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Delete Selection [Affinity Photo]


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I'm become crazy by a stupid simple task: How to delete something in an selection? 

 

I've selected an area (Rect selection) that i want to delete. Then i press the delete key, but it deletes the complete layer!? I've searched in the Edit- and the Selection-Menu, but nothing. Then i use the help to search for delete, and it finds just the Delete Layer command? Searching for that term in google shows me al lot of impressive tricks, but not how to delete the content inside a simple selection.

 

So i switched to Pixelmator to do that in two seconds... - But that's insane, for such a basic function.

 

Where did you hide the simple delete function?

I don't use Photoshop and never used Illustrator. 

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  • Staff

Hi Macoun,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

That's because you are working with an Image layer type. Right-click on it in the Layers panel and select Rasterise... (to convert it to a Pixel layer). You should now be able to delete just the part you selected.

Image layers are considered an object layer type, like Text or Shapes and can only be transformed at a global level (scale/skew/rotate etc). To work at a pixel level you must convert them to a Pixel layer as described above. You can identify the type of layer you are working with looking at the label in parenthesis after the layer's name in the Layers panel.

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Hi Macoun,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

That's because you are working with an Image layer type. Right-click on it in the Layers panel and select Rasterise... (to convert it to a Pixel layer). You should now be able to delete just the part you selected.

Image layers are considered an object layer type, like Text or Shapes and can only be transformed at a global level (scale/skew/rotate etc). To work at a pixel level you must convert them to a Pixel layer as described above. You can identify the type of layer you are working with looking at the label in parenthesis after the layer's name in the Layers panel.

 

Hello MEB.

 

Sorry for that harsh introduction. I love Affinity Designer since the beginning. But the handling of Affinity Photo getting me down. Over and over again. 

 

What you suggested works, but the explanation is wired. Because there is no vector layer. The layer is and was before an Pixel-Layer. So it contained just Bitmap-data without shapes; no text; no vector-layers at all. I opened just a PNG-Image. That's all. And you can see it obviously in the screenshot beside the layer title: "(Pixel)". That's the starting point.

 

Now converting a Pixel layer into an Pixel layer (  :huh: Huh? ) works, but doesn't makes really sense at all. And you don't have to do that in any other "Bitmap-Editor-Application" on the market.

 

 WpBlm3f.png

 

 

P.S.:

The lesson i've learned: Instead wasting time with searching and the help-function, ask the forum at first.   ^_^

I don't use Photoshop and never used Illustrator. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • Staff

Hello kdawgwilk,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

Without seeing the file is difficult to guess what's going on. Are you still able to reproduce it?

It may have been a glitch or a specific situation where the incorrect layer become selected due to some previous operation...

Let me know if it happens again and how to replicate it.

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  • 10 months later...

I stumbled upon this behaviour as well. In my case, I used "create new from clipboard" (which contained a screenshot). AP treated the screenshot as an image, not as a pixel layer. It drove me crazy for 5 minutes, then I asked Google and up came this thread. My problem is solved now, but I want to second that this is one of the very few disadvantages of Affinity Photo. But I'm sure you will find a solution for this, as usual ;-)

 

Possible solution:

  • open pixel based files, clipboard content etc. as pixel layer per default, not as image.
  • include an option to convert the pixel layer to an image object (if needed).
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  • 1 month later...

Without seeing the file is difficult to guess what's going on. Are you still able to reproduce it?

It may have been a glitch or a specific situation where the incorrect layer become selected due to some previous operation...

 

It looks like dragging and dropping an image file from the Finder creates an image layer and requires a conversion to a pixel layer thereafter.

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  • Staff

Hi WillCroPoint,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

 

That's true, but the user to which i replied what you quoted stated explicitly that the layer in question was already a pixel layer (see below).

 

I also experienced this same problem and wasn't able to even find this feed until I did an advanced google search My layer also stated it was a (pixel) layer but I was still not able to simply delete a selection until I converted the (pixel) layer to (pixel) layer ? confusing...

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  • 5 months later...

Hi,
I think I'm going mad, but I swear the command to delete a selection (Affinity Photo - selection around an image) was CTRL-X. 
CTRL-X is now filling my selection with white. Also if I select an area around my rasterised image and press CTRL J for duplicate. It duplicates it on a new layer, but with a white background?! I want the background to be transparent. I just want my selection.

I've been Googling and Youtubing for half an hour now. How do I delete my selection? Very confused. 

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Hi Kiarian

 

If you select an area you want and press Ctrl J, you will get just your desired selection on a transparent background (new layer). However, that means you can still see everything on the layers below, so you can't tell unless you hide all the layers below or cut and paste your layer onto something else.

 

Cut (Ctrl X) will make a hole i.e. remove the selected area and reveal the layer below. Which will be white if the layer is white.

 

You can also copy a selection of the area you want by using Ctrl C and go File > New From Clipboard to get just your selection in a new document, on a transparent background.

 

Note, in all cases make sure you have the right layer selected and you might have to invert the selection to get the part you want.

