Feature Request - "Drawing a line" between two points

[idiotsquared]

I'm a fairly new user of Paint.NET but I REALLY, REALLY miss the capability to "draw a line" (using pen/brush/eraser/any tool using the SHIFT modifier key) between two points, as is done in GIMP and Photoshop.

 

I tried the Line Tool but it is constrained to lines that are multiples of 15 degrees.  In GIMP and Photoshop it can be ANY angle that connects the two points.

 

My common use is to clean up borders of objects that have straight sides.  The most recent example was cleaning up a picture of a necktie (don't even ask why) that had a shadow along its border.  With GIMP I'd simply position an appropriate sized brush at the top of the tie's border, click then hold down the shift key and position the brush at the bottom edge of the tie and click - viola a straight line (of the color-picked background) is drawn between the two points and the shadow is gone.  Erasures and other tools work exactly the same way.

 

IMHO this is a very valuable capability.  (I looked in the Feature Request thread and did not see this mentioned.  I'm assuming that this is the correct place to discuss this).

 

Here is one explanation of how the Shift modifier works.

[Pixey]

Hi @Idiot 2   and Welcome to PDN.

 

With PDN and the line tool you can draw a straight line in any direction you want.  Just hold down Ctrl and Shift to draw the line.

If you want to move the line to meet up with another line in an awkward direction, just take your finger off Ctrl.

http://i.imgur.com/ypZpAm7.png

Edited July 16, 2014 by Pixey

[Ego Eram Reputo]

I'm not sure what's being asked here.

The Status Bar gives you the position of the mouse cursor, so this gives you the start point of a drawn line.

Click and drag the line until you reach the end point. Also given by the Status bar.

If you don't alter the control nubs you'll end up with a straight line between the two points.

[Rick Brewster]

Seems like you want a "point to point" line tool.

[midora]

He likes to get an extension to the Paintbrush tool which allows to run the brush between the last painted position and a new one. Respecting all the Paintbrush options like hardness, spacing,... This mode is activate if Shift is pressed before you are painting the next single shape.

 

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Oh.  Try Polygon Tool

[Cc4FuzzyHuggles]

Although I am fine with the line/curve tool, I personally have still wished that Paint.NET's paintbrush/eraser tools could make straight lines like Photoshop, Gimp, and several other editors do.

 

So even though I have my most favorite tool ever, the line/curve tool, and there are really cool plugins available, I second the idea of having Paint.NET's drawing tools having a straight line ability. It gets my vote.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Cc4FuzzyHuggles

[idiotsquared]

Any further status on this request?  I should have made it clearer, as Cc4FuzzyHuggles did, that this behavior works with any tool.  It is just not for drawing lines.

 

 

Hi @Idiot 2   and Welcome to PDN.
 
With PDN and the line tool you can draw a straight line in any direction you want.  Just hold down Ctrl and Shift to draw the line.
If you want to move the line to meet up with another line in an awkward direction, just take your finger off Ctrl.

http://i.imgur.com/ypZpAm7.png

 

Pixey,

Thanks!  Sorry for the late reply.  I really wasn't as clear as I should have been, as I'm a PDN newbie.  The behavior of the line tool is exactly what I want for other similar tools (pencil, paintbrush, eraser, etc.).  Does this make sense?

[Cc4FuzzyHuggles]

If you just want straight lines with paintbrush/eraser type of tools, like what photoshop and other similar programs do, then I too would like to see this in paint.net. It is this feature that I am voting for.

(You click once with the paint brush, then you hold shift and click in a new spot, and a straight line is drawn from point A to point B. As seen in this video @ 14:21 - 16:4.)
 
However, if you want a pen/path type of tool, then the line/curve tool is paint.net's version of that, or you can check out some plugins.
-- http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/26552-peephole-drawing-or-some-path-tools-in-the-future/
-- http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/27512-trs-splinemaster-v142-a-line-maker-march-72015/
-- http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/32096-shapemaker-by-the-dwarf-horde-aug-7-2015/
 
Also, here are a couple of tips that you might like.

The line/curve tool can almost mimic the paintbrush, eraser, and pencil tools.

Tip:
Most drawing tools, including the Line/Curve tool, are able to be used as erasers.
1) Choose a drawing tool, such as the line/curve tool.
2) Then in the colors window click "More". Set the Transparency - Alpha to 0.
3) Then up under the menu bar, look for where it says "Normal" and change it to "Overwrite".
Your line/curve tool can now erase like the eraser tool.
Read the last part of this document page to know more http://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/BlendModes.html
 
If you use the line/curve tool to cut out objects from their backgrounds, and the edges aren't as smooth as you would like, then I suggest edge smoothing plugins.
-- Feather.
-- AA's Assistant.

Feathering the edge of something can give similar results as if you used the eraser tool with a soft edge.

 

Another tip:
The line/curve tool can be made to draw lines that are similar to the pencil tool.
Turn off the anti-aliasing and change the brush width to 1.
 

Soft Line Tip:

Want a soft line? Draw your lines on their own layer and then apply a blur or feather to that layer. (it's not as good as a soft brush, but it's not too bad.)
 

 

Honestly, from a different view point, it almost sounds like you want the line/curve tool to gain the paint brush's capabilities, such as the softness/hardness adjustment.
For my personal opinion though, I really love the current line/curve tool and I really like the lines it produces. I don't know if I would like a soft/hard adjustment for the line/curve tool if it meant changing how the current lines look.

 

So, the options you could think about are either give most the tools a straight line ability, or make the line/curve tool have the paint brush's abilities, or have both ideas?

Edited September 13, 2015 by Cc4FuzzyHuggles

[idiotsquared]

Cc4FuzzyHuggles,

Thanks for the reply and tips.  (As I was composing this I see that you edited your post and we are pretty much in agreement).

 

I don't want the Line/Curve tool to gain paint brush capabilities.  Instead I'd like the paintbrush, pencil, eraser to have exactly the same Ctrl-Shift (point to point) capabilities as the Line/Curve tool (which Pixey described in post #2 above).

 

The Line/Curve tool would continue to work exactly like it does today.  The paintbrush, pencil, and eraser would work the same as they do today, with the additional capability that you could paintbrush/pencil/erase in a straight line.

 

Having the same shift/click interface as the Line/Curve tool would provide for a consistent interface.

 

IF this is implemented I would also consider adding the capability to other tools (see GIMP's eligible tools in "3 Choose a Tool")

[idiotsquared]

I'm again requesting that this feature be added.  See the September 14, 2015 post for full details.  (Fingers crossed that it gets added to the official Requested Features thread).

[PeterSvP]

@All, guys, this feature is already here, it's undocumented and it works by abusing the fact that Alt / F10 pauses the application and focus the menu.

 

1. Mouse-over with the tool - pencil, brush, eraser, gradient, recolor or whatever at - the beginning point.

2. Press Alt to lock the cursor in this position. ruler will confirm.

3. Move the mouse over the endpoint!

4. Left or right click to un-pause the app. This will generate nice line.

Disable Fluid mouse input if this method generates curves instead.

 

Happy lining and polygoning

@Paint.Net guys, please don't fix this bug since it's a hidden feature. Better, document it

 

Edited July 13, 2018 by PeterSvP
eaten word

[ScienceDiscoverer]

Seriously? 8 years and this basic and super important feature is still not implemented?

[Rick Brewster]

Seriously, you came here just to complain on an 8 year old thread?