non-functioning Clone Tool

[David...@adobeforums.com]

Running Photoshop CS3 on Windows XP Professional 160GB; 77GB Free

All of a sudden after more than a year functioning fine my clone stamp tool stopped working. Everything else is working fine. I reinstalled CS3 and the tool worked fine then, after a reboot, it stopped working again.

I am not supertech knowledgeable, so other than running a complete scan with my anti-virus program and a Windows Defender scan, neither of which identified any problems, I'm at a loss.

I'd be grateful for any ideas.

[curt_...@adobeforums.com]

Perhaps this is a cop-out, but while waiting for answer here you might google "photoshop clone tool not working". There are quite a few entries (which I did not read) that might give you some clues.

[John Joslin]

The first step with a non-functioning tool is to reset the tool from the drop-down menu in the tool presets panel.

If that doesn't help try resetting your preferences as described in the FAQ.

<http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.ef4a07f/1>

You either have to physically delete (or rename) the preference files or, if using the Alt, Ctrl, and Shift method, be sure that you get a confirmation dialog.

This resets all settings in Photoshop to factory defaults.

[Eric_@_MCA@adobeforums.com]

So, an artist here just encountered this problem on a Mac running 10.4.11. None of the suggested fixes seemed to help her, but I was able to "reboot" the clone tool by launching the System Prefs->Wacom Tablet and tinkering around in there a bit.

To be honest, I am not sure exactly which part of my tinkering was successful. She had 2 tablets listed, even though one is the an old one that she no longer uses and also 2 grip pens listed. I deleted the extra copy of each, clicked with the grip pen a couple times to make sure the tablet that was hooked up was still functional and then quit system prefs. Upon returning to PS, everything was running smoothly again...

At any rate, it might be something to check.

BTW, disconnecting/reconnecting the Wacom from the USB chain had no effect. Tried that first.

[Michael_D...@adobeforums.com]

It could be that the Wacom pen was too close to the tablet and was therefore active, rendering the mouse unable to perform brush-based actions such as cloning. The remedy is to move the pen further away.

[David...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

I was able to revive the clone tool by uninstalling the WACOM tablet
and reinstalling it with updated drivers. It would not have occurred to me to connect the tablet with the problem. Maybe it was the driver; maybe not. But it's working now. So thanks again.

[David...@adobeforums.com]

I just signed up for the Adobe User Forums a week or so ago when I had a problem with the clone tool in Photoshop CS3. I asked my question and then left town for a week. When I got back I had 4 responses. So Curt Young, John Joslin, Eric@MCA and Michael D. Sullivan, many thanks for taking the time to help me out.

[Michael_D...@adobeforums.com]

You're welcome.

[Thom Elliott]

I hate to tell you how many times I have come close to trashing my box and sending it to the bottom of the canal out back . . . Keep the pen away from the tablet and any other magnet from the the tablet.
Experiment: just put the pen (while in the holder) on the tablet and when not in PS just you try and use the mouse ..... HA! Neat joke to pull an enemy, surely not your friend.
Yours,
Tom