Edit / Free Transform image ( NOT PATH!)

MJ
Posted By
Mark_John_Murphy
Jul 14, 2008
Views
5220
Replies
12
Status
Closed
I would like to do an edit / free transform to resize a layer in my image. I want to do this WHILE LOOKING AT a round path that I have created.

No problem in photoshop 7 , just turn on the path, select the image layer that I want to resize, edit/free transform and I can shrink the image while looking at the circular path to see how the image fits within the path.

In CS3, when i try to do an edit / free transform, instead of resizing the image, it wants to RESIZE THE PATH FOR SOME REASON. No, no, no. Leave the path alone. I want to SEE the path, but I do not want to resize the path. I want to resize the image while looking at how it fits within the path.

The only way that I see to resize the image is to turn off the path so I can no longer see the guide that i am using to determine the final image size / position. Obviously a major malfunction.

Hopefully, there is an easy workaround out there? Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

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CB
charles badland
Jul 14, 2008
Best workaround is use keyboard shortcuts:

Cntrl+H to hide path
then
Cntrl+T to activate transform command for image/selection then
Cntrl+H again to make path visible.

Now you should have the image (or selection) ready to transform and the path visible.
MJ
Mark_John_Murphy
Jul 14, 2008
Hi Charles,

Thanks for the workaround. So… Select All, Edit/Free Transform

has been replaced by:

Select All, ctrl H, ctrl T, ctrl H

A little painful for a non-keyboard-centric user like myself, but a workaround none the less.

Thanks again,

Mark

P.S. I am still interested in a solution that involves checking a box one time rather that keying in ctrl H, ctrl T, ctrlH for the rest of my life. 🙂 Adobe, if you are listening, how about this … if the layers tab is selected, let me edit/free transform the image without bringing the path into the mix. If the path tab is selected, then switch to transforming the path instead of the image. Makes more sense to me.
MJ
Mark_John_Murphy
Jul 14, 2008
….and another thing.

If you use the ctrl HTH workaround mentioned previously in this thread, it doesn’t work for the situation where I need it the most.

I open an existing image with a circular path. I "paste in" an image from an email. What I used to do in photoshop 7 was edit free transform and i could freely shrink the image EVEN THOUGH THE PASTED IMAGE WAS LARGER (OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES OF) THE CURRENT IMAGE. The free transform would shrink the image to within the boundaries, then shrink further inside the path as needed. So Charles, you can see that the result of the CRTLHTH would be to size only the visible portion of the pasted image within the path. No, I need to size the WHOLE PASTED IMAGE even if it is outside the boundaries when pasted. Any workarounds appreciated. Maybe a CTRLPQHTH or something like that?

Thanks,

Mark
CB
charles badland
Jul 15, 2008
Don’t do a select all
throw in a Cntrl+0 (zero) after the Cntrl+T
MJ
Mark_John_Murphy
Jul 15, 2008
Thanks Charles,

You are a fountain of all knowledge that is good and useful. Maybe there is something to this keyboard shortcut thing after all. So now, my old click-paths-pallate-highlight-path-select-all-edit-free-tran sform has become click-paths-pallate-highlight-path-CTRLHT0H. Hey, now that I am buying in to your keyboard stuff, isn’t there another letter that I could add prior to the first H in CTRLHT0H that would highlight the path without me having to manually go to the paths pallate and click on teh path to highlight? I have the 4 page photoshop keyboard shortcuts document in front of me and I don’t see it, but if it exists, i bet you know it.

-Mark
CB
charles badland
Jul 15, 2008
You have multiple paths.. I see what you mean. That would be nice, like alt+[ or ] for cycling through layers.
Don’t think so. 🙁
MJ
Mark_John_Murphy
Jul 15, 2008
No just one path. I open an image that has a circular path that is not selected on the paths palatte. I paste in another image from an email. Now I select the paths palatte, highlight the single path, go back to the layers palatte, do the CtrlHT0H thing and I can resize the pasted image while not resizing (just looking at) the path. Just wondering if there is another letter that I could add to the Ctrl command that would take care of highlighting the path as well…… Ctrl?HT0H
CB
charles badland
Jul 16, 2008
Hm, yeah.
Could you just create a path using the a path tool? (ie don’t even use the Paths Palette) I’m not at my machine that has Photoshop now, but I think that the one path would then always be targeted?

CB
MJ
Mark_John_Murphy
Jul 16, 2008
Hmmm… I don’t see a path tool. To create this path, I use teh eliptical marquee tool and then use the path’s palatte for teh steps to make it a clipping path. Can you tell point me to the path tool?

Thanks,

Mark
CB
charles badland
Jul 16, 2008
Mark:

In CS3 the vector tools are the third "group" of tools from the top. Pen Tool, Type Tool, Path Selection Tool, and Shape Tool.
The Ellipse (shape) Tool will draw a path if you click on the Path Icon in its option bar (over in the left side of the option bar)
JM
J_Maloney
Jul 16, 2008
To create this path, I use teh eliptical marquee tool and then use the path’s palatte for teh steps to make it a clipping path.

What about creating an action where you start on the layer you’ll transform. Use marquee tool to make selection. Then run action that creates a new layer, strokes the marquee selection, jumps back to the first layer and goes to free transform. Waits for you to transform. Then deletes the stroked layer. Keys to successful creation are to use the alt-[ and alt-] to make relative layer jumps when recording the action, andd to insert the Free transform menu item. I can email you an action.

Photoshop.forums — at — gmail dot. com.

J
MJ
Mark_John_Murphy
Jul 20, 2008
Hmmm…. some kind of action would probably work …. but I don’t want to use the marquee tool to make a selection because…. I have a fixed size image with the same circular path into which i copy emailed images of various sizes that in some cases are much larger than the fixed image …. I don’t want to have to zoom out a bunch of times to draw a marquee around the pasted image and start from there.

In photoshop 7, I just highlighted the path, pasted the image from outlook or wherever and was able to edit freetransform the image while looking at the path instead of the program thinking that i want to transform the path for some reason. Not sure how / why adobe came up with that "improvenent" in CS3. For now, an action assigned to a PF key and incorporating the keystrokes of Charles the Great above looks like the way to go.

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