Geometry (Layer Tab)

[AffinityJules]

Are there any tutorials out there that explain or show how the geometry tools work in Photo, and what they actually do?

It's something I've only used now and again - mainly through lack of understanding, and some of the terms baffle me as to what they mean.

Like Xor for example, what the hell is that?

[GarryP]

Have you read the Help page for “Joining vector shapes”?

[carl123]

Or try YouTube 

 

[AffinityJules]

1 minute ago, GarryP said:

Have you read the Help page for “Joining vector shapes”?

Nope.

I have trouble with the help section, I can never find exactly what it is I'm looking for.

A video would be preferable.

[AffinityJules]

3 minutes ago, carl123 said:

Or try YouTube 

 

I see the tutorial here is for Designer, is it the same as the functions in Photo?

[GarryP]

There might be some differences as to how you access the functionalities (menus, buttons, etc.) but the results should generally be the same across the applications.

[Bound by Beans]

2 hours ago, AffinityJules said:

Are there any tutorials out there that explain or show how the geometry tools work in Photo, and what they actually do?

It's something I've only used now and again - mainly through lack of understanding, and some of the terms baffle me as to what they mean.

Like Xor for example, what the hell is that?

🟢 Add
Merges everything into one shape.
If two shapes overlap, they become one big shape – all combined into a single outline.

🔴 Subtract
Cuts the top shape out of the bottom one.
Think of it like a cookie cutter – the top shape punches a hole in the one underneath.

🟡 Intersect
Keeps only the overlapping area.
Everything else disappears – you’re left with just the shared space between the shapes.

🟣 Xor (Exclusive OR)
Removes the overlapping part – keeps the rest.
It’s the opposite of Intersect: what overlaps is deleted, and only the non-overlapping parts remain.

🔵 Divide
Splits shapes into separate pieces wherever they overlap.
You can then move or delete each little chunk individually.

The creative potential is a long story, but for example, you can create vector shapes directly in Photo:

 then 🟢 ADD 

And then you can drag it onto the thumbnail of an image to use it as a layer mask:

🔵 DIVIDE:

It gives you this (I've separated the parts to show what the effect actually does):

It's probably more useful for you to explore this in Designer while you're learning. Keep in mind that geometry tools are the old-school methods for building shapes. Nowadays, we have better software and hardware, so tools like the Shape Builder Tool make certain things easier, faster, and more creative.

The most natural place to use geometry is in Designer, but there are also scenarios where it can be useful in Photo. That said, I’m guessing you’re not exactly in desperate need of it. 🙂

[AffinityJules]

9 minutes ago, Bound by Beans said:

 

The most natural place to use geometry is in Designer, but there are also scenarios where it can be useful in Photo. That said, I’m guessing you’re not exactly in desperate need of it. 🙂

Thanks for taking the time to post this, very useful to know and to have explained in detail.

I don't have Designer - it's all too much for me, I'm strictly a Photo user who uses nothing else.

[Bound by Beans]

37 minutes ago, AffinityJules said:

I don't have Designer - it's all too much for me, I'm strictly a Photo user who uses nothing else.

Allright, vector shapes start to make sense when used for things like:

"I want to limit a color adjustment to a specific shape on the image."

"I want to create a custom frame, badge, or label shape for a photo project."

"I want to build a clipping mask that controls exactly where an image shows through."

"I want to make a soft-edged cutout using clean vector edges instead of painting by hand."

The possibilities are many, so once you have an idea of how you might use it, give it a try – and feel free to come back and ask. It's the combination of tools in programs like Photo and Photoshop that makes them incredibly versatile… and just as hard to explain briefly and clearly. 🙂

[R C-R]

5 hours ago, AffinityJules said:

I have trouble with the help section, I can never find exactly what it is I'm looking for.

For Affinity Photo,  try https://affinity.help/photo2/en-US.lproj/pages/CurvesShapes/join.html. There are several non-obvious options like using a 'key' object for subtraction or creating non-destructive compounds, which can be very useful.

[AffinityJules]

Nope. . .not really getting this at all.

I'm at the point now when I revert back to simply rasterising the shape/selecting it/then removing the unwanted part.

Update: double nope! Decided to revert to old methods which I know will work for me. I don't think I'll ever visit the geometry tab ever again. What a faff!

[SoCal-Marcel]

Try and make two copies of your ellipse, use one for the Geometry Subtract action and keep the other one on your page. 

[Ron P.]

@AffinityJules, Are you looking for the same result CorelDraw provides with it's Trim function? That's not possible in Affinity. The closet you can get is what SoCal-Marcel described, using 2 copies of the ellipse.

[Bound by Beans]

On 5/17/2025 at 1:41 AM, AffinityJules said:

Nope. . .not really getting this at all.

I'm at the point now when I revert back to simply rasterising the shape/selecting it/then removing the unwanted part.

Update: double nope! Decided to revert to old methods which I know will work for me. I don't think I'll ever visit the geometry tab ever again. What a faff!

Hi @AffinityJules

If what you want after a subtract operation is to keep both the original circle and the cropped rectangle, it's actually quite simple — but you won’t get that result from a single subtract step.

Do the following:

1. Create a circle and a rectangle, with the circle placed on top.
2. Make a copy of the circle only (e.g. using Ctrl + J or copy-paste).
3. Select the rectangle and the original circle in the Layers panel, then go to Layer → Geometry → Subtract.

You’ll now have two objects in your Layers panel:

1. The cropped rectangle
2. The copy of the circle (untouched)

Let me know how it goes if you give it a try.

[R C-R]

2 hours ago, Bound by Beans said:

Do the following:

1. Place the circle on top of the rectangle.
2. Select both in the Layers panel.
3. Make a copy using copy-paste, or more easily with Ctrl + J to duplicate.
4. Go directly to Layer -> Geometry -> Subtract.

This can be simplified a bit by duplicating just the circle, not both the circle & rectangle so you get a stacking order of ellipse, ellipse, rectangle. Select the lower ellipse & rectangle & do the subtract. The result is just the ellipse & clipped rectangle. No need to delete the original rectangle, although sometimes one might want to keep the original rectangle to use it again. If so duplicating both as above would be the way to go & then maybe just hide the original.

So in the simplest case, it should take maybe 2-4 seconds to do this.

[str_a]

the easiest way

 

 

[Bound by Beans]

13 hours ago, R C-R said:

This can be simplified a bit by duplicating just the circle, not both the circle & rectangle so you get a stacking order of ellipse, ellipse, rectangle. Select the lower ellipse & rectangle & do the subtract. The result is just the ellipse & clipped rectangle. No need to delete the original rectangle, although sometimes one might want to keep the original rectangle to use it again. If so duplicating both as above would be the way to go & then maybe just hide the original.

So in the simplest case, it should take maybe 2-4 seconds to do this.

Yes, you're absolutely right — I was too focused on trying to make the operation easy to understand for Jules. Thanks for that.

 

[R C-R]

8 hours ago, str_a said:

the easiest way

That has the potential drawback of changing the ellipse to a curve object with more nodes to adjust if it needs to be reshaped later on. That may or may not matter depending on the user's needs.