Straighten Tool - PSE 8

Hi there, I am trialling PSE 8 as an upgrade from V6. I seem to be having a problem using the straighten tool. I can straighten a horizontal no problem but its a vertical that I have a problem with.
When I turn the tool on I get the usual cross shaped mouse pointer but as soon as I hit CTRL on the keyboard it changes to an arrow with a cross next to it. This prohibits me from clicking and dragging - if I try I get an error message: This operation cannot be performed on the locked background layer. Do you want to convert the locked background layer into an editable layer? If I click yes to this error message, or if I try on a duplicate layer, all that happens is that I'm dragging the layer around.
Does anyone have a clue what I'm doing wrong, or not doing? Exactly the same process works fine in PSE6.
I've done a search on the forums and not come up with anything. Not a great start for me with PSE8 - the first image I want to edit, and the first thing I always do to an image once I open it from ACR and I'm stuck! For now I've straightened it in PSE6, saved as PSD and opened in PSE8 to continue editing but I'm hoping to upgrade so I need a solution.
Many thanks in advance for your help.
Ally, Cambridge, UK

Barbara:
I am upgrading from PSE 5. In PSE 5, in order to straighten along a vertical line you press CTRL followed by drawing your reference line with you mouse.
In PSE 8 this does not work even though the help section tells you to do exactly this. When you attempt these steps in the prescribed sequence, a dialog box appears saying some thing about not being able to complete the task because the background layer is locked. Based on this forum, the work around appears to be that you first click the mouse to start your vertical reference line, then press CTRL and then continue to draw your reference line which works. Otherwise selecting the CTRL key first seems to engage the "move" function. In summary, the sequence of actions is backwards from the PSE 8 Help instructions as well as from my experience in using PSE 5.

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Straightening tool question

I am using PSE 10 on an iMac desktop. 220After using the straighten tool, I end up with the picture within its own borders the way I want, but it appears on top of another “piece” of white paper, and skewed on that white paper…how do I get just the straightened picture (unskewed) without it appearing on top of the “white paper”?

You might try setting the Canvas Options to Crop to Remove Background
some more info about the straighten tool:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/PhotoshopElements/10.0/Using/WS287f927bd30d4b1fef992ca12e28aa8 015-7ffa.html

Why does the straighten tool in Elements 11 freeze when I try to use it?

When I click on the straighten tool and then click on a horizontal line on my photo, as I attempt to draw the line across the photo it freezes after a fraction of an inch and rotates the photo before I've drawn the line along the horizontal feature I'm using and it's always wrong. I had this problem with my downloaded trial version of Elements 11 and it appears on the version I purchased in the store today.

I was able to replicate this problem and believe it may be a bug, although I did find a "workaround".
The straighten tool was only drawing for a very short distance and then I would no longer see the straighten line. Of course, this prevented me from using it properly. I followed the suggestions in this thread and reset the preferences. The Straighten tool worked normally until I enabled the ruler under the View settings. Once, the ruler was enabled the straighten tool started doing the same thing it did before. I turned off the ruler and it started working normally again without re-opening the program. I tried the ruler both in the default inches measurement as well as pixels (my personal ruler preference).
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Why is the 'Straighten' tool so crude?

Ok, it does what 'it says on the tin', fair enough. But ANY deviation from the original using the straighten tool softens the image drastically. This can be seen by slowly moving the slider back to the 0 position : you will see the image suddenly crisp up again.
Why is this? iPhoto is very competent at most of what it does, yet Photoshop manages to let you freely rotate an image without losing any of the sharpness. I've given up using the iPhoto 'Straighten' tool, as even boosting the Sharpness slider to 100% doesn't restore the original crispness entirely.

This is what I got with your image:
1. Unstraightened
2. Minimum straighten (0.6º)
This screenshot was taken immediately after clicking "Done", but before clicking the navigation arrow to save the edit and move to the next image. If you expand both you should see the softening.

