[Is there a way to have a layer that contains "editable" text?]

AH! A very important distinction. 

 

So does that mean, after a file has been "flattened and saved",  Paint.net keeps an "Undo" copy of:

 

A.  Just that file as it existed immediately prior to that one "flatten & save" operation, or

 

B.  If there had been multiple "flatten & save" operations on that same file during a single session while that file remained "open" & there had been no "exit" from the program, Paint.net keeps an "Undo" copy of all those earlier "pre-flatten" versions of that image file? 

 

If the latter, I imagine that could have a big impact on memory.  

 

Just curious to understand how the "Undo" operates.    

[Is there a way to have a layer that contains "editable" text?]

I love how quickly you guys respond! 

 

Thanks for the suggestion to try the Editable Text Plugin!  I installed and tried it and it does seem to generally accomplish what I've been wanting to do!  One (unsurprising) caveat for users is that, once the file's layers are flattened, as far as I can tell, the "editable text" is no longer editable.  However, I'm pretty sure that long as a file containing "Editable Text" layers is being saved as an unflattened ".pdn" file, all of that text remain editable within each of those new layers. 

 

(NOTE TO OTHERS:  When using this plugin, be sure that before selecting & beginning to use the" Editable Text" plugin, you have FIRST either (1) selected a specific existing layer to edit or (2) added a new layer before you select .  Otherwise, you may "lose" the background layer you wanted to keep. 

 

I read the whole thread at that "Editable Text" link and, while I agree with some of those posters that the plugin has limitations I'd prefer it didn't, I'm very impressed and grateful that Simon got this much done in a plugin. 

 

I also followed the link Tactilis suggested and was delighted to see that "editable text" already is "on the list" of features to be added into some future version of "Paint.Net".  I hope when that feature arrives, the developer will have devised a mechanism to keep the added text "Editable" even after flattening layers.    

 

I did, however, run into one Paint.Net instruction that seemed confusing.  

 

I was curious about what happens if the file is saved as a .jpg.  So I used "File|Save As", then selected ".jpg" format.  At that point, Paint.Net presented a familiar instruction display, which I must not previously have read as closely.  That instruction begins with a warning that the file will be flattened into a single layer.  That part didn't really surprise me and I expected that would also mean the added text no longer would be "editable".  However, now that I was thinking about whether the text might reman editable in a ".jpg" format, the next part of that instruction DID surprise me:  "You will be able to undo the flatten operation after saving is finished."   

 

That sounded wonderful, if true.  So I tried it.  

 

After saving the file with the Editable Text as a ".jpg" file, I reopened it in Paint.Net and I couldn't find anything that even seemed to suggest I now could "undo the flatten operation", as the instruction had inferred.  Knowing that file had been both flattened AND saved in a different format, I don' think there really is any way to "undo the flatten", at least not under all circumstances.    

 

So if my guess about that is correct, shouldn't that instruction be revised?  Or at least edited to clarify the limited circumstances under which a user actually can "undo the flatten operation" after a flatten & save?  

 

Thanks again for the quick & wonderful help!

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Is there a way to have a layer that contains "editable" text?]

 So far, whenever I need to add a text explanation to an image, I've been adding a new layer, then  using the Text tool to enter text strings in that layer to explain aspects of the image.  Then, I use the Line tool with an arrowhead to "connect" the intended point in the image back to the beginning of the text in that new layer.

 

From time to time, I make mistakes in the text string that I don't see until later & that I'd like to correct, or I later decide I'd like to rephrase that text. 

 

But if I later return to edit the text in that layer, I can add more text, but -- as far as I can tell --  I cannot revise any of the earlier-entered text, even to just enter a comma or a space.  This can be very frustrating, particularly when it's a lot of text.  Of course, I can delete that layer & start over in a new layer, but I can't even "copy" that original text first so I "paste" then edit in the new layer or even save it somewhere else as a "reference" to help me remember what I'll have to retype.  

 

If Paint.net already includes ways to edit/revise previously entered text, please tell me how to do it.    

 

If not, are there perhaps any "Add-Ins" available to accomplish this? 

 

Again, if not, might it be possible to create a type of "text-only" layer than keeps its text as text so it can later be edited/revised? 

 

I'm not at all a frequent or knowledgeable user of Paint.net, but this seems to me to be something that more experienced users likely have either figured out how to accomplish -- or can explain ehy it CANNOT be accomplished -- using Paint.net.

 

Thanks 

[Simplify text manipulation in Paint.net?]

I've "used" Paint.net for many years, but only occasionally, and I readily admit that I'm not very good at it.  So today I returned here to again ask someone to remind me of what I must do to rotate a string of text I want to place onto an image.     

 

I saw Ardneh's explanation in the thread about "Text editing in Paint.net as in MS Word", and it reminded me of the right "path".  However, I got hung up after I had created a new layer, entered the text, then chose "Move Selected Pixels" - I couldn't figure out how to rotate the text.  Finally, I realized I hadn't "selected" anything, so I used the "Select Rectangle" tool to put a rectangle around that new text, THEN I used the "Move Selected Pixels" tool & that got the text rotated as I needed.  

