Macro recording muliple shapes selection

[AP Nick]

I cannot find a way to select the next shape layer in a mutiple stack of rectangles and then perform a 'Paste Inside' command whilst recording a macro?  If I use Alt[ or Alt] or Ctrl[ or Ctrl] outside of recording the macro, the selection moves to the underlying Background image and not the next rectangle.  Is there a solution to this please?  Thanks.

My objective is to be able to automate by using a macro to 'Paste Inside' each of a mutiple set of rectangles that cover the whole background image.  I can record a macro which creates the multiple set of rectangles using Power transform, right arrow and down arrows etc., on the first rectangle but want to automate the loading, via Paste Inside, of each of the underlying image into each of the rectangle tiles.

[John Rostron]

The macro functionality for copy and paste is limited. If you  Copy (Ctrl-C), then it copies that selection into the macro memory so that, during a macro playback, when you Paste (Ctrl-V) it pastes whatever was copied in the original macro recording, not what you copied in the macro playback.

John

[AP Nick]

John, thanks for the info.  Yes, that is certainly the bahaviour I am seeing.  Having saved a macro and using that based on a Ctrl C of the image in use, if the macro that uses Paste Inside, is then run, it picks up chunks of the earlier image rather than the current image - so, as you say, there must be a 'macro recording'!  Doh!

[carl123]

As a substitute for copy and & paste inside

You should be able to use Layer > Duplicate (CTRL+J) and Arrange > Move Inside to move the duplicated layer inside the target layer - which will work correctly in a macro

But as I don't fully understand what you are doing it's hard to advise further at this stage

 

[R C-R]

On 10/15/2023 at 5:13 AM, AP Nick said:

I cannot find a way to select the next shape layer in a mutiple stack of rectangles...

The only way I know to do that in a macro is to select one layer in the Layers panel, which will pop up a dialog box that has some options like Select layer X from the top or Y from the bottom, so for instance with 8 rectangles in the Layers stack, you could click on the topmost layer & choose "Select layer 1 from the top." Then you could click on the next layer down & choose "Select layer 1 below current" repeatedly to select the next layer down to step through the layers in the stack.

But obviously, this won't help with the paste problem, & the macro would have to repeatedly do the 'one below' sequence for at least as many layers as there are that you want to step though, so it is just about useless for all but the most trivial cases.

I only mention it as an example of how in macros something that isn't recordable if done one way (like selecting a layer in the workspace with the Move Tool) might work in another (like selecting on the Layers panel), albeit with limitations that might make it unsuitable for general use.