Camera raw (4.6) crashes when using straighten tool

Hello,
Since I upgraded my computer from Windows Vista to Windows 7 I have a problem when using the straighten tool in Camera raw. Sometimes the program works fine, but very often ACR unexpectely crashes. It doesn't matter how many photo's I have opened in ACR, it seems to be randomly. Strange thing is also that I never see a dotted line when using the straighten tool.
I'm using CS3 with the latest CS3 version of ACR (4.6). I have uninstalled CS3 2 times already, but it doesn't solve the problem.
I also have a laptop with CS3 and ACR 4.6 running on Vista, and there I have no problems. Also when I had Vista on my desktop it was OK, but now with windows 7 I have this problem.
Technical info:
CS3
ACR 4.6
Windows 7 32 bit
AMD Phenom II X4 955 1.6 GHz
4GB RAM
I did see a thread with quite the same problem in CS4, and the advice there was upgrading ACR, but since the ACR I'm using is the latest version for CS3, I can't upgrade ACR. I also can't downgrade to i.e. ACR 4.5 since the previous versions of ACR don't support my Nikon D700.
I hope that anyone of you can help me solve this problem. It's very frustrating when I'm at work and ACR crashes so often.

I have disabled Desktop composition for Photoshop and Bridge and until
l now I haven't had the crashes anymore. Also the line is back
when uing the straighten tool. I hope this is indeed the solution, it looks good until now.

Straighten tool isn't visible

Up to recently my Photoshop Elements 11 straighten tool worked OK but now I can't see the line I am dragging. Is there a way to make it more visible again? I can see the start but not the line and sometimes I can see the X at the end but it is difficult.
This seemed to become a problem after I used Image, rotate, straighten image.
Now I am also having problem with the clone tool. It acts more like a spot healing brush.
What's the answer? Pay customer support $39? Reinstall the program? I tried Chat and the person didn't know anything so he told me to call support and it would be free (which it isn't).

I just did that write before I read this post. I was going on here too delete this, but saw you answered it! That's exactly what I did. I've been watching tutorials and they show it as if it automatically shows up in Effect Controls...

Step Back after using the straighten tool

My work flow ends with the straighten tool, but sometimes I'm not happy with what I've done. Thank God this does not happen often, but when it does I have had to go back to start with my PP in ACR. HELP, HELP, HELP

I'm afraid that is how it works. Once you have opened the image in Photoshop you are no longer doing anything with the original raw file. You have loaded the pixels from that file into Photoshop, but they are the pixels that have been modified by the metadata.
But you should only have to return to ACR to change the strengthening, unless you have done a lot of additional editing in Photoshop. Perhaps it would be better to do the straightening as a first step in Photoshop.
I don't know about you, but since I have been using ACR 4.1 I find that I can do a lot more in ACR and considerably less in Photoshop.

Straighten tool Adobe Camera Raw

I am using CS4 and Photoshop is up to date.
When I use the straighten tool in ACR it crashes approx 50% of the time.
I am currently using Windows 7 but had the same problem with Vista.
I have the scratchpad on my D drive and OpenGL is selected.
My video card is a Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS amd the PC is a dual core
AMD 6000+ with 3Gb Ram
Any help appreciated.

R_Kelly wrote:
Hi,
If you open an image in camera raw, draw out the crop tool and then press the Esc key, what happens?
I just messed with it further tonight. It looks like it is working correctly with the 'Crop' tool. However, it is not working correct with the Straighten tool. I use the straighten tool, click enter to straighten the image. If the image does not look correct to me, I click on the straighten tool again and hit the ESC key to revert it back to the original. As soon as I hit the ESC key (while clicked on the straighten tool) it closes out of Adobe Camera RAW and goes back to Adobe Bridge.
Which operating system are you using?
I am using OS X 10.10.1 (Yosemite)
Which version of camera raw are you using?
I am on Adobe Camera RAW Ver. 6.7
Both Photoshop and Bridge are CS5.1
You can see the version listed at the top of the camera raw dialog when not in full screen mode.

CS3 camera raw 4.0 straighten tool

I have CS3 and the straighten tool no longer works in Camera Raw on my photos. It just reverts to the crop tool after I let the line go. Any ideas? It used to work earlier.
Thanks,
Todd

> "I have CS3 and the straighten tool no longer works in Camera Raw on my photos."
Are you SURE it isn't working? Does it identify a crop with edges parallel to the line you drew? If so, it is working.
> "It just reverts to the crop tool after I let the line go".
Yes, but as long as that crop has edges parallel to the line, why not? Note that you can rotate this crop to change the alignment, by dragging just outside one of the corners.

