Krolly

Thanks thatGuy. In your example, I end up with 2 'closed' shapes. Each one has an unnecessary (in your case, curved) line, joining the lines I want to superimpose over my shape. What I want to end up with (using yours as an example) is (using the right-hand brown panel) the top line, the vertical line and the bottom line. The curve that joins the top line and the bottom line will appear in my diagram. Say I draw a convoluted shape with a black outline and blue full. Then I want to (for the sake of argument) put a parallel line inside a section of the convoluted shape. Just a line which doesn't join back up to itself. With Illustrator, I copy, paste a section of the copied shape, clear any 'fill' colour, and I have a black LINE with a start and a finish (and is not a closed shape) to lay over the blue shape and which matches the section I have cut it away from. Put it this way. I want to click on the section of line between two nodes – hit delete – and have that bit of line disappear, breaking my shape into a line. Surely a clever software developer could make that happen?

I haven't tried any of these workarounds yet, but I thank you all for helping. I'll save this information for my next diagram. I've been drawing bird skeletons and it would help enormously to be able to copy sections of a shape to put a defining line over a coloured area. I'll never close another shape until I've copied it into a new document while it's still a line! Trick is to remember. Grey Fox's workaround looks like it cuts a shape but leaves you with two enclosed shapes, which of course is not really what I'm after because I'll be stuck with a line across my artwork that I can't easily cover up.

I find the only way to cut an image into two separate sections at the moment is to redraw BOTH sections. Copy paste and deleting the nodules I don't want, still leaves the half image as a compound shape and 'release compound' greyed out. Has a workaround been found please?

Thank you And when I save that file as an EPS the clipping path will deep etch it out of its background?

You've answered my question. No paths. How bizarre. Is there an equivalent for being able to activate a select area. If I draw with the pen tool, is there a way to keep that 'path' for later? This possum is going to be on the top of a Certificate of Appreciation for vet clinics who help native Australian animals. I want to have it looking real or it will be pretty dumb so I want to come to grips with this new software. Thank you for your advice. It breaks my heart the time I put into that path around the possum's fur and whiskers only to lose it all. Beggars can't be choosers.

I haven't located a 'paths' pallet. What are paths called and can I turn a selected area into a path and subsequently that path into a clipping path? In Photoshop I had a path which I was going to convert to a clipping path and save the file as an EPS. My Photoshop expired unexpectedly. I want the possum to overhang the edge of a piece of paper (not the curled on on one of my layers, just an edge) and hold on to it. As I can't find how to retrieve or recreate the clipping path in Affinity Photo and as a hand-drawn clipping path is way better than one generated by software, I've given up trying that. I thought I'd just have to manage some other way. My problem is I don't know what tools and pallets are called. Is there a glossary of terms so I don't have to spend so much time experimenting and asking dumb questions? I should mention that I have used Photoshop and Illustrator since they originally came out, but while I took ten years off travelling the country, they turned into Creative Cloud and left me behind. I may as well jump ship to Affinity but it's frustrating starting from scratch. baby ringtail copy 2.psd baby ringtail copy 2.afphoto

Too easy. I wonder why Help doesn't bring this up as an option, but the icon makes sense now I recognize it as the eraser on the end of a pencil. Thank you.

I'm sorry. I can see Background Erase Brush Tool in the Help topics. Nothing in the tools. So I went to the brush tool and it highlights areas. This is so frustrating. I have used the Adobe programmes since they were called Photoshop and Illustrator without a number following. Suddenly I know nothing! All I want is an eraser. I want to swipe across something and it disappears. If it's a big area I want a large brush tip an if it's delicate tiny stuff I want a small tip. How do I turn a brush into a normal eraser? Thank you for any plain english help you can give me.

Thank you for your suggestion. I tried erase and tried erase brush. Nothing likely.

I am used to asking Help when I am looking for a tool in new software. I couldn't find an eraser in Affinity Photo so I asked the internet. Still no joy. How do I erase something without drawing a path around it with a pen tool, selecting it and hitting delete please?

Thank you.

My Photoshop expired before I had 'saved as' an EPS and turned a complicated path I'd created into the clipping path. I've only just bought Affinity haven't started using it yet, but just looking around I see no paths' window. What should I be looking for?