razorpig

Thank you both for your input. I would like to use the shape ( inverted ) as a mask for another layer, but keep the original shape.

Is it possible to create a pixel selection from a shape in Publisher?

Thanks thomaso. Yeah this is what I had to do in the end. Was hoping for something equivalent to New Smart Object via Copy from PS.

Is it possible to make a copy of an embedded object that can be edited independently of the original?

Hi Ron, Sorry to be so brief, but you clearly haven't read the original thread. I posted it here by mistake.

You wouldn't have to click any more buttons. Instead of clicking 'X' you would click APPLY ( or OK ), instead of clicking DELETE you would click CANCEL.

Thanks for the reply Ron. This was already mentioned in the original thread. If you read the thread carefully, it would just be nice if it worked on Windows the way I'm told it works on MAC. Confirmation from other Windows and MAC users would also be useful - could just be a glitch on my system.

We're just getting crossed wires about the terminology here. I want to preview it on the canvas ( so yes, in that sense it's being applied to the live image on the screen ) before committing the changes permanently to the document ( or as I call it, applying them ). Yes, you can use the Delete button but the change has already been applied and added to the history panel. This isn't a major issue for adjustment layers or live filters as you will have only three entries each time, add, edit and delete ( see attachment adjustment.jpg ) - although if you experimented with lots of adjustments and/or filters it could quickly become an issue. However, try experimenting with some FX and keep an eye on the history panel - every tiny edit creates an entry even if you're just experimenting with ideas and decide not to use them ( see attachment effect.jpg ).

Thanks R C-R. After some experimentation and with help from this forum I now fully understand how it works. However, I can't help feeling it would be far more intuitive if there was at least some correlation between the Transform Panel and transforming objects on canvas. As mentioned previously, we seem to have two entirely independent Transform Origins and yet one of them is activated by clicking ( a second time ) over the area intended for the other.

@Frozen Death Knight Thanks again :-) Some very useful commands indeed, especially the first one to only show and work on a single layer - love that one ! I thought I'd already logged a bug report but just checked and I accidentally posted it in the wrong forum - put it under Suggestions for Affinity Photo instead. If it doesn't get any attention there I'll re-post in the bugs forum later. Think the team has rather a lot on presently with the new releases ! Many thanks again. Much appreciated.

Is there any way to preview layer adjustments, effects and filters without applying them? A simple APPLY and CANCEL button would be perfect. Perhaps with a preview checkbox also? With the current process the history panel can get very cluttered with states which in most cases we'll never want to revert to.

Agreed. That would be very useful.

@Frozen Death Knight - Thank you very much ! ctrl+L click is a very neat solution. I only called it a workaround because it appears to be working as desired on the MAC, but not on Windows, so any solution no matter how quick is a means of getting around that fact. Incidentally, how did you find the ctrl-L click option? I'm looking for a menu item with this functionality and shortcut but can't see it anywhere?

@Aammppaa Many thanks for your reply. I'm beginning to understand the source of my confusion. So the 3 x 3 array in the Transform panel actually has absolutely nothing to do with the Transform Origin accessed via the context toolbar, even though clicking on the 3 x 3 array a second time will make the latter visible and activate it on the toolbar? No wonder I'm confused ! A slight correction to your first point - it appears the lollipop and corner rotation handles do indeed always rotate around the centre of the bounding box unless the Transform Origin is enabled, in which case they will rotate around that ( I couldn't get the right mouse modifier thing to work but that's not too important ). Referencing your third point - I purposely moved the transform origin to the bottom left just for demonstration purposes. I think the crossover of terminology is the root of all the confusion - when we click on any of the 9 points in the 3 x 3 array in the Transform panel, what are we setting if not the Transform Origin ? And yet this has nothing to do with the Enable Transform Origin button. A simple re-phrasing might help avoid a lot of confusion. Anyway - thank you again for your reply Aammppaa. You did indeed guide me to a better understanding, if not quite a eureka moment Much appreciated.

Hi, I'm sure there's a very good explanation for this and I'm just not getting it, but I would really appreciate a simple explanation of how all these different transform origins interact and relate to one another. Hopefully this short video will explain everything much better than I can. I'm totally confused.....please can someone guide me to that eureka moment because rotating a square on a blank canvas shouldn't be this confusing. transform_origin.mp4