Pencil tool not visible on some slices, but works in 3D view

Hello,

I encountered an issue when using the Pencil tool in Segment Editor. On some slices and with certain datasets, the pencil strokes are not visible in the 2D views (axial/sagittal/coronal). However, in the 3D view it is clear that the segmentation is actually being created.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Load a volume (.mhd in my case)

2. Open Segment Editor

3. Use the Pencil tool on different slices

Expected behavior:

The drawn segmentation should be visible in 2D slice views while drawing.

Actual behavior:

On some slices/files, the pencil is not visible in 2D views, although it appears correctly in 3D.

Version: Slicer 5.10.0 (rev 34045)

Any ideas what might be causing this?

Thanks.

[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - Session start time …: 20260503_095834
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - Slicer version …: 5.10.0 (revision 34045 / a2b6d08) macosx-amd64 - installed release
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - Operating system …: macOS / 26.4.1 / 25E253 / UTF-8 - 64-bit
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - Memory …: 8192 MB physical, 2048 MB virtual
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - CPU …: Apple M2, 8 cores, 8 logical processors
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - VTK configuration …: OpenGL2 rendering, TBB threading
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - Qt configuration …: version 5.15.18, with SSL, requested OpenGL 3.2 (core profile)
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - DCMTK configuration …: version 3.6.8, no SSL
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - Internationalization …: disabled, language=
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - Developer mode …: disabled
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - Application path …: /Applications/Slicer.app/Contents/MacOS
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:34 (unknown:0) - Additional module paths ..: (none)
[INFO][Stream] 03.05.2026 09:58:35 (unknown:0) -
[DEBUG][Python] 03.05.2026 09:58:38 [Python] (/Applications/Slicer.app/Contents/lib/Slicer-5.10/qt-scripted-modules/SubjectHierarchyPlugins/AbstractScriptedSubjectHierarchyPlugin.py:40) - Scripted subject hierarchy plugin registered: SegmentEditor
[DEBUG][Python] 03.05.2026 09:58:38 [Python] (/Applications/Slicer.app/Contents/lib/Slicer-5.10/qt-scripted-modules/SubjectHierarchyPlugins/AbstractScriptedSubjectHierarchyPlugin.py:40) - Scripted subject hierarchy plugin registered: SegmentStatistics
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:38 (unknown:0) - Switch to module: “Welcome”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:59 (unknown:0) - “Volume” Reader has successfully read the file “/Users/alexanderschirkow/Downloads/SITE_006_PAT_007/vibe963_q_dixon_tra_p4_bh_DL_FF_Series0103.mhd” “[0.12s]”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:59 (unknown:0) - “Volume” Reader has successfully read the file “/Users/alexanderschirkow/Downloads/SITE_006_PAT_007/vibe963_q_dixon_tra_p4_bh_DL_R2s_Eff_Series0105.mhd” “[0.04s]”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:58:59 (unknown:0) - “Volume” Reader has successfully read the file “/Users/alexanderschirkow/Downloads/SITE_006_PAT_007/vibe963_q_dixon_tra_p4_bh_DL_W_Series0101.mhd” “[0.03s]”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:59:11 (unknown:0) - Switch to module: “Data”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 09:59:18 (unknown:0) - Switch to module: “SegmentEditor”
[INFO][Stream] 03.05.2026 10:10:52 (unknown:0) - self.extentGrowthRatio = 0.1
[INFO][Stream] 03.05.2026 10:10:52 (unknown:0) - masterImageExtent = (0, 319, 0, 279, 0, 71)
[INFO][Stream] 03.05.2026 10:10:52 (unknown:0) - labelsEffectiveExtent = (68, 217, 91, 203, 4, 63)
[INFO][Stream] 03.05.2026 10:10:52 (unknown:0) - labelsExpandedExtent = [54, 231, 80, 214, 0, 68]
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 10:16:43 (unknown:0) - Switch to module: “Segmentations”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 10:16:47 (unknown:0) - Switch to module: “SegmentEditor”
[INFO][Stream] 03.05.2026 10:27:58 (unknown:0) - self.extentGrowthRatio = 0.1
[INFO][Stream] 03.05.2026 10:27:58 (unknown:0) - masterImageExtent = (0, 319, 0, 279, 0, 71)
[INFO][Stream] 03.05.2026 10:27:58 (unknown:0) - labelsEffectiveExtent = (68, 263, 90, 203, 4, 63)
[INFO][Stream] 03.05.2026 10:27:58 (unknown:0) - labelsExpandedExtent = [49, 282, 79, 214, 0, 68]
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 10:30:04 (unknown:0) - Switch to module: “Markups”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 10:32:19 (unknown:0) - Switch to module: “SegmentEditor”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 10:33:08 (unknown:0) - Switch to module: “Data”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 12:12:24 (unknown:0) - “Volume” Reader has successfully read the file “/Users/alexanderschirkow/Downloads/SITE_006_PAT_008/vibe963_q_dixon_tra_p4_bh_DL_FF_Series0103.mhd” “[0.15s]”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 12:12:24 (unknown:0) - “Volume” Reader has successfully read the file “/Users/alexanderschirkow/Downloads/SITE_006_PAT_008/vibe963_q_dixon_tra_p4_bh_DL_R2s_Eff_Series0105.mhd” “[0.04s]”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 12:12:24 (unknown:0) - “Volume” Reader has successfully read the file “/Users/alexanderschirkow/Downloads/SITE_006_PAT_008/vibe963_q_dixon_tra_p4_bh_DL_W_Series0101.mhd” “[0.03s]”
[DEBUG][Qt] 03.05.2026 12:12:37 (unknown:0) - Switch to module: “SegmentEditor”

Do you see a small warning icon in Segment Editor near the volume selector at the top? It means that the slice view is not aligned with the segmentation axes, which is not supported by some effects, such as Draw. You can click that warning button to make the slice view aligned with the segmentation axes and then Draw effect should work.

Thank you for your response. Yes, I’ve reviewed your 2016 comments and was able to understand everything clearly.