crop tool has no "apply" button

[toddpollino]

I'm using Affinity designer 2 (2.5.3) on a Mac using Monterey (12.7.5).  I'm trying to crop a photo.  I can use the tool to place my crop but there is no APPLY button.  Another forum suggested that I needed to check the SHOW CONTEXT TOOLBAR from the VIEW dropdown menu.  It is checked and the toolbar is empty.  I've tried turning it on and off and I see where the CONTEXT TOOLBAR opens and closes but it is empty. Any help, please? 

[Hangman]

Hi @toddpollino and welcome to the forums,

Affinity Designer has a non-destructive vector crop tool which uses a mask to crop the image so there is no Apply button...

7 hours ago, toddpollino said:

Another forum suggested that I needed to check the SHOW CONTEXT TOOLBAR from the VIEW dropdown menu.  It is checked and the toolbar is empty.  I've tried turning it on and off and I see where the CONTEXT TOOLBAR opens and closes but it is empty. Any help, please?

This refers to the Raster Crop tool in Affinity Photo...

[walt.farrell]

@toddpollino: If that photo is the only item on the document, then did you use File > Place (or drag/drop onto a New document) instead of File > Open? If so, Opening the image might work better, as the document will then be that exact size automatically.

Or, you could use Photo, which has the Crop Tool you want, as @Hangman mentioned.

Or, in Designer, you could draw around the photo using the Artboard Tool, then choose Selection in the Context Toolbar and click Insert. That will give you an Artboard of the size you chose, as your only document content.

[toddpollino]

I'm coming from more than 20 years in Photoshop.  Cropping was a one-click thing that one didn't even think about.  Hangman, I'm not sure I understand what you guys mean.  Is Affinity Photo a different program than Affinity Designer, or just a different persona?  Walt, I think I follow what you are suggesting.  I will give that a try.  Thank you, Gentlemen.

[Hangman]

12 minutes ago, toddpollino said:

I'm not sure I understand what you guys mean.  Is Affinity Photo a different program than Affinity Designer, or just a different persona?

Yes, Affinity Designer is the equivalent of Adobe Illustrator, primarily a vector-based program and Affinity Photo is the equivalent of Adobe Photoshop, primarily a raster-based program where you will find the Apply Button to crop your image...

When cropping an image in Affinity Designer you are applying a non-destructive vector crop rather than a rester crop as you would be in Photoshop or Photo. Note that Affinity Designer also includes a Pixel Persona for limited Pixel-based editing but that persona doesn't include the raster crop tool found in Affinity Photo...

[thomaso]

On 8/3/2024 at 1:18 PM, walt.farrell said:

Or, in Designer, you could draw around the photo using the Artboard Tool, then choose Selection in the Context Toolbar and click Insert.

Isn't this an unnecessary combination of two different workflows?

With the Artboard Tool I can either draw a new artboard without using the Context Toolbar … or select an object in the Layers Panel + click "Insert Artboard" in the Context Toolbar to get a new Artboard in the size of the selected layer(s).

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, toddpollino said:

Is Affinity Photo a different program than Affinity Designer, or just a different persona?

There are three different Affinity apps, Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, & Affinity Publisher. See for example https://affinity.serif.com/ for an overview, "More Info" links for each of them, purchase options, etc.