Clone brush tool Photo 2: cloning from one image to another image is needed

[Lobivia]

It would be usefull to be able to clone a part of an image to another image; the images are in 2 different files.
I am cleaning scans of old books, and some characters are often blurred or partially erased or stained, and they need to be "repaired". This is easily done using the clone brush provided that the same character (size, font, style…) is found elsewhere within the image. When it is not, the character can often be found in another scanned page of the book. Unfortunately the clone brush does not work from one image to another image. To my point of view, this is a misconception of the clone brush which is a tool of the application, and not a tool attached to an image (imagine a clipboard that would be ineffective from one file to another, effective only within a single file!).
Presently, I am obliged to: 1) copy/paste an area containing the required character from an image to the other; 2) use the clone brush for repairing the problematic character; 3) delete the pasted area.

Remark: the clone brush equivalent of Adobe InDesign works well between two different images/files.

[GarryP]

Welcome to the forums @Lobivia

Have you tried opening the ‘donor image’ as a new layer, putting that layer under the ‘recipient image’ layer, and then setting the Source of the Clone Tool to “Layers Beneath” via the Context Toolbar?

[Zero1]

I was just going to say the same You can temporarily hide the layer to select the source area from the layer below.

[GarryP]

See also Global Sources and the Sources Panel for even more options.

[Lobivia]

Thanks Garry!     (Zero1, are you a clone of Garry?   😜)

I am new to Affinty software and I am not very familiar (furthermore, let us forget that I am 72 yo!!!)
I did not think of importing the "donnor" image in a new layer of the "recipient" image. But I still consider that it is a misconception of the clone brush for 3 reasons (at least?):

• Your suggestion is an improved version of my copy/paste trick. You should be awware that I need systemaically to open first one or several potential "donnor" page(s) to see whether the required character is present or not. Thus the "donnor" files are already open, although not imported as a new layer of the "recipient" image… Cloning from one image to another one would thus be helpful.
• Consider my comparison with a copy/paste that would not work from one file to another file.
• Cloning among different images works well wih InDesign… (That I am abandoning for price reason! And probably because I feel I am falling in love with Affinty…😂)

Finally, to definitely prove that I am an unfamiliar 72 yo beginner both with Affinity and this forum, do you know whether the developper team of Affinity will consider my message as a potential improvement of Photo? (I don't know how to report for a [potential] bug or an improvement suggestion/request).

PS: since I am French, it has been helpful to use some of your wording (i.e., "donnor", "recipient"…)

[Zero1]

Actually as GarryP mentioned, the global source is exactly what you are looking for. You can open up a document and use the clone brush and select the source and then press add global source. In the other document you can now use the global dropdown. You can add multiple global sources and with the sources panel you can select the source which should apply when using the global dropdown.

Check out (around 7.40 the global source is explained)...

 

[GarryP]

You’re welcome Lobivia.

I can see how being able to clone from another opened image might be useful in this case.

The developers don’t usually look in the Questions section of the forums for feedback – there’s probably too much to look through – but you can add a feature request in the appropriate Feedback section of the forums. (Maybe there's already one which you can 'add your voice to' if you search for one, although I'm not sure what you could search for that wouldn't give lots of threads to manually look through.)

Scratch that. I see that the thread is in the appropriate section of the forums already (for some reason I thought it was in Questions) so there’s nothing further that you need to do, unless there's more detail that you wish to add.

Edited December 10, 2022 by GarryP
Fixed mistake(s).

[Lobivia]

Thanks to both of you!!!

First, I took my lunch (it was time here in France!). Second, back to my problems. Third, I read the documentation and I learnt what is a global source… There a

The concept of global source is the obvious solution to my problem… Apart that it is not obvious to the beginer! I just wonder why any open image is not a "global source"; I will then use the clone brush, option-clic on the "donnor source image" to select the desired pixels, and finally "paint"(= paste) on the recipient image… As already told and repeated, I don't need a "global source" when using the clipboard!
I guess that behind thge concept of "global source" there is something more subtle than the solution to my specific problem………  🤨

Anyway, as we use to say in Massif central (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massif_Central: "Better to die at night than in the morning because you may learn something during the day!"

[Lobivia]

Oooops… bad return key that put a mess in my message… I was adding at the second line: … There are so many things to learn, even at 72!

Again thanks; I consider that the thread is closed now.