com