 

So it all worked out OK, but that particular chore just seems to be a lot of trouble for me, as it requires so many steps to accomplish in a program I truly appreciate, but that I don't "need" to use frequently enough to remember all those steps from one time to the next.    

 

I'm sure there's a good reason why text rotation has to be done this way in Paint.net, but it nevertheless seems really strange to me, particularly because Paint.net lets me easily (1) draw a line, then (2) right click on the handle for that line, and (3) rotate that new line in a complete circle (if I want to) then stop it to rest at whatever angle I choose.  I don't remember anyone ever telling me how to do that, it just seemed intuitive and I use it all the time (well, as least when I'm in the program). 

 

But, when I try doing the same thing with text, it doesn't work in Paint.net.  Can someone explain why? 

 

Better yet, can someone explain why Paint.net shouldn't (or can't) be modified to permit rotation of a text string in the same manner it currently allows for rotating a line?  I think that capability would be a really useful and logical improvement for just about anyone who ever adds text to images.  

 

If the reason "why not" has something to do with layers (I'm not knowledgeable enough to know whether it does), then why not modify Paint.net so it automatically creates a new layer for entry of that new text whenever the Text Tool is selected?  I've read many posts where others (not just Ardneh, as in the thread above) have explained that users should "Always put your text on its own new layer."  So if creating a new layer for text is universally important, why not have the program always do that (or at least include an option for that to happen for those of us who would really appreciate it)?  As I understand it, multiple layers can be "flattened" anyway, so what's the harm in more layers if the user is adding text anyway?  

 

I don't doubt that I don't know enough to realize why this can't work (or shouldn't be done) in Paint.net, but I'd really appreciate it if someone will explain the reason(s) why so I can understand it.  

 

Thanks.

[Content Aware Fill (2023-04-30)]

Thank you so very much for this plugin!  This is a godsend and I've very happily donated for it!  My only disappointment is that I didn't find it earlier! 

 

I'm (at best) a beginner-level paint.net user and I really only use the program when I wish to make some sort of change to an existing image - usually a photo (honestly, I feel more comfortable with it than with Photoshop Elements).  Those opportunities don't arise very often, so I usually end up having to "re-learn" what I have forgotten -- but that's OK. 

 

This time, I wanted to "improve" a photo I had taken many years ago when my daughter graduated from college.  I wasn't able to get close enough at that time, so I wanted to crop and clean it up a bit.  However, when I finished cropping, I found that a balding head in front of a man's faintly striped suit stuck out as a huge distraction.  So I wanted that head removed and replaced with the "suit fabric".  This was something I'd never tried to do before and didn't know how, so I came here and found the 2010 post about "The Subterranean Copy/Paste Blues".  I followed those instructions (which required me to learn new information about dealing with layers and using other features I hadn't tried before) and -- after quite a bit of time (including making lots of mistakes along the way) I finally felt I had accomplished my goal. 

 

Proud of myself, I returned to that post to finish reading others' comments.  Of course, the very last of those comments directed me here and then I couldn't resist downloading and trying THIS plugin to do the same chore.  When I used THIS plugin, I was delighted that I could do the same "fix" at least as well in only a fraction of the time.  Although I can see a few very subtle differences in the final product produced by this plugin vs. the much longer process I used the first time, I believe the result using this plugin is the more pleasing of the two.   

 

I didn't include copies of the images because each of them is at least twice the specified 256kB "Max total size" limit, so I guess you'll just have to take my word about the comparison <g>!  

 

Thanks again for this really great tool!  

 

Paul

[Any suggestions for working with old B&W negative?]

I have an old (probably 1960 or so) B&W negative that's not in great shape (scratches, etc.).  The photo subject is a farm boy sitting on a dirt mound in a field.  Dimensionally, this negative is about 2.75" x 3.5", so I'm guessing it's an enlargement negative someone had made from a smaller consumer format negative of that era. 

 

I scanned the negative to tif format, then opened it in Paint.net.  I wanted to see how the image will look as a positive, but I couldn't find a Paint.net tool specifically identified for inverting a B&W negative, so I used "Invert Colors" ("Adjustments" menu).  The resulting image was really faint.*  So I applied "Auto-Level" ("Adjustments" menu).  That darkened and made the positive image look better, particularly the image of the boy, but the image was "off" -- in particular, clouds and shadows had an orangish-tan tint.  So then I tried "Black and White" ("Adjustments" menu).  That eliminated the tint, but the positive still didn't look as good as I had hoped for -- the clouds still seem very "splotchy"-looking.  

 

I would really appreciate any suggestions about what I should have done differently or what other Paint.net tool(s) I still can apply to this image to get a better result.  So I resized a copy of the image and attached it below.  I hope enough detail is still visible to see the problems. 

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.  

 

*  Although my flatbed scanner is rated at 4800 x 4800 dpi, it does not have either a negative carrier or a light in the lid, so I'm guessing  that's at least part of the reason the image appeared so faint when inverted to positive.