Strange observation about the straighten tool

I found, that after making adjustments with the straighten tool, other's like exposure or saturation, that usually are quite fast become very sluggish. Disabling the straighten adjustment temporarily makes the other adjustments sliders react fast again.
Now the strange part:
Sometimes making an additional adjustment makes the before sluggish sliders react fast again WITHOUT deactivating the straighten adjustment before.
Example:
making a straighten adjustment -> exposure slider is now very sluggish
now making an additional shadows adjustment -> exposure slider is no more sluggish
So even Aperture now has to do more calculations the GUI is faster. Weird!
I found, that the problem with the straighten tool occurs more often, if it is the first adjustment you apply.
I didn't find a way to make the behavior 100% reproducible. It is somewhat random.
Would be nice, if someone else could investigate into this issue as well.
I suspect, Aperture somewhat mixes up the order in which it applies the adjustments. When the other sliders show the sluggish behavior, Aperture probably recalculates the straightening adjustment from the RAW for each screen refresh, while it uses an already straightened cache file, when the sliders work fast.
If Aperture has an issue with the optimal processing order with other adjustments as well, this may be an explanation for the hugh differences in GUI performance experience, that are reported here for nearly identical hardware.
Peter
Quad G5, GT 7800 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

David,
it is not just the Shadows/Highlights.
I extended my test a bit. Below you find a list. All effects with a + increase the speed:
Red Eye Correction -
Spot & Patch -
Levels +
Highlights & Shadows +
White Balance -
Color +
Monochrome Mixer -
Color Monochrome -
Sepia Tone -
Noise Reduction +
Sharpen +
Edge Sharpen +
During that test with enabling/disabling each adjustment, it happened occasionally, that after enabling/disabling an additional adjustment, the Brightness slider kept the speed gain (with only Straighten enabled). Disabling and re-enabling Straighten brought back the sluggish behavior.
Your Viewer window must have a minimum size to show the effect . If the actually displayed picture size is below approx. 720x540 px for 4:3 or 724x480 px for 3:2 pictures, enabling the Straighten tool doesn't slow down the Brightness slider (and other adjustments) noticeable and thus there is not speed gain by enabling other adjustments.
I suspect it has something to do with the amount of memory in the graphic card. I disconnected my second monitor to see, whether the cutoff now shifts towards a larger Viewer area (assumed memory for second display would now be available to Aperture). Result: No it didn't change. So there might be an limitation within core image, that is independent from the graphic card memory.
Nevertheless it would be interesting, if others could check, what's the maximum Viewer size they can use, before the speed penalty dials in, when enabling the Straighten tool. I'm especially interested in reports from people with an 128 MB and 512 MB graphic card (mine is 256 MB).
To do this test, choose Basic view (Viewer at top, Browser at bottom), maximize the Browser area by dragging the window separator towards the bottom, rotate a RAW file with the Straighten tool and then drag the Brightness slider. It should move very sluggish (if not you're a lucky guy). Now diminish the Viewer area, until the Brightness slider moves smoothly. Play around with the size of the Viewer window, until you get the exact size, where the behavior changes. Now make a snapshot (cmd-shift 4) of the displayed picture (actual picture area, not whole viewer window), and check for picture dimensions with Get Info. Post your results here.
The above observations make me to over-think my current dual monitor workflow. Instead of using both displays with Aperture, with Projects, Browser and Adjustments on my 24" LCD and the pictures displayed on my carefully profiled high-end CRT, it might be a faster workflow, to drag over the whole Aperture window to the CRT, make sure the Viewer window is not wider than 720 px and do my adjustments there. A bit annoying to have a setup similar to that in these cool, stylish Aperture ads from Apple, but have to work on a single monitor with a tiny Browser window to get acceptable speed when adjusting my pictures.
The fact that an additional adjustment can speed up things, when using a larger Browser window or full-screen mode, shows, there is still something to improve with Aperture's performance. I hope Apple will investigate into this issue.
Btw.: Does anybody know, how I can make Apple aware of my findings? Or do they know already, because they monitor this list?
Peter

Straighten tool in Photoshop Elements 12

When I use the straighten tool in Photoshop Elements 12 and click on the "Grow and Shrink" and then check the "autofill" my picture is straightened but it is not autofilling. Instead I see the black and white checkered background in the areas where it should have autofilled. I do not know what I am doing wrong?

I have Windows 8

Exported Image Doesn't Match Export Presets After Use of Straightening Tool

Unlike my experience with previous versions, in Aperture 2.1, after applying the "Straightening Tool", I cannot get an exported image to match the dimensions set for "Export Preset." The results are a reduction in size.
It appears that the output is being based within the rectangular confines defined by the out of view corners of the rotated image rather than that of what is actually being displayed.
Is there a new method I am missing or is this a bug?

