Destructive Crop

[Anjux3]

I could really use a destructive crop method that can be triggered by shortcuts for processing large numbers of files. I know that many people would say that having a  non-destructive crop is better...just not in all circumstances.

Here's the scenario.I am managing a hundreds of photos of students for our school database. The photos are all rapidly taken with lots of extraneous background and very poor centring. They are also just too big in file size and bloat the database if loaded as taken (yes I know, better source photos would be great, taken at a lower resolution...yes we have tried to train the staff)

This was possible in photoshop with a selection and a series of shortcuts:

• Rectangular selection (based on a ratio)
• Crop (user defined key strokes)
• Image size (Shift-Command I)
• Save at a lower resolution (Command S and offered at save time)

In photoshop I managed about 200 files in about 25 minutes.

This would take hours in Affinity - batch won't work because this would require the same selection to be made each time.

What do you think? I know others miss this too...

As a second best, the ability to click-drag to expand the crop selection (ie expand from centre not at edge or corner) would be very welcome

Edited September 14, 2019 by Anjux3
more info

[Gunny]

15 minutes ago, Anjux3 said:

I know others miss this too...

Yes, I'm sure similar things has been suggested many times...

 

[Fixx]

1 hour ago, Anjux3 said:

This was possible in photoshop with a selection and a series of shortcuts:

Non-destructive crop is not the problem in this work flow. Crop tool settings to specific resample values should be sticky or set to default so you could just press C, adjust crop area (preferably just dragging), press enter and press CMD-S, CDM-W.

This, having crop mode and crop values preset, is not possible in AP. Also, adjusting crop area is too fiddly at the moment.

[Jeremy Bohn]

Yes, I'd like a destructive crop as well. There are many times when I just need to crop a file down to a specific size. Often times there's just stuff, or even white space, outside of my selection that is unneeded. I miss Photoshop's ability to Crop to Selection.

[Fixx]

14 hours ago, Jeremy Bohn said:

Yes, I'd like a destructive crop as well. There are many times when I just need to crop a file down to a specific size.

You can use AP normal crop tool for it. Extra area beyond canvas borders will be deleted in export.

[Jeremy Bohn]

5 hours ago, Fixx said:

You can use AP normal crop tool for it. Extra area beyond canvas borders will be deleted in export.

To be more specific, I'd like to crop to a selection which AP currently can't do quickly like Photoshop.

[Howard Worf]

To be honest the absence of destructive cropping is often the reason I will us PS instead of Affinity - I use 3rd party plugins. In order to apply to the cropped image I have to export the cropped image and then reopen it in Affinity. To use the vernacular this is a pain in the posterior. Why can we not have a simple choice when cropping to go for destructive or non destructive crop - seems such a simple fix . . 

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Howard Worf said:

In order to apply to the cropped image I have to export the cropped image and then reopen it in Affinity. To use the vernacular this is a pain in the posterior. Why can we not have a simple choice when cropping to go for destructive or non destructive crop - seems such a simple fix . . 

Is there some reason you can't simply use Layer > Rasterize & Trim... after you crop?

[Howard Worf]

Didn't know it was an option. It works, thanks for that. But don't see why we can't have destructive cropping as the default. I can count the number of times I want an non destructive crop on the fingers of one foot.

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Howard Worf said:

But don't see why we can't have destructive cropping as the default.

Cropping in Affinity Photo has always been non-destructive, and I think it's one of the selling points.

I suppose that Serif could consider implementing a Preference that would defaut to non-destructive, but that you could set to destructive if you wanted to. Or perhaps a setting on the Context Toolbar for the Crop Tool.

[Chris99]

On 10/17/2019 at 5:09 PM, walt.farrell said:

Cropping in Affinity Photo has always been non-destructive, and I think it's one of the selling points.

I suppose that Serif could consider implementing a Preference that would default to non-destructive, but that you could set to destructive if you wanted to. Or perhaps a setting on the Context Toolbar for the Crop Tool.

