Struggling with quick select image transfer

Hi All-

I'm new to the forum and really need a hand. I am attempting to transfer an image cropped from its background. The original is a jpeg that I have cropped using the quick select tool. I have tried saving it to a layer mask and moving it as well as saving the selection to an alpha channel, converting to psd and then moving it. The image I am moving it to is a bounding box for the web that is a gif. I have tried reformatting this to psd and again nothing. What I get is a black and white pixelated version of the original cutout- no bueno.

When I load the selection and choose the move tool it looks like all is well. I get the arrow with the scissors, etc. but then....well, I really need a hand. Anybody??? Thx

First of all, forget all this Jpeg converting to psd stuff. The format is only really relevent when a file is saved to disk. Any file, once opened in Photoshop, is a PSD - a Photoshop Document.

As for you attempts to "move" the selected area, try this: After making your selection, go Ctrl+J to copy the selected area to a new layer. Now you can use the Move Tool to drag and drop across to the second image.

Hope this help.

Any file, once opened in Photoshop, is a PSD - a Photoshop Document.

Well, sort of!

For the selected area you don't need a new layer – just Ctrl+Alt+drag it from the source file to the target file.

Your problem may be that the target GIF has less than 256 colours.

Got it guys, thanks. To anyone new like me, MAKE SURE that your color mode is compatible. What worked for me was changing the gif file settings to RGB/ 8 bit which can be found within the Image Menu|Mode up top. Apparently, the file was originally sent over to me in grayscale. Thanks to John and Chris for reaching out!

:)