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Delete selected area of a layer


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In PP I would

  • create a selection, either with color wand (template file) or drawing area freehand,
  • invert the selection,
  • select the photo layer, then
  • delete the selection, leaving just the desired portion of the photo on the layer.

How do you do this in Affinity Photo?

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1 hour ago, TanyaMc said:

In PP I would

  • create a selection, either with color wand (template file) or drawing area freehand,
  • invert the selection,
  • select the photo layer, then
  • delete the selection, leaving just the desired portion of the photo on the layer.

How do you do this in Affinity Photo?

The same way, you can use the flood select tool, the selection brush, any of the marquee tools including the freehand tool of which there are the subsets of freehand, polygon and magnetic.

Make sure the layer you are selecting from is a (Pixel) layer not an (Image) layer, to make an (image ) layer a (Pixel) layer just right-click and select Rasterise. 

1 hour ago, TanyaMc said:

Related question...in PhotoPlus I would grow a selection in order to create a mat for a photo, using the technique above to 'cut' the mat from another layer of digital paper. 

Go to Select > Grow shrink

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4 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

Thanks. I understand what you said, but once again, disappointed long time user. I don't understand the reason for the change in basic things nor why you'd want to rasterize.

Serif didn't change anything. They built the Affinity Apps totally from scratch. They didn't want it to be PagePlus or Photoshop, or any other. It's also in it's infancy. Overtime I suspect more will be added and some changes made. 

Why Rasterize? Easier to answer why not. Using the FIle>Place, or drag-n-drop, the image is embedded into your working file (afphoto). Doing so you can scale the image and not loose quality. Once rasterized if you enlarge it, you start loosing quality, it becomes pixelated. Also after applying some adjustment (layers) or live filters you decide you want to use a different image, with your embedded image selected in the layer panel, press the Replace Image button in the context toolbar. A browser window opens, navigate to the image you want, select it, and it's replaced, and all the adjustments and filters applied are applied to this new image.

However if you're wanting to alter the pixels of an image, then it must be converted to a Raster, which allows the app to alter the pixels. Serif has made it so we can still work non-destructive by the usage of masks. The adjustment and live filter layers have masks built in, which is very powerful for non-destructive workflow.

Learn the Affinity apps and you'll see .

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I have addressed the 'built from scratch' argument in another thread.

You actually gave a good reason why rasterizing in order to crop an image is not a good process. Why would I want to lose all those options with my image going forward just to crop it to the size I need? Would not cropping be one of the first steps made prior to filters, etc, etc.?  It seems to me that AP is focused on users who are strictly photographers who only deal with one image at a time, based on that feature. I know it is used and have seen examples of it being used differently so I would infer that is not the intention but the design does not match the intention IMO.

Please do not be condescending about learning the apps. I have been using Serif products since 2.0 and have learned a lot about various products, methods, etc. Thing is, because of that, I find it extremely frustrating to have to invest an extreme amount of time into 'learning' a new software from the same company that is supposed to do the same things. That is poor design thinking, UX, CX, etc. If I have to invest that much time, I may as well invest more money as well and purchase Adobe products that my aspiring designer daughter will be using in college and learn along side her. I have been trying to teach her with Serif products because of my comfort level, and comittment to the 'brand', including the folks that helped me over the last 20 years with the process.

I am hopeful that things will improve but the responses in the forums overall seems to be more indicative that it will not go that way for the original Serif user base.

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7 hours ago, Fixx said:

If you do not want to rasterize you can mask the layer and have nondestructive work flow.

So please explain how to do that in this case? My shape is a layer/image so should I rasterize it? then drag it onto the other layer? Do I lose my effects when I rasterize? The shape layers have effects applied that I want to copy/paste to the image that replaces that shape.

And for the second version, I have a photo that is one of several in the project, and I want to crop it freehand. How do I make a shape/mask for that with precision of a square/rectangle etc?

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We have not established whether @TanyaMc's layer is a (Pixel) layer or an (Image) layer. It makes a lot of difference to the advice that is given.

John

Windows 10, Affinity Photo 1.10.5 Designer 1.10.5 and Publisher 1.10.5 (mainly Photo), now ex-Adobe CC

CPU: AMD A6-3670. RAM: 16 GB DDR3 @ 666MHz, Graphics: 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 630

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9 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

Thing is, because of that, I find it extremely frustrating to have to invest an extreme amount of time into 'learning' a new software from the same company that is supposed to do the same things.

It is not designed to do the same things. If you cannot get past that false assumption, you will be frustrated & you will make it much, much harder than it needs to be to learn how to use it.

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10 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

And for the second version, I have a photo that is one of several in the project, and I want to crop it freehand. How do I make a shape/mask for that with precision of a square/rectangle etc?

If you need the precision of a square or rectangle, then why not use a square or rectangle rather than trying to do it freehand?

