i cant stroke my pen tool selection, and it autocompletes

**silverglade** · 05-01-2009, 11:05 AM

i put a pen tool path on a new layer, selected it, tried stroke effect and it doesnt work. also, when i make a pen tool line, when i hit "make selection" it completes the line into a shape which i dont want. any help greatly appreciated. thanks. derek

**LadynRed** · 05-01-2009, 02:19 PM

If you leave it as an open path, it's GOING to close it when you turn it into a selection. The only truly 'open' path, is a LINE and you can't make a selection from a line.

If you want to stroke a path, you have to use the "stroke path with brush" on the paths palette (looks like an open circle). Just remember to choose your brush FIRST, before you try to stroke the path.

If you're trying to apply a stroke using the "edit, stroke", you'll have to turn the path into a selection first.

Perhaps you could tell us the exact steps you're going thru.

**silverglade** · 05-01-2009, 05:33 PM

thank you ladynred for that. i decided to right click the path, and choose "brush" and stroke the path with foreground color. that worked. thank you for telling me about the "autocompleting" of my path. i guess my problem was i was making the line a selection before stroking . thank you for taking the time to help me again. derek