Wrong Settings?

[Kat]

Hi I have been looking through the board (and used search) for my actual problem. Sorry if this has been posted before, I haven't seen it though.

I downloaded Paint.Net just 3 days ago and worked through 3 tuts by now, and mostly, I could help myself by reading through the thread and following the hints other people had gotten in similar situations.

But since last night I've had a hard time using my gradient tool in transperency mode (the way it had to be set in the Camaro picture tut - which worked just fine with me).

Whenever I tried to draw the line for the gradient, nothing happened EXCEPT: the 2 dots (beginning and end of line) were flashing.

I also realized that the mouse looks like a big + sign when hovering over the picture or doing something on a layer. Guess this also wasn't there before.

And thirdly, when writing text on a layer, right next to the text there is this sign: (just without the triangle right next to it, it's this arrowed cross put into a rectangle. I think I also haven't seen this one before.

~~~~~~~

So, meanwhile I became suspicious that somewhere, somehow, and unconsciously of what I was doing, I changed something in the general settings. Could that be? And if so: what and where? How could I "repair" that?

Or is it that what I described above is completely fine and I just didn't notice it before?

I'm a bit lost at the moment, and I would appreciate some competent help.

Thank you in advance from an unexperienced noob. :oops:

[Simon Brown]

Whenever I tried to draw the line for the gradient, nothing happened EXCEPT: the 2 dots (beginning and end of line) were flashing.

Transparency mode will draw a gradient regulating the transparency of the image, colour mode will draw a traditional colour gradient using the primary and secondary colours. To change the mode, click :AllColorChannels: or :AlphaChannel: .

[Myrddin]

Hello there, Kat.

Whenever I tried to draw the line for the [Transparency Mode] gradient, nothing happened EXCEPT: the 2 dots (beginning and end of line) were flashing.

Both your primary and secondary colour have to have an alpha value above 0, or, at least, at a value whereby you can notice the colour. If either colour has a value of 0, fully transparent, the Transparency mode will not work correctly.

sabrown100 explains the tool quite nicely. Also, check out the Help file on the tool: http://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/en/GradientTool.html

I also realized that the mouse looks like a big + sign when hovering over the picture or doing something on a layer. Guess this also wasn't there before.

A screenshot would help clarify this. At the moment, I'm thinking you have the Rectangle/Ellipse Select tool, any of the shape tools, or one of the brush tools (Brush, Clone Stamp) open with a small brush width, therefore only appearing as a cross shape.

A screenshot would help though.

And thirdly, when writing text on a layer, right next to the text there is this sign: (just without the triangle right next to it, it's this arrowed cross put into a rectangle. I think I also haven't seen this one before.

If I'm thinking correctly, that symbol, when clicked on and dragged, can move the active-state of text across the canvas (as in, when the text can still be edited). You can read more on this control of the Text tool here, as part of the help file: http://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/en/TextTool.html

The Help documentation might help you again in the future, so don't forget to check them out. They can be found through Help > Help Topics or by pressing F1 whilst in Paint.NET.

Does any of this answer you?

[Kat]

Thanks to both of you for your suggestions. At the moment, I am on the run to go shopping, but tonight will make some screenshots - hoping the things will be shown properly enough. And also, tonight when I'm back, I will follow your links, Myrddin, and read about the tools. Thanks for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just to quickly answer you, Myrddin:

-- As to the + sign, nope I had selected the gradient as a tool.

-- As to the text tool, you are right, it looked exactly the same like these signs e.g. in a Word Document, when you put in an image. You can move the picture around with it. My problem was: it was there right from the moment I started typing, and when finished, I could not really highlight my text, as I couldn't use the mouse in order to mark the text I wanted to alter.

And YES, it answered quite a bit already.

-- As to using the gradient in transperency mode, I will see to it that the Alpha canal is set >0 and then try again! (Finally I finished my picture by switching from transperency mode to the normal color mode, and this also worked out.) I just wondered why, the other day, I was able to use this tool in transperency mode, and last night as well as this morning, not!

[-Expiration-]

You can't really take a screenshot of your cursor as a + sign, because when you use Prnt Scrn, it removes your cursor from the picture.

However, if you are using the gradient tool, the + sign is the cursor for it, just like a circle for the paintbrush tool, and an arrow for the move tool, etc.

