marble51

Ah well, some trial and error and I seem to have found a way. I had to manually move the second layer below the first. Then I clicked on the first, clicked on the Mask icon and selected "Mask" from the options. I found I could control the opacity by using the Greyscale of the brush with the Mask Layer selected. If anyone knows another way, please feel free to jump in.

Hi, I have tried to understand this from watching various videos and looking at the manual but I can't seem to find the answer I am looking for. Perhaps it is right under my nose but I can't see it. Perhaps I just don't understand masking. I explain all this because the last time I asked a question here I was chastised for not reading the manual. So, in AP V1 I used masking in the following manner. Load the first picture and then load a second. Select an area of the second image and paste it to the first. The selection now appears overlayed on top of the first picture. Now I hold the ALT key and click the Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. What was the overlay is now a layer beneath the first picture and I can use a black brush to paint on that first picture in order to reveal some of the image underneath. I can also control the opacity of the reveal. I have tried the same process with V2 and it doesn't work. Specifically, the Alt-click on the Mask icon does not do what it does in V1. In fact, it seems to do nothing at all. I have tried clicking without holding ALT and selecting one of the mask options but I just can't get it to do what I was able to do in V1.

And you could have just ignored my question but you just couldn't resist, could you?

A screenshot would still have been more direct help but then it is easier for people to just post RTFM replies, I guess. Anyhow, for anyone else trying to find it, it is here:

This is exactly what I was trying to figure out. One problem though ... I'm using AP V2 and I have no idea what you mean by the "context toolbar for the Pen Tool". Where would I find that? This is where a screenshot is worth a thousand words.

Further to that, I then tried to move the "Stock" tab (or any other tab) after the panel had become undocked but I found it impossible to move the tabs at all, even after clicking the little vertical line in the top LH corner.

OK - I did get OBS to show the details so here's another video ... 2022-12-02 13-37-57.mp4

As I explained in my text - the screen capture software (OBS) does not capture what happens to the panel group after the tab is moved out. I don't know how to change that. (See Below) ... But I can tell you (as I have already) that the panel group becomes undocked as soon as the "Stock" tab moves out of the panel. So all I did after that was to drag the panel back to its docking position and, at that point, OBS sees it again and you can see it in the video.

I was doing that as you were posting so I hope the attached video is what you were looking for. By the way, I tried it with another tab (the "Channels" tab) and that does the same thing - trying to move it outsdie the panel group results in the whole panel group becoming undocked.

What happens is that the whole panel moves and becomes un-docked. I can re-dock it again but can't move the Stock tab outside the panel. Here's a screen capture but for some reason, OBS doesn't capture the undocked panel although it re-appears when I re-dock it. 2022-12-02 11-16-58.mp4

Yep - tried both. I'm just hoping someone else confirms this problem because right now it seems like I'm the only one experiencing it.

Yeah, we've been through this movie before (see above). It just doesn't work for me. I don't know why my installation (Windows 10) is so different to anyone else here but the drag is not working as it should. I can click and drag the word "Stock" all day and, although I can move it along the panel (change its position) I can't move it out or to another panel. And if I click the little vertical line in the corner before trying to move it out, it decides to undock the panel itself and move it around.

Just to update this thread ... I have now bought and installed AP version 2 and still have the same issues. Trying to organise the UI is still a PITA. For example, I have a tab labelled "Stock" which I just cannot move out of that panel window. I have to turn it off in the Window Menu but if I turn it on again it re-appears in the same place and it is impossible to move it to another panel group.

Now I am wondering if there is a way to avoid that step of dragging to the child layer? This is why I didn't realise it was possible in the first place. Isn't there a way to select just the mask layer and apply adjustments to it without having to create an adjustment layer first and then make it a child of the mask layer?

I am sure I have tried that but I went back and tried. I am now somewhat confused because I don't have an adjustment layer. I have a Background layer and above that I have the image I want to show through and that has a mask layer as a child. If I try to apply ajustment to just that mask layer, it goes ahead and applies the adjustment to the whole image (all layers). There is no adjustment layer. Correction: Sorry the adjustment layer does appear after the adjustment has been applied so, as you say, I can drag that on to the mask layer and it works as I wanted it to work. Thanks. Sorry for the confusion.