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There's probably a simple answer to this one.

 

I chose a jpg file of a rabbit on a white background and wanted to delete the background. Using the selection brush, I selected the background.

 

Then I hit delete.

 

Everything was deleted, rabbit and all. All that was left was the ouline of the rabbit on a checkerboard background.

 

I must be missing a step.

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Is the image you're working on an 'Image' layer, rather than a 'Pixel' layer? It will say what type of layer it is in brackets.

If it is, you can either right-click on the layer and go to 'Rasterise'.  Or instead of deleting what you don't want, use the selection to create a layer mask and just mask what you don't want visible.

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It's an Image file.

Note that Sima suggested you might be working on an image layer (one that in the Layers panel will be identified with "(Image)" after its name). Image layers are different from pixel layers (identified with "(Pixel)" after the name) -- they are treated in Affinity as single objects, so they cannot be edited at the pixel level. This is why everything on an image layer will be deleted instead of just a part of it.

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Note that Sima suggested you might be working on an image layer (one that in the Layers panel will be identified with "(Image)" after its name). Image layers are different from pixel layers (identified with "(Pixel)" after the name) -- they are treated in Affinity as single objects, so they cannot be edited at the pixel level. This is why everything on an image layer will be deleted instead of just a part of it.

 

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you.  I have a background image that I started with.  It is listed as an image file.  Using a selection brush, I can select part of the image and create a layer mask.  When I do that, aren't I editing at the pixel level?

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Maybe it's easier to show you in a screenshot:

 

post-29590-0-73476500-1490628302_thumb.png

 

 

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you.  I have a background image that I started with.  It is listed as an image file.  Using a selection brush, I can select part of the image and create a layer mask.  When I do that, aren't I editing at the pixel level?

 

No, you're just masking the image.  The mask is it's own layer and if you delete the layer mask, all the original image data is still there intact. However, if you try to modify an actual 'Image' layer with the Paint Brush tool, Erase Brush tool, Clone Stamp tool, Warp/Perspective tool, etc. (something that alters the actual original image), it'll change to a 'Pixel' layer. Although some tools such as the Flood Fill tool or Inpainting tool (and deleting selected areas) don't automatically change the layer to a 'Pixel' layer, so it will appear as if the tools aren't working properly until you rasterise the layer.

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I have a background image that I started with.  It is listed as an image file.

It is not an image file after it is brought into Affinity. It is an image layer. An Affinity document can have one or more layers, & be saved or exported to a file, but files & layers are two different things.

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Okay, thanks.

 

I just read in the Help manual that if you use the Place command to add an image to your project, a vector layer is created.  

 

I tried that, and the new layer is called an image layer not a vector layer.  Is that right?

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I don't see any mention of a vector layer in the Help here. It just says:

 

  • Drag an image from Finder to your page. The image will be added to the project as a new layer.

 

(There is a minor error in the above: it should say "Explorer" rather than "Finder" since I'm using the Windows version of the program.)

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Here's the section I was referring to:

 

"Types of layer

There are several types of layers that can be created:

  • Pixel layer—containing raster images where pixel-based editing takes place.
  • Mask layer—special layer that allows you to define what content is hidden to reveal layers beneath.
  • Adjustment layer—special layer that can be used to correct or enhance the layers beneath.
  • Fill layer—special layer that contains an adjustable solid or gradient color.
  • Snapshot layer—special layer that contains a predefined project snapshot as a single, flattened pixel layer.
  • Vector layer—vector content, such as curves, shapes, text and placed images, occupy their own unique layer.

Vector layers are automatically created whenever you:

 

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Thanks for the clarification. Each of those "Vector layers are automatically created whenever you" bullet points is a link, and the last one takes me to the section that I quoted earlier.

 

I suppose it could be referring to the fact that an Image layer is treated as a single object rather than a collection of pixels, but it does seem a little inaccurate.

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Yes, I agree.  As another experiment, I created a new file with a text layer.  The program called it either "Art Text" or "Frame Text".  Perhaps the vector layer concept has been deleted.

 

No, the vector layer concept has not been deleted. Text layers are just one of the several types of vector layers. The help is clear about that much: "Vector layer—vector content, such as curves, shapes, text and placed images, occupy their own unique layer."

 

We usually think of vector content as curves & shapes but like text they are all examples of objects defined by paths, which may be filled or unfilled & stroked or not stroked. In a broad sense, placed images can be considered to be defined the same way -- you can add a stroke to a placed image or even fill it with a color. Like the other vector content types, they also can be scaled, rotated, sheared, or even converted to curves, at which point they are identical to curves or shapes with bitmap fills.

 

More to the point here, just like with any other vector content type you cannot delete just a part of a placed image -- you can only delete its entire path, & along with it everything it contains.

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  • 9 months later...
On 2017-03-26 at 2:06 PM, HVDB Fotografie said:

When your selection was made did you see the marching ants ?

Did you try  Document  > Transparent Background ?

 

Thank you sir! You've just saved me many more hours of google search!

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