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Why can't I select a rectangle?


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Okay. For the past week I've spent 2~3 hours a day DFN GHPSDFGJSD trying to get this done.

I have made an animation sheet, each animation is perfectly centered in
200x200 grid. Imagine the animation is the red DOT in the screenshot attached (IMAGE 1). Now What I want is to select a rectangle, COPY, and paste it CENTERED-snappedtogrid to another bigger animation sheet (IMAGE 2).

BUT I CAN'T, BECAUSE PHOTOSHOP WILL AUTOMATICALLY RESIZE MY RECTANGLE TO MATCH/FIT IT TO DRAWN PIXELS ONLY (IMAGE 3)

I have checked and unchecked every box in preferences and tried with basically every tool and every type of layer. MOST FAMOUS
IMAGE-EDITING SOFTWARE AND THERES NO DAMN WAY TO COPY AND PASTE A RECTANGULAR SELECTION.IMAGE1.pngIMAGE2.pngIMAGE3.png

Can someone explain to me how to copy&paste a rectangular selection without Photoshop ALTERING WITHOUT MY CONSENT the size of the transparent rectangle? With The GIMP, the software we used in our company until last week I could do this just by pressing control c and control v.
 
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dv8_fx

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LOL.... keep your cool..... there's always some explanation.

Did you check to make sure the source and receiving document are of the same resolution (not layout size)?

Looking at the default background checkerboard pattern and gridlines, the 2 documents/images differ in resolution settings.
 

MrToM

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PS does not 'resample' copied and pasted content.

Therefore the pasted content is exactly the same pixel dimensions, meaning something else must be different.

Are the black lines on your images guides or the grid?

The images are very unclear as to what is what but if they are then are they spaced the same in image #3 as they are in image #2?

If its the grid do you have the same pixel spacing for both images?

I doubt resolution is the cause as that doesn't affect grid spacing....its done by pixels in the preferences, and the transparency check pattern is a NSO so it doesn't really give any indication...sorry dv8.

I know what dv8 means though, and it does happen, things can look resampled if dropped into a different resolution image...just not when copying and pasting.

Anyway, whatever, check the spacing of those guides/grid...if thats what they are.....it may be those that are different.

Regards.
MrTom.
 
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LOL.... keep your cool..... there's always some explanation.

Did you check to make sure the source and receiving document are of the same resolution (not layout size)?

Looking at the default background checkerboard pattern and gridlines, the 2 documents/images differ in resolution settings.

Yep! They are of the same resolution. The checkerboard pattern changes when I zoom in/out (this annoys me too, GIMP doesn't alter the pattern either).
This issue occurs even when I paste the selected grid in the very same file.
Try it with yourself.
1- Set up a 200x200 pixels grid
2- Draw a dot in some position of the grid
3- With rectangular marquee tool select the whole grid and now press ctrl+c and ctrl+v
Result:
The rectangular selection will be smaller, as small as the exact vertical and horizontal size of your dot.
Sorry if I am not explaining myself properly, english is not my first language.
 
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PS does not 'resample' copied and pasted content.

Therefore the pasted content is exactly the same pixel dimensions, meaning something else must be different.

Are the black lines on your images guides or the grid?

The images are very unclear as to what is what but if they are then are they spaced the same in image #3 as they are in image #2?

If its the grid do you have the same pixel spacing for both images?

I doubt resolution is the cause as that doesn't affect grid spacing....its done by pixels in the preferences, and the transparency check pattern is a NSO so it doesn't really give any indication...sorry dv8.

I know what dv8 means though, and it does happen, things can look resampled if dropped into a different resolution image...just not when copying and pasting.

Anyway, whatever, check the spacing of those guides/grid...if thats what they are.....it may be those that are different.

Regards.
MrTom.

Hello, sir.
Each letter is a different frame of my animation. They are aligned differently inside the grid because the platform I build the animation for reads every grid as a different frame.
This is the result of selecting the four frames with rectangular marquee, copying, and then pasting on the same document. Now I can't align my animation on the second row if I wanted to, because I don't have a four grid rectangle in selection anymore, I have a smaller rectangle Photoshop made by measuring where my first letter starts and where the last letter ends.

