unable to remove background

[Old Colonist]

In both designer and photo, when I make a selection, then invert it, I end up deleting what's in the selection. This happens when I don't invert as well. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Am I doing something wrong? Is this a bug? Have been using Photoshop for ~20 years, so am not a newbie. Thanks in advance for any help.

Tom

[Butler To Cats]

Hi Tom!

Mind giving step-by-step details on your process? (and platform - Mac or Windows?)

Version (Help menu, About - unless it's the specific application menu on a Mac)

 

Are you using shortcut keys or menus?

Are you automatically hitting the Delete key (or some simulation of it) which in some contexts (depending on your version of Photoshop, and whether the background had been converted to a layer) would confusingly either fill with background colour or bring up a fill dialog, while in Affinity Designer or Photo the Delete key quite sensibly deletes the selected area (because that's what a Delete key is meant to do, dash it all).

 

For example, in Affinity Photo (1.5.1.54, Windows):

Freehand Selection Tool (lasso)

Select an area.

Select menu, Invert Pixel Selection (or default shortcut equivalent, Ctrl+Shift+I).

On another layer, paint in the now selected area.

 

In Affinity Designer (1.5.2.58, Windows):

Add a new Pixel layer

Use the Freehand Selection Tool (lasso)

Select menu, Invert Pixel Selection (or default shortcut equivalent, Ctrl+Shift+I).

Paint in the now selected area.

[Fixx]

Invert selection (cmd-shift-i) works good in my system (mac). It is the actual delete part which is unpredictable. For example often backspace does not affect but cut works.  :unsure:

[Old Colonist]

I'm running Windows 10. In photoshop, alt + backspace fills selection with foreground color, so I'm not using any modifier keys, just either backspace or delete. In both AP and AD using only either the delete or backspace keys just deletes everything. For example, my last attempt was on image of an apple. After selecting the apple, inverting the selection (I tried both keyboard shortcut and the selection menu command... same results) hitting either delete or backspace produces just an empty selection. Happens every time and I'm Flummoxed! By the way, thanks for your quick response everyone.

[carl123]

Make sure you are working on a pixel layer and not an image layer.
 

Look in the layers tab and check it says (pixel) in brackets next to the layer's name.

 

If it says (image) right click the layer and select rasterise, then try again

[Old Colonist]

Carl123,

That did it. I was mistakenly expecting a placed JPEG to automatically be rasterized like in PS. Once I right clicked and selected 'rasterize' everything worked fine, both in Designer and Photo. 

Thanks again for your help. The folks on this forum are just incredible

[christovw66]

I agree with you Old Colonist about the folks on this forum - incredible in both response time AND detail in addressing issues.

 

From your question and the responses to it, I learned yet another detail that most certainly would have run up against. Fantastic.

 

Thanks all.

-Christo