Photoshop: draw *outline* of oval or rectangle?

shetlineshetline
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited November 2015
This is one of those things that seems really, really basic to me, yet I can't find anything in Photoshop 7.0's manual, built-in help, or in a quick bit of googling to tell me how to do it.



I'd like to be able to draw outlines of ovals or rectangles -- to simply drag out an oval or rectangular shape and have the outline appear. All I seem to be able to do is draw solid, filled oval and rectangles, however.



I know if I work at it, like drawing a solid oval, selecting a smaller oval inside that, and then deleting the insides, I could hack my way to where I'm trying to go. But I'd rather do what I think should be a pretty basic drawing maneuver in a straight-forward and simple way.



Does Photoshop lack this ability, or am I just missing something?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    1337_5l4xx0r1337_5l4xx0r Posts: 1,558member
    Dunno, but after selecting a rect and filling it, choose Select/Modify/Contract, then enter a value (eg: 3) and hit the delete key.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    pestobreathpestobreath Posts: 69member
    It's not especially intuitive, but you are rewarded with numerous options for "stroking" the path with various brushes and other tools. Here's how:



    1. Select the Shape Tool (e.g, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle,Ellipse, etc.) you want from the Toolbox (right side, third from the bottom.)



    2. In the Options Palette at the top of the screen, select the "path" option (it's the one in the middle, with a little pen superimposed over the box).



    3. Click and drag to draw your shape.



    4. Make sure the Paths palette is showing. The shape you just drew should be selected as the Work Path.



    5. From the little pop-up menu to the right of the Paths palette, click "Stroke Path..." You have the choice of outlining your path in whatever brush is active, with the single-pixel pencil, or other options.



    6. Once you have the result you like, you can delete the path to eliminate the annoying stripe down the middle of your shape.



    Happy stroking!
  • Reply 2 of 9
    elricelric Posts: 230member
    Dunno why its not in there but its not, What I do is select my rectangel or oval, fill it then select->modify->contract then choose the amount of pixels to contract which translates to the thickness of your line. Maybe you could automate this with Applescript but I have don't have much experience with Applescript yet.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    shetlineshetline Posts: 4,695member
    [quote]Originally posted by PestoBreath:

    <strong>It's not especially intuitive...



    2. In the Options Palette at the top of the screen, select the "path" option (it's the one in the middle, with a little pen superimposed over the box).</strong><hr></blockquote>



    You're right about it not being especially intuitive. Thanks!
  • Reply 5 of 9
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    Easier still, do this:



    1. Use your oval or rectangle tool to outline the shape you wish to make.



    2. Go to the Edit menu and choose "Stroke..."



    3. A dialogue pops up that lets you select the following:



    a. WIDTH

    b. COLOR

    c. LOCATION (on the inside of selection line, centered on the selection line or on the outside of the selection line)

    d. BLENDING MODE

    e. OPACITY





    It's a LOT easier than the other options as you mostly ever change the width of the stroke and the color of the stroke and sometimes the Location of the stroke.





    Try it, it's what it was made for!!!
  • Reply 6 of 9
    flyawayflyaway Posts: 1member


    Thanks for this tip...It got me through!

  • Reply 7 of 9
    spamspam Posts: 1member

    make your selection using the marquee tool (M), right click select stroke and adjust to your desired parameters. 

  • Reply 8 of 9
    goldenbtgoldenbt Posts: 1member

    Awesome.. Thank you so much !!!

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