I should be able to work with grids instead of what Photoshop sees inside them.

If you haven't understood what I'm saying by now, I throw in the towel.
 

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dv8_fx

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Yep! They are of the same resolution. The checkerboard pattern changes when I zoom in/out (this annoys me too, GIMP doesn't alter the pattern either).
This issue occurs even when I paste the selected grid in the very same file.
Try it with yourself.
1- Set up a 200x200 pixels grid
2- Draw a dot in some position of the grid
3- With rectangular marquee tool select the whole grid and now press ctrl+c and ctrl+v
Result:
The rectangular selection will be smaller, as small as the exact vertical and horizontal size of your dot.
Sorry if I am not explaining myself properly, english is not my first language.

Hmmmm... that can't be as PS should paste the copied object as is as MrTom explained.

There has to be something we're overlooking here....

But for the moment, try this..... rather than copy/paste, use layer via copy (right click on selected object on layer). If you still get the same result, something's definitely wrong.....
 

dv8_fx

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Wait a minute... I suddenly realised that the transform control/handle bars (Rectangle you mentioned) will take up and surround what you copied. Thus the "rectagle" will be smaller. It would have been different if your text was on a solid background.

Go for layer via copy....... this will ensure your object will occupy the same position (and hopefully size) as in the original.
 
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Wait a minute... I suddenly realised that the transform control/handle bars (Rectangle you mentioned) will take up and surround what you copied. Thus the "rectagle" will be smaller. It would have been different if your text was on a solid background.

Go for layer via copy....... this will ensure your object will occupy the same position (and hopefully size) as in the original.

You understood what I'm saying. Yes, Photoshop will surround the DRAWN pixels inside the grid with a rectangle.

I selected the rectangle, then went for layer via copy like you said. Here are the results:
 

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dv8_fx

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Looks better. Is that the look you're going for?

Bear in mind that the grids are just like guidelines and that the empty spaces within the grids can't be treated by PS as a solid object. It will always detect whatever pixels selected within the grid but not the entire grid itself. Unless there's some sort of fill within the entire grid that you copied.
 

MrToM

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As dv8 has pointed out, the transform handles lie at the extremes of the pixels....PS is a pixel based image editor.

Your original marquee selection is NOT a selection of the area per-se. Anything you next do will only affect those pixels within that area, it does not take transparency into consideration.....there is no need.

You can see for yourself that the pasted pixels are no different than the copied ones but WHERE they get pasted can be changed...

A simple Ctrl + V will paste the pixels in the centre of the canvas.
If you have a marquee then the pixels get pasted at the centre of the marquee.
If you duplicate the layer the pixels stay in the same place.
if you use Shift + Ctrl + V the pixels get pasted in the same place. (Without a marquee)

It looks as if the pixels are being pasted in the right place, and the right size, so I'm failing to see why this is 'Impossible to work with'.....what are trying to do with those pixels that isn't happening for you?

Regards.
MrTom.
 

dv8_fx

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As dv8 has pointed out, the transform handles lie at the extremes of the pixels....PS is a pixel based image editor.

Your original marquee selection is NOT a selection of the area per-se. Anything you next do will only affect those pixels within that area, it does not take transparency into consideration.....there is no need.

You can see for yourself that the pasted pixels are no different than the copied ones but WHERE they get pasted can be changed...

A simple Ctrl + V will paste the pixels in the centre of the canvas.
If you have a marquee then the pixels get pasted at the centre of the marquee.
If you duplicate the layer the pixels stay in the same place.
if you use Shift + Ctrl + V the pixels get pasted in the same place. (Without a marquee)

It looks as if the pixels are being pasted in the right place, and the right size, so I'm failing to see why this is 'Impossible to work with'.....what are trying to do with those pixels that isn't happening for you?

Regards.
MrTom.

I think the OP is expecting that PS will treat the created and copied selection within the grid as a whole (as if it were solid one piece but with no background).
 
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As dv8 has pointed out, the transform handles lie at the extremes of the pixels....PS is a pixel based image editor.

