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Selecting with pen tool in Photo


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I've seen two or three tutorials for AP that tell me to draw a closed shape with the pen tool and make a selection of that shape by clicking 'Select' on the toolbar, which (it says) will make the selection. It doesn't work for me! Am I missing something, doing it wrong, or what? I'm using Windows 7.

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You need to make sure that you’re working on a ‘Pixel’ layer, not an ‘Image’ layer, so that you can make a pixel selection. If you’re already doing that, Steve, then I don’t know why it isn’t working for you.

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22 minutes ago, Kasper-V said:

I've seen two or three tutorials for AP that tell me to draw a closed shape with the pen tool and make a selection of that shape by clicking 'Select' on the toolbar, which (it says) will make the selection. It doesn't work for me! Am I missing something, doing it wrong, or what? I'm using Windows 7.

You must be on the correct layer and the Pen Tool must be selected. It won't work with the Node Tool.

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Windows PCs. Photo and Designer, latest non-beta versions.

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15 hours ago, αℓƒяє∂ said:

You need to make sure that you’re working on a ‘Pixel’ layer, not an ‘Image’ layer, so that you can make a pixel selection.

This is really a needless irritation for new users and a workflow block for everyone. Again something that is solved in a perfectly consistant, much simpler and less error prone way in Photoshop. Ctrl+clicking the Layer miniature in the stack turns its content into a pixel selection, regardless what it is - even if it's an embedded layer Photoshop can't edit natively. No need to have a particular tool active, no need to create a bitmap copy first - the right object is targeted automatically, by having to click the layer. Affinity really needs to get rid of such traps and needlessly convoluted workflows. Nesting universally useful and often needed functionality (create selection) inside tools (here the pen tool) is a really bad UX idea.

PS: That same Ctrl-clicking also works with masks in Photoshop. This time one clicks the mask miniature.

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Could you please show a screenshot? I'm confused in why there's a drop-down list by pressing that Mask button.

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44 minutes ago, Kasper-V said:

Yes, and yes ... but all I get is the drop-down list, nothing selected.

As @Bri-Toonsays. There should be no drop-down list.

All that should happen is that it makes a pixel selection, or makes a mask. No lists involved, so I’m confused too :S

 

Windows PCs. Photo and Designer, latest non-beta versions.

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Maybe he does not have the Context Toolbar showing and he is hitting the top-level menu item Select which (of course) has a drop down list

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40 minutes ago, carl123 said:

Maybe he does not have the Context Toolbar showing and he is hitting the top-level menu item Select which (of course) has a drop down list

I am going to lock myself in the garden shed and cry! 
Thank you Carl; this confirms what my wife is always telling me, that I can't see what's right under my nose! 

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Haha I was thinking, what the heck is going on?

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