Stroke a Selection

[bobrains]

I am trying to find a way to outline or stroke a selection but not having much luck.  What I want to do is to make a selection from a raster image, then outline that selection into a vector and discard the raster image.  I only need the outline.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Bob

[MEB]

Hi Bob,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

Currently there's no way to convert a selection into a path (only the opposite). There's also no way to stroke a selection directly but you can go to menu Select ▸ Outline, then fill the selection with the colour you want to simulate the stroke (this gives you a raster "stroke"). If you need a vector stroke then the only way is to draw it manually with the Pen Tool.

[Mann Artt]

Thanks, MEB, for providing a way to – kinda – do this. I've been scratching my head for quite a while on this very thing.

I would consider stroke path to be basic functionality in any graphics app. That you can do it easily in Photoshop but not in Photo is maddening. At least for me. 

I wonder if others feel the same way? Is this capability going to be implemented at some point? 

(NOTE: I basically love and use Photo and Designer, but there are some really easy-to-do things in Photoshop which are actually a pain over here. Sigh...)

[Mann Artt]

I just thought of a way to do this with a pixel layer. It's kinda obvious once you get the "Aha!" moment. 

Select the shape you want to stroke and create a new layer. Fill the new layer with white (or any other color for that matter; it just needs to be different from the Stroke). 

Define the Stroke (as if stroking a path) using FX > Stroke. With a white Fill, use a black Stroke. Make a copy of this layer if you think you may need to make adjustments. 

Rasterize the layer, then select the fill color and delete it. Voila! You've now got a stroked path! 

It's kind of a kludge, but it works! :-)

[walt.farrell]

Interesting approach, but didn't you say you wanted a vector at the end? (".. outline that selection into a vector...")