Your original marquee selection is NOT a selection of the area per-se. Anything you next do will only affect those pixels within that area, it does not take transparency into consideration.....there is no need.

You can see for yourself that the pasted pixels are no different than the copied ones but WHERE they get pasted can be changed...

A simple Ctrl + V will paste the pixels in the centre of the canvas.
If you have a marquee then the pixels get pasted at the centre of the marquee.
If you duplicate the layer the pixels stay in the same place.
if you use Shift + Ctrl + V the pixels get pasted in the same place. (Without a marquee)

It looks as if the pixels are being pasted in the right place, and the right size, so I'm failing to see why this is 'Impossible to work with'.....what are trying to do with those pixels that isn't happening for you?

Regards.
MrTom.

dv8_fx proposal works great if I were just duplicating frames inside the same file.

I am trying to copy&paste frames from a file to another one with the same grid disposition. If I lose my original selection, I lose my original alignment because I can't snap to grid, therefore this is impossible to work with. GIMP, Paint, and a lot of programs are pixel based image editors too and still they allow me to copy and paste what I select, not what the program thinks I should be selecting.
 
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Btw I love Photoshop and I really need it for a specific purpose. Don't think I am a hater. I just can't work with the only way Photoshop apparently handles layers... I do Pixel Art and grid alignment is everything to me.
 

dv8_fx

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dv8_fx proposal works great if I were just duplicating frames inside the same file.

I am trying to copy&paste frames from a file to another one with the same grid disposition. If I lose my original selection, I lose my original alignment because I can't snap to grid, therefore this is impossible to work with. GIMP, Paint, and a lot of programs are pixel based image editors too and still they allow me to copy and paste what I select, not what the program thinks I should be selecting.

Then try this.... create the selection within the grid of your new document then hit CTRL+V.....


edit.... scratch that... it won't work as I was figuring it out of memory.... lol .
 

MrToM

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Why don't you just make the original canvas larger?

Regards.
MrTom.
 

dv8_fx

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Btw I love Photoshop and I really need it for a specific purpose. Don't think I am a hater. I just can't work with the only way Photoshop apparently handles layers... I do Pixel Art and grid alignment is everything to me.

No worries.... it sometimes takes a bit of experimentation to figure a workflow out.

Can't you not just eyeball it? Duplicate the text in the new document in the position needed within the grid or whatever. This will serve as your guide.

Then on new layers, paste in the text and manually align it to the original using the nudge keys to fine tune it. Then shift it to it's needed position using the nudge keys.


Or.... since your doing an animation it seems, create duplicate layer copies of the text then align them to the original guide layer using the Alignment controls.

Then simply select layers individually to create the animation sequences....
 
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Then try this.... create the selection within the grid of your new document then hit CTRL+V.....


edit.... scratch that... it won't work as I was figuring it out of memory.... lol .

It almost worked. In fact for a second I thought it worked XDDD then immediately realized the sad truth.
 
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No worries.... it sometimes takes a bit of experimentation to figure a workflow out.

Can't you not just eyeball it? Duplicate the text in the new document in the position needed within the grid or whatever. This will serve as your guide.

Then on new layers, paste in the text and manually align it to the original using the nudge keys to fine tune it.

It's not a text. I took screenshots of letters for exemplification purposes. It's hundreds of cartoonish characters I need to make a Photoshop Action Script to put all them in the same file. Right now I have 100 files, every file belongs to a different character and every file has 30 animations. I need to have every character in the same file.
 

MrToM

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I don't understand your question. I made the original canvas (let's name it canvas A) larger in height so I could import (copy&paste) the frames from canvas B.

That doesn't work out....does it?

If you are copying FROM 'Canvas B' then that is the original.....and yet you say 'canvas A' is the original...???

From what I understand you want to copy pixels from a smaller canvas to a larger one but retain their position in relationship to a Pixel Grid.....yes?

In which case, if you just made the smaller canvas, 'A', larger you wouldn't need to copy or paste anything.

I don't know why you need a larger canvas and it really doesn't matter but if thats all you are trying to do then making the original canvas larger seems to be the easiest solution.

Regards.
MrTom.
 

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