 

Did you say you had the area around the image selected? i.e. the bit you don't want? If you remove the bit you don't want, make sure there is nothing on the layers below, because that is what you will see.

Windows PCs. Photo and Designer, latest non-beta versions.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...
On 27/01/2016 at 5:31 PM, MEB said:

Hi Macoun,

No worries :)

I don't know why it didn't work the first time for you. When you open a JPG it opens as a Pixel layer. You should be able to delete a selection immediately. It may have been a pontual glitch.

Are you able to reproduce the issue with another JPG file?

I've had Affinity Photo for two months now and I love it, but I've just had the exact same problem and then had to search to find how to do it. It says it's a pixel layer (I did a screengrab and then copied it as a jpeg into Affinity Photo) but I had no idea how to delete a section of the jpeg until I found this forum. It really doesn't make sense that you have to rasterise a pixel layer before you can delete parts of it... you should consider changing that in updates. Apart from that (and a crash the other day when I worked with a 500m file), I don't miss Photoshop one bit :-)

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An image file is an embedded file. It can be at a different resolution to the main image.

 

If you are creating a website, or even want to increase the size of the embedded image later, you need an embedded file to be maintained at a higher resolution. 

 

Changing it would be a downdate, not an update. Not something I want to see.

Windows PCs. Photo and Designer, latest non-beta versions.

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  • 3 months later...

Same problem for me. 

I'm making myself use Affinity photo to convert from photoshop (how did Adobe become so evil?) But there are lots of little quirks and kinks that slow down the workflow. It still feels a bit rough around the edges.

I gave up trying to delete a selection and ended up just filling it.

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16 minutes ago, eyelight said:

Same problem for me. 

I gave up trying to delete a selection and ended up just filling it.

If the layer panel says it's a pixel layer, I don't understand why you'd have a problem deleting a selection. On the other hand, if it says it's an image, then you'd need to rasterize it first (right click on the layer in the layer panel, then choose "Rasterize...".

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
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47 minutes ago, eyelight said:

 

I gave up trying to delete a selection and ended up just filling it.

 

What is happening ? or not happening ?

 

Take an image.

but1.jpg.9d10ca894ef8a376e27864d2992a70b7.jpg

 

As walt.farrell say's it must be a pixel layer.

pixel.jpg.759cda534ccdc7d28b51c93374256136.jpg

If not rasterize it first.

 

1. Make a selection. 

but2.jpg.c857d9891038a87bfa39f6fdf0fdd796.jpg

 

2. Press Delete

but3.jpg.ba09b22dca8fc434737ef53acaceb1f3.jpg

 

And it's gone.

Windows PCs. Photo and Designer, latest non-beta versions.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/18/2018 at 2:34 AM, toltec said:

 

What is happening ? or not happening ?

 

Take an image.

but1.jpg.9d10ca894ef8a376e27864d2992a70b7.jpg

 

As walt.farrell say's it must be a pixel layer.

pixel.jpg.759cda534ccdc7d28b51c93374256136.jpg

If not rasterize it first.

 

1. Make a selection. 

but2.jpg.c857d9891038a87bfa39f6fdf0fdd796.jpg

 

2. Press Delete

but3.jpg.ba09b22dca8fc434737ef53acaceb1f3.jpg

 

And it's gone.

So how do you explain this? Pixel layer - selection
3.thumb.PNG.f4b3b28876122ec6a12ef920d9be26eb.PNG

 

Now I press delete

4.thumb.PNG.9c6e41ad17095adc3babc504fd284e37.PNG

Eh?!?

 

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14 minutes ago, MEB said:

Set the Feather value in the context toolbar to zero then create the selection again.

In the context toolbar for what tool? Erase doesn't have a feather value. I CTRL clicked a radial gradient to get a selection, then I have clicked the stone texture pixel layer to make active, then delete. All the Erase tool has is Width/Opactiy/Flow/Hardness, all set to 100%.

Edit: I CTRL+I the selection and pressed delete, to get my desired effect. Still not 100% sure why I get this faded gradient, from what looks like a solid selection though. It's the effect I want, just trying to understand it.

5.thumb.PNG.128c13c1f3956bcd0a3015f844020c39.PNG

Edited by Kiarian
Figured it out, I think
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  • Staff

I assumed you created the circular selection using the Elliptical Selection Marquee Tool selected. That's where the feather setting interfere here.

If you CTRL-click a gradient (with no transparency) you should get a clean selection around the content of the gradient (boundaries) which will be entirely deleted when you press the delete key. If the gradient you used for the selection uses transparency or if you pressed CTRL+SHIFT instead (which creates a luminosity selection) then the selection will have varying degrees of transparency which will be reflected in the deleted area when you press the delete key.

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8 minutes ago, MEB said:

I assumed you created the circular selection using the Elliptical Selection Marquee Tool selected. That's where the feather setting interfere here.

No, I selected a radial gradient on a new layer, from black to 0% opacity, then clicked the image layer to make active, then pressed delete.

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