It seems that an intuitive cropping tool is simply heresy for Serif. There's no logical reason for not having it and it seems to be merely dogma on their part for not implementing a standard solution. Adobe cracked this decades ago. Why re-invent an inferior wheel? Open image, drag the crop outline using the space bar to position accurately, hit return, save. Bosh. Hit Escape to cancel the outline and start again. Simples. By all means add clever features on top but that should be the basic starting implementation. I've just downloaded Photo because I finally had it with Designer not being usable in this regard but am staggered to find that Photo, a pixel-editing program doesn't offer this either. Not even as an option.

It's a massive stumbling block, Serif. Please get over yourselves and make it work!!!! You must be losing so many punters who try out the program and give up on it because they can't even make Crop work!

Thanks for the rasterize & trim tip, Walt!

[fde101]

Some time back one of the betas did have a destructive mode for the cropping tool but they backed it out because it was causing problems of some kind.  I don't think they are specifically opposed to this, probably just isn't a high priority at the moment to fix whatever was broken in the previous attempt.

[RNKLN]

My two cents (just to let the forum know there are people who may have another preference): i love it that the crops are non-destructive. One more right mouse click to make it destructive.

[kirk23]

You could record a macro for destructive crop and save it in library.    I wish I could set Ctrl/Shift + F keys for macros although like I could in Photoshop

[Jim Monson]

On 10/17/2019 at 11:09 AM, walt.farrell said:

Cropping in Affinity Photo has always been non-destructive, and I think it's one of the selling points.

I suppose that Serif could consider implementing a Preference that would defaut to non-destructive, but that you could set to destructive if you wanted to. Or perhaps a setting on the Context Toolbar for the Crop Tool.

I agree with Walt. Why not the choice? I just wasted a couple hours looking for some where in AP to get rid of what was outside my 140 mg tif since I did not want to carry that weight around. Adobe Photoshop made this so easy 25 years ago.

I am taking a beautiful set of 19th century maps drawn in some 20 very large sheets (yes, each a 140 mg scan for top readability), cropping the huge borders on each panels and pasting and placing each panel into an AP doc of much larger dimensions (my master map) in order to create one continuous borderless map. I open each panel in a separate AP doc, crop its borders and then with select all (CMD A), copy it and paste it in my master AP doc. Problem is that sometime my Copy/Paste contains the cropped map and sometimes with the map and the borders, changing nothing in the Copy/Paste process.

I searched for an answer and found a tiny online note: "Cropping is non-destructive, you can always uncrop by selecting the document drop-down and select unclip canvas.” I wish Affinity had alerted us to this rather than forcing us to discover it ourselves. In the meantime, it looks like exporting or trimming method above is the only option. I could drop (embed) each AP doc in my master map but that quickly becomes cumbersome.

PS: Just tried your Rasterize and Trim tip, Walt, and it worked well. Thanks! I wish Affinity had let us know that instead of all this forum discussion. 

[walt.farrell]

8 hours ago, Jim Monson said:

PS: Just tried your Rasterize and Trim tip, Walt, and it worked well. Thanks! I wish Affinity had let us know that instead of all this forum discussion.

You're welcome.

It should be someplace obvious in the Help about cropping, but I'm not seeing it at the moment. So if it is there, I'll just say that it should be someplace more obvious in the Help.

[ACPhillips]

Try using a freeware program called Irfanview. Love it for simple stuff.

[Seneca]

On 11/27/2019 at 4:23 PM, Chris99 said:

There's no logical reason for not having it

I beg to differ.

Clearly, you are used to destructive cropping, well, get used to the non-destructive cropping.

[Seneca]

On 12/4/2019 at 3:14 AM, Jim Monson said:

I wish Affinity had let us know that instead of all this forum discussion. 

