Just for Beginners, post your questions, ask for help, get opinions...
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OK - this is why my scrapbook pages are never "good enough." I tend to be a bit... obsessive.
Sometimes while working in PSE(7), I'll see 2 objects (shapes/pictures) already on my page and I'll wish they would have been created exactly the same height or width (or both) - to the pixel - so when I align them they'll be perfectly aligned on both sides. Once something is drawn is there any fine-tuning its size?

In one graphics product I've worked with, there's a function when highlighting two things to "make same height, width or height & width", in another there's "properties" where you can set the exact pixel counts, height & width. Is there anything? I haven't found it yet (except copying one layer, grouping the copy with the 2nd layer to make it the same size as the 1st layer).

Thanks.
Are the two shapes/objects exactly the same? That is, both squares, both rectangles, both hearts, etc"

Or, are you talking about dissimilar shapes that you want to make the same height and/or width?

Rusty
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness" - Dave Barry

If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough. - Robert Capa

www.prestophoto.com/photos/gallery/19932
If both shapes are the same such as 2 hearts or what ever I make the first one and then select the shape and do edit copy and then paste .
Tina B
Good question. I could use such functionality myself. I tend to eyeball it. I know when using the crop tool you can tell it exactly what size you want the crop to be. But you'd have to do this on each image stand-alone first, and then bring them together on a new canvas/image. That's not as easy as what you're looking for.

Courtney
mtbspike wrote: Good question. I could use such functionality myself. I tend to eyeball it. I know when using the crop tool you can tell it exactly what size you want the crop to be. But you'd have to do this on each image stand-alone first, and then bring them together on a new canvas/image. That's not as easy as what you're looking for.

Courtney


Excellent and very concise explanation, Courtney.
I was thinking about the problem of importing 2 pictures to be put together on a background. Once the first one is imported on a new layer, I can crop it to a pleasant aspect ratio. To do this, I use the rectangular marquee tool, inverse selection and delete. Now, what is the new pixel dimension of the useful image in its own layer?
If I knew it, I could resize the second one with the crop tool to the same dimension before importing it in its own layer.

What I can do is to duplicate the file (background plus first resized layer). Then I keep only the resized layer, select the blank surrounding part with the magic wand and use /image/crop, which will crop to a rectangle. I have only to read the properties of the resulting duplicate file to know the pixel dimensions for the second item to import on the background. (you can close the duplicate file without saving once you have noted the pixel size)

What is good to know, is that if your first selection is not a rectangle (a flower, heart...) the same procedure will crop your image to a clean rectangle and give you the correct dimension.

And just as you said, Courtney, for the second image to import, you still have to use the crop tool to the correct pixel dimension before importing it on your background.
Michel B
PSE6, 11,12,13.1 - LR 5.7 Windows 7 64 - OneOne Photo Perfect Suite - Canon 20D, Pana TZ6 - Fuji X100S
Most used add-ons: Elements+


Mes Galeries
Thanks. Typically when I wish to do this, it's with rectangles (multiple pictures or pictures and shape layers). I haven't used the crop tool at all because it doesn't do what I want it to do, so it annoys me. (I specified how big I wanted my document when it was created ...and the Crop tool has the NERVE to resize it...! :) Is there really no option to crop a layer "in place" leaving the background alone?)
But, I may have to give the crop tool another try if it allows me to specify the dimensions. "Crop", used in conjunction with "Duplicate Layer -> new file" and "Undo Crop" may be something I can work with.

Definitely not as easy as what I was looking for, but probably more do-able than getting me to plan ahead enough to crop everything to the right size BEFORE putting my page together.
kmk_01kmk wrote: Is there really no option to crop a layer "in place" leaving the background alone?)


To crop in a layer without resizing the whole picture:
- select with the rectangular marquee tool (or do whatever selection you want)
- inverse selection (shift ctrl I)
- with the magic wand, click outside the selection
- Cut
This will remove everything outside the selection, and now you can resize, move, rotate the layer at will.
Michel B
PSE6, 11,12,13.1 - LR 5.7 Windows 7 64 - OneOne Photo Perfect Suite - Canon 20D, Pana TZ6 - Fuji X100S
Most used add-ons: Elements+


Mes Galeries
Here's a screenshot to illustrate what Michel is telling you; I also show how you can determine your "crop size" in advance.

Put your "image layer" above your background layer. In this illustration I'm using two layers of the same image and changed my BG Layer to B&W after I cropped my image.
Crop Layer.jpg
Crop Layer.jpg (162.26 KiB) Viewed 2067 times


Decide in advance what "shape" your cropped rectangle needs to be; in this instance I decided I wanted it to be 5 units wide by 6 units high.

Select your rectangular marquee tool and, before you do anything, 1 change the "mode" to Fixed Aspect Ratio. Then, enter your desired shape over to the right of the mode 2. In this case, "width 5" and "height 6".

Draw your rectangle around your image. As Michel says, inverse the selection. Now you have selected everything except the desired image. You can then do what he says, or simply hit the delete key. Shazam, you have now, in effect, cropped a layer without doing anything to the rest of the file.

Look in your layer stack 3 and you can see what happened.

Rusty
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness" - Dave Barry

If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough. - Robert Capa

www.prestophoto.com/photos/gallery/19932
As always, I wish I had an Internet Connection at the same time & place as PSE (but I don't)!

I am familiar with using the marque tool/select inverse/delete to "crop" a picture, but I've just not had much luck cropping it to an exact size that I can then duplicate on another layer to make the 2 existing layers the exact same size. I've been "eyeballing" it and I'm not very good at that.

Sorry, I can't check right now - does the marque tool have a "fixed size" mode? That is precisely what I need but I haven't noticed it before. I was thinking I'd have to use the crop tool to get a fixed size.

Thanks!
YES,
You can select Fixed Aspect Ratio or you can select Fixed Size; both will act the same. That is, you still have to enter Width and Height.

If you select Fixed Size I believe it defaults to start out in pixels, indicated as "px". If you want to work in inches, just overtype and enter "in"

Rusty
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness" - Dave Barry

If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough. - Robert Capa

www.prestophoto.com/photos/gallery/19932
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