There's Something Wrong

[OJB]

First, I have to say I really like this program. I have Photoshop and Pixelmator but try to use AP as much as possible. And it's that potential which makes my comment more frustrating.

 

I don't know what it is, but there is something about AP which doesn't make sense. I have used graphics programs for 30 years so I generally know what I'm doing, but I constantly find myself "trapped" by AP. Things happen for no apparent reason.

 

For example, today I extended the canvas size and saw the extra transparent area appear, but there was nothing I could do with it. None of the tools worked. Then I tried to copy pixels from the background later. I couldn't. Why not? In the end I had to do a screen grab to the clipboard, paste to a new layer, then merge the layers! Huh?

 

It could very well be my ignorance, but I thought what I tried to do made sense. There's something unintuitive about this program some times. Just sayin'... Maybe concentrate on making the UI more intuitive next upgrade?

[R C-R]

When the pixel tools won't do anything, it is often because no layer is selected. That can happen for a variety of reasons, like clicking outside the canvas with the Move Tool, hitting the escape key by accident, or clicking on an empty spot in the Layers panel.

 

The same thing applies for most of the tools if anything besides a pixel layer is selected in the Layers panel. Pixel layers are always indicated by the "(Pixel)" suffix in the Layers panel. If for example an image layer (indicated by the "(Image)" suffix) is selected, only a few tools will do anything because an image layer is treated as a single object, just like a vector shape.

 

So when things don't seem to be working as expected, it is a good idea to check to see what, if anything, is selected. 

[Alfred]

If for example an image layer (indicated by the "(Image)" suffix) is selected, only a few tools will do anything because an image layer is treated as a single object, just like a vector shape.

 

If this is what you're seeing, right-click on that layer in the Layers panel and choose 'Rasterize...' to turn it into a pixel layer so that it can be manipulated at the pixel level.

[OJB]

OK, thanks for those comments. I will persist and maybe the program will become more intuitive as I use it more.

[SrPx]

When the pixel tools won't do anything, it is often because no layer is selected.

 

 

Actually, this happens too in PS. (layer got deselected by clicking somewhere in the layers panel, or by several other ways)