Spot healing brush issues in photoshop elements 11

Question

I am new to photoshop elements 11.  I am trying to use the spot healing brush.  I select "content aware,' "sample all layers," and a brush, but I only get the cross hairs of the cursor, and not the black circle.  My cursor preferences are currently at the default.  I get a black line when I press the mouse key, but nothing changes in the photo.  What am I doing wrong?  Thanks.
Sue

Answer 1

I found that I had some problematic brush settings.  I've developed this checklist for when I have similar issues:
o  Try changing the px on the brush slider in thespot healing tool
o  Go to the BRUSH tool (B), change opacity asneeded (probably 100%), go to the brush settings drop down and change thehardness (again probably to 100%)
o  Check that CAPS LOCK is NOT on
o  Go to the center icon (lower right by the ?),drop down, then select "reset all Tools," then restart the photoeditor
o  Then try to reset the editor preferences: Quitthe editor, restart it from the welcome screen while holding downctrlshiftalt, then say "yes" to delete the settings file
You don't have to do all of these things.  They are just things to check when you have brush problems.  So now I'm working OK.  I hope that this works for you.
Sue