Select shape for copy?

[Joakim Forssman]

How do I select the shape tool for cut or copy?

[firstdefence]

In order to make a selection from a shape you have to Fill it with a colour, you can then ⌘ + Click on the layer to make the selection (Ctrl +  Click On Windows)

If you want to place the filled shape you can alter the shapes layer opacity so you can place it accurately it will still select even with its opacity set to 1%

Once the shape is selected, you can select the background and copy a portion of the background using the selection as a kind of cookie cutter.

To Copy a Shape...
To copy a shape you can use ⌘ + J (Ctrl + J On Windows) to duplicate the shape, or just use good old ⌘ + C to copy and ⌘ + V to Paste (Ctrl +  On Windows) 

[toltec]

12 hours ago, Joakim Forssman said:

How do I select the shape tool for cut or copy?

Photo has an option to turn a path into a selection or a mask (the Pen Tool must be selected).

If you turn the shape into curves (shortcut Ctrl + return) you can then select the Pen Tool and use that option.

Note that doing that to make a selection does delete the path (your shape) so you may prefer the method mentioned by @firstdefence