(But if you want to do it with precision, you can draw perfectly horizontal or vertical lines using the Pen Tool, by holding the Shift modifier key.)

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
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I have a photo that I have drug into AP and it created the  layer which I assume is a pixel layer since I can't select/delete the areas. I want to crop the photo to a square or rectangle to match my other photos on the layout which is a larger layer/size of the canvas. Forgive me for being 'dense' about the pixel vs raster issue...If I draw a square (mostly transparent so I can see part of the photo I want to keep? then return to solid to use as a mask?) will it be rasterized automatically or will it be a pixel layer also and require the extra step of rasterizing before using as a mask? Is there a default setting for shapes to create them as pixels or rasters?

I don't understand the 'destroying pixels' idea. When you crop a photo aren't you only destroying the pixels that are cropped off?

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3 hours ago, R C-R said:

It is not designed to do the same things. If you cannot get past that false assumption, you will be frustrated & you will make it much, much harder than it needs to be to learn how to use it.

I wish I had the copies of the emails that talked about the end of the PhotoPlus and companions and the announcements of the new Affinity suites. I am not the only user that was led to believe we would have the same tools only better.

I don't think you realize that the relativity is an important part of the learning. There is a translation process from one piece to another. It is also frustrating me to use Apple devices because they have since day 1 back in 1988 been a non-intuitive interface to me, and others as is evidenced by the continued presence of both PC/Android and Mac/Apple users. I need to be able to do what I was able to do before. Best case scenario there would be a resource that would cater to loyal users to aid in the transition/translations.

The forums can be an important part of that. And I am thankful for those that are willing to be helpful with the learning and the transition. Thinking out loud can be messy, but for many people it is how we process. Thanks.

And if you have suggestions for a software out there that is designed to do the same things as PhP, then I would love to know what it is.

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15 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

You actually gave a good reason why rasterizing in order to crop an image is not a good process. Why would I want to lose all those options with my image going forward just to crop it to the size I need? Would not cropping be one of the first steps made prior to filters, etc, etc.? 

I you just open the image it is already in raw rasterized form. No need to rasterize it. All tools work.

If you just want to crop images, just use crop tool. It works always regardless if image is simple single layer pixel image or multilayered thing containing all layer types.

15 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

It seems to me that AP is focused on users who are strictly photographers who only deal with one image at a time,

Well, yes, AP is designed to work one image at the time (it though has batch features). Photographers who work with larger number of images tend use Lightroom, C1 or similar.

15 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

So please explain how to do that in this case? My shape is a layer/image so should I rasterize it? then drag it onto the other layer? Do I lose my effects when I rasterize? The shape layers have effects applied that I want to copy/paste to the image that replaces that shape.

And for the second version, I have a photo that is one of several in the project, and I want to crop it freehand. How do I make a shape/mask for that with precision of a square/rectangle etc?

Masking is only applicable if you have a composition document – that is, you have several images which all have their own location in the document. Masking crops (or otherways diminishes it using transparency) part image smaller in the document. 

If you just want to crop document, use crop tool.

 

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6 hours ago, R C-R said:

It is not designed to do the same things. If you cannot get past that false assumption, you will be frustrated & you will make it much, much harder than it needs to be to learn how to use it.

I would say it is designer (for a most part) to do the same things but not necessarily the same way. Though if you need basic prepress work flow that is "colour correct > make local corrections > convert to cmyk > sharpen > save" and the tools for it really tend to be alike regardless the software application.

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7 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

I have a photo that I have drug into AP and it created the  layer which I assume is a pixel layer since I can't select/delete the areas.

No need to assume. Look in the Layers panel, where you should see that it is an (Image) layer, not a (Pixel) layer. Pixel layers are the only layers that hold rasterized data. For more information, see the Photo Help, e.g., here for the online version.

7 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

I want to crop the photo to a square or rectangle to match my other photos on the layout which is a larger layer/size of the canvas. Forgive me for being 'dense' about the pixel vs raster issue...If I draw a square (mostly transparent so I can see part of the photo I want to keep? then return to solid to use as a mask?) will it be rasterized automatically or will it be a pixel layer also and require the extra step of rasterizing before using as a mask? Is there a default setting for shapes to create them as pixels or rasters?

The rectangle will be a vector object, and you can mask your image with it. The masked (Image) layer will remain an (Image) layer.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
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6 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

I don't think you realize that the relativity is an important part of the learning. There is a translation process from one piece to another.

I have been using various graphic creation apps for close to 50 years, so I am very familiar with the process. Every one of those apps has required study & experimentation to learn how their tools work, what they can & can not do well, where to find their less obvious features, & so on.

