Troubleshooting¶

Find what you are seeing, try the fix. Most problems are a mode, a key, or a setting.

A tool is stuck, or will not switch¶

Press Esc. It cancels any drag in progress, leaves free transform, and resets the tool state. Then click the tool you want on the ring.

If switching between the Brush and the Eraser stops responding, press Esc and click the slot again. If it keeps happening, please tell us what you were doing just before.

I click, but nothing is drawn¶

You are in pass-through mode. Press Ctrl+Shift+C, or click a tool on the ring.
The overlay is hidden. Press Ctrl+Shift+D.
The toolbar is tucked away (a small icon with the Am_sketch brush). Double-click it.
That monitor is switched off in Preferences → Screens.
No licence is imported: only the Help and Close slots work. See Activate your licence.
A properties panel or a menu is open: drawing pauses while a ring menu, the colour library or the colour picker is open, and while the pointer is over Help, Preferences or Layers.

I cannot click my other programs¶

You are in drawing mode, where the left button draws. Press Ctrl+Shift+C for pass-through, or click the active tool's slot to switch drawing off. Am_sketch's own windows are always clickable.

A shortcut does nothing¶

Another program already holds that key. Am_sketch says so in a notification — "Some hotkeys are already used by another app...". Choose a different key in Preferences → Shortcuts and press Apply.
The tool shortcuts (Brush, Eraser, Screenshot…) have no key until you give them one.
Am_sketch is running twice: the second copy cannot register the keys the first one holds. Quit both from the tray and start one.
A program running as administrator has the focus: Windows does not let ordinary programs react to keys or clicks meant for it. Click a normal window first, or run the other program normally.

My text disappeared¶

A text that is still open is discarded when you switch to another tool. Finish each text with Enter on the numeric keypad before changing tools — the main Enter key starts a new line. Too late? Retype it; an edited text that you cancel goes back to how it was.

The pen has no pressure¶

Switch on Windows Ink in your tablet's driver settings. Am_sketch reads pens through Windows Ink, not WinTab.
Check the brush: in Brush Properties → Pressure, Size or Opacity must be above 0 %.
Watch the Pen pressure reading in Brush Properties while you draw — if it stays at 100 %, the driver is not sending pressure.

The colour on the ring did not change my highlighter or text¶

The ring sets the brush colour. The highlighter, text and shapes have their own colours, in their properties panels (right-click their slots). See Colour.

The eraser does not remove a shape or text¶

Shapes and text are editable objects. The eraser asks first, and Keep editable leaves them whole. Choose Erase (convert to pixels) — or select the shape or text and press Delete. If you ticked Don't ask again with Keep editable, use the selection instead.

The ring is gone¶

It may be on another monitor: Win+Ctrl+Shift + middle-click where you are and it comes to the pointer.
It may be tucked away as a small icon: double-click it.
Am_sketch may have quit — the Close slot quits without asking. Start it again from the Start menu.

The Help window opens every time¶

Untick Show this panel when Am_sketch opens at the bottom of the Help window, or Show Quick help when the app starts in Preferences.

Screenshots are smaller than my screen¶

On a display scaled above 100 % (Windows Settings → Display → Scale), captures are saved at the scaled size — a 4K screen at 200 % gives a 1920 × 1080 picture.

Video protected against copying comes out black, and some programs' floating or see-through windows are not included in a capture. Pause the video on a frame and use the program's own export, or capture something else.

Am_sketch draws behind a full-screen game or video¶

Programs that take over the display in exclusive full-screen mode can sit above every other window, Am_sketch included. Switch the program to windowed or borderless full screen.

Everything feels slow on several 4K monitors¶

Am_sketch redraws the whole desktop area it covers, so its work grows with the total screen size. Untick monitors you do not draw on in Preferences → Screens.

Strokes look a little soft¶

On a display scaled above 100 %, brush sizes are measured in Windows' scaled units, so strokes are smoothed slightly when drawn at the native resolution.

"Could not reach the update server"¶

A firewall, a proxy, or no connection — nothing is wrong with your install. See Updates.

Still stuck¶

Contact us — and paste Copy build info from Help → Contact Us into your message.