It's not in Affinity's interest to keep these things from users. Maybe you didn't know about it, didn't watch the tutorials or read the documentation. :-)

[Anjux3]

Hi Seneca,

This really isn't a destructive v nondestructive discussion. One is not superior to the other. Both clearly have their uses, advantages and disadvantages depending on context and task. No one wants Affinity to remove the option for non-destructive cropping. All most of us here are advocating is that Affinity consider implementing an additional option for quick and dirty destructive cropping for those who need it - it would make the programme so much more efficient for those who would use it to reduce large numbers of files quickly as outlined in my first post.

[Jeremy Bohn]

Wholeheartedly agreed, Anjux. I can think of many instances where I would never need something cropped non-destructively. Also in many cases it would be more efficient, smaller file sizes etc. The option should be there.

[ClearWood]

I too am heartily tired of not being able to "destructively" crop an image.  I do not care about the dogma of non-distructive processing. I care about function, and I am am tired of working around the religion of non-distructive editing when it comes to cropping an image. The option should be there.

[fde101]

There were destructive modes available in the crop tool in the early 1.7 betas, but in 1.7.0.105 they were removed, with the comment "for now - will revisit":

 

 

[Jim Monson]

This is my case for having a destructive crop in AD (Designer) that would work for both vector and raster.

1. A detailed relief map (raster and some 300 mgs) is the bottom layer in my AD doc. It remains the same in what follows. I do not change its size.

2. I have extensive vector work on layers above this relief, with varying opacity (rock and soils) which allows the relief to be seen through some 20 different colors in vector area (curves).

3. There are some 20 additional vector layers above these layers (names, city dots, rivers, geological faults and other graphics).

4. Areas of various sizes on this map have been prepared in AD with adjusted sizes of names and vector work so that when the book of maps is printed all types of names a graphics are seen as the same size, from page to page. No adjustment is needed for steps 1 and 2 above, only for step 3.

In the past I have exported an EPS or PDF and placed and resized it to fit the common page size of the book. Since Affinity wisely has dove-tailed AD and APub (common tools, Studio Link, etc.) I would like to simply bring the AD page work over to APub, adjusting the AD work to fit on the pages of my APub doc. I have tried this for some pages and the resulting sizes of fonts and graphics were right on = the same printed size throughout the book for both texts and graphics.

PROBLEM: Since AD (like AP) does not have destructive cropping, the size of my doc ballooned in APub. I was surprised how long it kept going but am not sure if it can handle the maps still left to import from AD. Thus my case for destructive cropping which would solve this problem.

My reasoning is that the bulk of my work has been done in AD, but I could easily do my important final checking and adjusting if AD had destructive cropping and I could iimport only the needed imports and not the entire AD doc. I need the AD layers available in APub, and I need to keep my vector work as vector - but I do not need everything outside the area of each specific map. Various export options in EPS and PDF are not satisfactory for obvious reasons. I believe Affinity is missing a great opportunity with its Studio Link, but non-destructive cropping stands in the way of making it really effective. One could simply place specific AD work within APub.

PS: If this issue is someone losing the cropped area, why not a serious warning, plus tell them that if they are worried about this simply make a copy of of the doc before cropping it - and name one with "non-crp" and the other "crp." Seems logical to me since I often do this.

[Jim Monson]

Having awaken in the wee hours of the morning thinking about my post above, I realize that I (nor Affinity) can serve two masters (raster and vector). Thus my thoughts below which may help anyone facing the same problem and save time for any who might attempt to reply to my post.

1. Since the weight of the detailed relief map (raster) is the problem, I will Rasterize and Trim this in APhoto to fit the individual pages of the book. (By the way, it is more complicated since there are bleeds on every page but there are ways to deal with that.)

2. The rest of my work is vector where weight is not a problem. In order to preserve my layers in APub for editing purposes (thank you Affinity for making this possible!), I must bring the entirety of this vector AD work into APub. There is no way Affinity could crop vector work and preserve layers.

Thanks for your patience to any who have followed my posts.