So, like really, no one has experienced this problem?
The resulting dimensions of the exported image, which was rotated by the "Straightening Tool" are smaller than that of the export image, of the same picture, not rotated, but with the same "Export Preset" selected.
Example:
I want all my exported images to be a dimension of 200 x 300 pixels. Those exported without the "Straightening Tool" applied are exactly 200 x 300. Those, say with a 10º "Rotate" applied to the original and, exported with the same "Export Preset" dimensions, result in an image which is 145 x 216 pixels in dimension.
This is very unlike Aperture 1.5.6, in which the exported output of both image versions would be identical, at 200 x 300 pixels in dimension.

Straighten tool repeatedly crashing ACR

I havn't seen this issue reported anywhere else, but I can't get it to go away.
I am using CS4 with everything updated. I shoot using a 5dmkii and canon 40d. I never had this problem in CS3
I'll load up some raw files (doesn't seem to be affected by how many images I load at once) and go to use the straigten tool. Sometimes I'm good for a 20+ straigtening adjustments before it crashes, but then ususally once it crashes if I load them up again it will crash within one or two uses of the straightining tool.
reseting tool preferences in photoshop and resting preferences in bridge will help it work for awhile, but inevitbly it will crash again while using this tool.
No other tools have any problems, and if I don't use the straighten tool my computer can load 400+ 5dmkii raw images make adjustments and crops with no trouble.
Anybody have any thoughts?

I am also having this problem. Here is the info of what I'm using:
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (Final Release - with all updates installed)
HP Compaq 6710b
Processor: Intel Core2Duo 2.1ghz
Memory: 4GB Ram
Adobe Photoshop Version: 11.0.1 (11.0.1x20090218 [20090218.r.523 2009/02/18:02:00:00 cutoff; r branch]) X64
Bridge CS4 3.0.0.464
Camera RAW 5.4
Camera - Canon 40D shooting L JPG + RAW
The staighten tool seems to be the cause of my Camera RAW (or Bridge?) crashing. Like the previous poster mentioned, it is sporadic, but once it happens, it seems to stick each time I try. It also doesn't seem to matter how many RAW files are open. I tried going through the first few steps in an Adobe Bridge CS4 troubleshooting article, which included clearing the preference and cache, etc. Also, it was mentioned that I should try without having other programs open. I tried this as well, and it didn't help.
Any new insight into this issue?

Straighten tool reduces image sharpness

Has anyone else found that when rotating JPEG images using the straighten tool, there is a loss in sharpness in the rotated image? I am using the straighten tool on a 100% zoomed image, so this isn't an artifact of cropping/resizing. Even at 100% zoom, any image that has been 'straightened' appears softer compared to the master (when I'm clicking 'M' to switch back and forth between master and straightened image).
This does NOT have something to do with how Aperture simply DISPLAYS 'straightened' images in real time, because if you open the straightened image in an external editor (Photoshop), it STILL appears soft! However, if you perform the same rotation on the original image withing Photoshop, the image remains sharp!
Aperture's rotation/straighten algorithm is seriously flawed?!

This is true. Rotation DOES result in loss of sharpness because of interpolation, etc.
HOWEVER, the loss in sharpness under Aperture is UNACCEPTABLE. The loss of sharpness under Adobe Photoshop, on the other hand, is ACCEPTABLE.
Here is a self-explanatory image showing the UNACCEPTABLE loss of sharpness upon rotation of images under Aperture vs. Photoshop.
http://web.mac.com/rishisanyal/iWeb/Homepage/Sharpness.jpg
Apple, step it up. Or else I want my money back. Aperture, in my eyes, is no longer valid software for a 'professional photographer'.

Crop & Straighten tool missing from Automate menu

I'm using CS3, Extended
The Crop & Straighten tool doesn't show up under the Automate menu.
I've gone to Edit > Menus > Automate and it doesn't show up there either.
I have quite a large amount of multiple scans that need to be cropped and separated.
I never had this problem with CS2.
The following are listed under the Automate menu:
Batch
PDF Create
Create Droplet
Pro Canvas (twice)
Photo Tools Batch
Photo Tools
Conditional Mode Change
Fit Image
Merge to HDR
Photo Merge
I've tried opting for the no-show in the Edit > Menus thinking that there may be too many selections, but that didn't help. Also, like I said, Crop and Straighten doesn't show up there at all.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
imjohn

Is it hidden behind the Slice tool? Any tools with a little triangle in the bottom right corner, have move tools behind them.
You could use the keyboard short cut 'c', but if the Crop tool is hidden, keep pressing Shift c until you see it.

Straighten Tool - PSE 8

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