This process never ends. The technology that powers these things is constantly evolving at every level from the hardware & the operating systems they run on to the services & standards they can or should support. To adapt to it, a number of "clean slate" approaches to app design have emerged in the last few years. There are others but the Affinity apps are among the most ambitious of them because they include such things as a common native file format across all the apps in the suite, support for three different operating systems, unusually high memory efficiency, a unique persona based UI, a novel use of mipmaps & file serialization to achieve very high pan & zoom rates & fast saves, & maybe a few other technological innovations they are not telling us about.

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2 hours ago, R C-R said:

I have been using various graphic creation apps for close to 50 years, so I am very familiar with the process. Every one of those apps has required study & experimentation to learn how their tools work, what they can & can not do well, where to find their less obvious features, & so on.

This process never ends. The technology that powers these things is constantly evolving at every level from the hardware & the operating systems they run on to the services & standards they can or should support. To adapt to it, a number of "clean slate" approaches to app design have emerged in the last few years. There are others but the Affinity apps are among the most ambitious of them because they include such things as a common native file format across all the apps in the suite, support for three different operating systems, unusually high memory efficiency, a unique persona based UI, a novel use of mipmaps & file serialization to achieve very high pan & zoom rates & fast saves, & maybe a few other technological innovations they are not telling us about.

I appreciate that. But as my original post indicates, there is a need for translation/transition for those who have used other things before. Sort of like when a new iPhone or whatnot comes out. If you google 'how do I...' related to something you knew how to do on the old one, you will find that you are not the first to ask etc. and that it is usually not the company (Microsoft is especially bad at it) that is answering the questions or being proactive. As a customer/user, as well as a customer service professional, proactive is the way to be IMO.
Thanks for sharing all of your insights. Have a wonderful weekend!

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8 hours ago, Fixx said:

I you just open the image it is already in raw rasterized form. No need to rasterize it. All tools work.

If you just want to crop images, just use crop tool. It works always regardless if image is simple single layer pixel image or multilayered thing containing all layer types.

Well, yes, AP is designed to work one image at the time (it though has batch features). Photographers who work with larger number of images tend use Lightroom, C1 or similar.

Masking is only applicable if you have a composition document – that is, you have several images which all have their own location in the document. Masking crops (or otherways diminishes it using transparency) part image smaller in the document. 

If you just want to crop document, use crop tool.

 

Thank you. But this is a multilayered project with multiple photos, digital papers, embellishments, etc. I only want to crop, in this current project, one photo layer to a particular size to fit into the rest of the layout appropriately.

Appreciate all your replies.

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28 minutes ago, TanyaMc said:

I only want to crop, in this current project, one photo layer to a particular size to fit into the rest of the layout appropriately.

I have a Image (need not be rasterized),
image.png.dbf50788463acf7152e66d6c6da33d51.png

draw Rectangle (or some other shape),
 image.png.5e8f6a69d7ee4013130a0d67019df2e3.png

clipped Image to Rectangle,
image.png.ffc4bce3dffc29864b72888e0b809a62.png

select Rectangle, set Lock Children (in Context Toolbar), and adjust the position and size of the rectangle - the Image does not change (it stays in the same position and the same size).
 image.png.8e96150d6fb2d69c3ce15084cc6e2329.png

Unlock Children, and change cropped Image position (or size).
 image.png.4fb8ab85dd46508482d7526f94956ec7.png

.

Edited by Pšenda

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46 minutes ago, TanyaMc said:

I appreciate that. But as my original post indicates, there is a need for translation/transition for those who have used other things before.

Like I said, I have used a lot of different apps over a great many years so I understand that need very well, probably somewhat better than many younger people. But as frustrating as that can be, I have always found it worth the effort, & it has always been easier & considerably less frustrating if I don't assume everything is going to work the same in one app as in any of the others.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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18 hours ago, TanyaMc said:

this is a multilayered project with multiple photos, digital papers, embellishments, etc. I only want to crop, in this current project, one photo layer

Sounds like it should be a Publisher project... but if it is photographic composition, just mask the target layer as explained above.

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8 hours ago, Fixx said:

Sounds like it should be a Publisher project... but if it is photographic composition, just mask the target layer as explained above.

Publisher can't do it. I tried Craft Artist hoping for the best of both worlds of publisher and photo plus but it wasn't as intuitive as I hoped. Much as AP is not translating well for me. I am working with templated developed in Photoshop by other designers that worked beautifully in PhotoPlus and the instructions were similar enough that it was simple and easy to acheive desired results. I am going to invest my time either in Craft Artist learning curve (which I am leary of since it seems to be on its way out as well?) or my time and money in PS Elements so I can continue to work on my projects as before. I will have my aspiring photographer daughter take a spin with AP and see if she wants to use it for her straight photo editing projects so it may not be abandoned completely. Thanks.

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1 minute ago, TanyaMc said:

Publisher can't do it. 

Publisher should be able to do it, easily, with masking. Or even more easily with picture frames. Or with the vector crop tool.

Assuming I understand what you're trying to do, of course.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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