How to mouse drag and duplicate/create a copy/clone a selection of pixel on the same layer? on Affinity Photo

[Leo Leong]

Hi, as the title, can I select and drag to create a copy of selected pixels on the same layer?

[loukash]

Short answer:
No.

Long answer:
forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/search/&q=select drag copy pixel&quick=1

[Leo Leong]

Sad, but thanks.

[loukash]

There's nothing "sad" about it.
Simply get used to a different workflow:

1. Layer > Duplicate Selection – creates a new pixel layer
2. Move Tool – move selection to the new location
3. optional: Layer > Merge Down/Selection/Visible, depending on what you need

[loukash]

Or the above kinda in "reverse order":

1. duplicate the whole layer
2. cmd-drag to cut the selection on the duplicate layer in place
3. merge down

[loukash]

Or use the Clone Brush tool in place.
Create e.g. a custom square hard brush for this purpose and then just clone away.

So many possibilities…

[Leo Leong]

Don't worry 😂 I have been using other ways to achieve it, just want to know the possibility of the easiest way I have in mind.

[R C-R]

5 hours ago, loukash said:

There's nothing "sad" about it.

Well, it is a little sad that the absence of a drag-to-copy-selection function requires a more complex, multi-step workflow to do that simple task.

[thomaso]

On 5/31/2021 at 6:49 PM, R C-R said:

Well, it is a little sad that the absence of a drag-to-copy-selection function requires a more complex, multi-step workflow to do that simple task.

Indeed sad because of unnecessary cumbersome. But it's also strange that the hints at the bottom seem to offer literally the possibility to cmd-move a clone of the current selection with cmd - but in fact it just cuts. Is this a misunderstanding?

[R C-R]

55 minutes ago, thomaso said:

But it's also strange that the hints at the bottom seem to offer literally the possibility to cmd-move a clone of the current selection with cmd - but in fact it just cuts. Is this a misunderstanding?

I don't think you have misunderstood what it says in the status bar but it does not clone anything when I try it; just moves the selection to a new position on the same layer, leaving an empty spot where the selection was initially.

[thomaso]

8 minutes ago, R C-R said:

I don't think you have misunderstood what it says in the status bar but it does not clone anything when I try it; just moves the selection to a new position on the same layer, leaving an empty spot where the selection was initially.

So here status bar info or tool behavior don't correspond with the idea of "by design"?

I am afraid the status bar info is kind of copy paste while the behavior is "by design" whereas none of both would happen in purpose: if the info is wanted then the behavior is wrong, while the missing behavior is obviously known as the expected behavior.

[R C-R]

2 hours ago, thomaso said:

So here status bar info or tool behavior don't correspond with the idea of "by design"?

I don't know how it was designed to work, just that it does not work like I expect it to based on the info in the status bar.

[Old Bruce]

Don't forget the Designer's Contour Tool's Option to clone the object and apply contour status bar information. Didn't work from inception and still doesn't. 

[Lloyd Floyd]

On 5/31/2021 at 4:13 AM, Leo Leong said:

Sad, but thanks.

It's sad and also most annoying that Affinity doesn't do this. There are so many things about Affinity that are so efficient and sensible. But this is a serious absence.

 

We should be able to select anything and easily drag copies of it to the same layer. It is so easy to be confused about which layer it is being pasted to, when all you want is for it to remain in the layer you are working on. This is continually disrupting my work flow.

[RonMD]

i need this feature too,.. is there a wish list somewhere?