Also, for text, once you finish it, as in, click on a different area in the canvas, press Esc., or select another tool, you cannot edit that text again. That is why it is recommended to place all text on its own layer.

The confusion about the move sign in the rectangle could be caused by the fact that you can toggle its appearance by hitting Ctrl.

[Myrddin]

My problem was: it was there right from the moment I started typing, and when finished, I could not really highlight my text, as I couldn't use the mouse in order to mark the text I wanted to alter.

Ah, right, I must have missed this in your first post. The way it sounded, you were wondering to what the sign meant, not that it was causing a problem for you.

When that arrowhead cross control is present, you can still highlight your text as if it were Microsoft Word, it's when you've finalised your text (like -Expiration- said, by the Esc. key) that you can't highlight your text again. Paint.NET currently does not allow the re-editing of text.

[Kat]

1

You can't really take a screenshot of your cursor as a + sign, because when you use Prnt Scrn, it removes your cursor from the picture.

2

However, if you are using the gradient tool, the + sign is the cursor for it, just like a circle for the paintbrush tool, and an arrow for the move tool, etc.

3

Also, for text, once you finish it, as in, click on a different area in the canvas, press Esc., or select another tool, you cannot edit that text again. That is why it is recommended to place all text on its own layer.

4

The confusion about the move sign in the rectangle could be caused by the fact that you can toggle its appearance by hitting Ctrl.

1 -> Oh, okay, thanks for explaining that one!

2 -> That seems to have slipped my attention when I worked the first tut, so that's okay then and not a problem. Good to know.

3 -> Again: OH!! Good to know that one beforehand. I used Photoshop for the last some years, and from there I might be a bit spoiled and thinking everything in PDN is the same as it's in PS. (The resemblence is there, anyway... *hehe*)

4 -> Maybe I did this - for graphics etc. I use my "big" computer on the desktop, but my fingers have become so used to the notebook keyboard over the last ten years, so sometimes I don't hit the keys on the bigger keyboard properly.

Thanks -Expiration- for your reasonable explanations. They give me a lot of confidence to just move ahead and try out more of PDN.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When that arrowhead cross control is present, you can still highlight your text as if it were Microsoft Word, it's when you've finalised your text (like -Expiration- said, by the Esc. key) that you can't highlight your text again. Paint.NET currently does not allow the re-editing of text.

This is really a very useful piece of information. Probably I would have spent hours to find a tut where it explains how to edit text later-on. Now I know that if I change my mind about a piece of text which has been finished, that I'd better start creating a new text layer from scratch. Thanks for that.

And thanks for your kind replies everybody, anyway.

Myrddin, I assume that now it's not longer necessary to do the screen shots - at least not until I've tried out your advice how to use the gradient in transparent mode properly.

In case I still have any problems with this one, I would make a screenshot, return here and ask again, okay?

Thanks everyone -- I guess, just after 3 days I already start to get addicted to PDN... *hehe*

[Myrddin]

Yes, you're more than welcomed to ask again here, Kat.

Good luck!

[Kat]

I'm really back - unfortunately so!

This time I made a screenshot -- and for you in order to be able see it properly I didn't make it too small. Maybe it's too big for here though.

Here you find it: http://i32.tinypic.com/e62920.jpg

I tried to remember everything I was advised and made arrows to point out what I mean.

If you look at the portion with the 2 you see what I meant earlier, when I spoke of the flashing dots. They came up again. *cry* and I have no idea whatsoever what to do about it?

Or.... is the only mistake i made that I tried to create the gradient on an otherwise empty layer?? Could THAT be the mistake? (Well, if so, then it's a mistake in the tut ---> Icon/Avatar tut)...

I'd be happy if someone educated me a bit on this... so that in the future I need not ask dummy questions. :oops:

.....and thanks in advance for your patience!

[Myrddin]

Brilliant, Kat! Screenshots always help as it's pointed out your very minor error...

Or.... is the only mistake i made that I tried to create the gradient on an otherwise empty layer??

There we go. Remeber what sabrown100 wrote earlier?

Transparency mode will draw a gradient regulating the transparency of the image, colour mode will draw a traditional colour gradient using the primary and secondary colours. To change the mode, click :AllColorChannels: or :AlphaChannel: .

The only transparency (the alpha) value of the layer present is: nothing, absolute 0. Transparency Mode will not work on a transparent part of the image, which here is everything.

If you want to fade one image out, you'll have to do it on the grey layer, or a layer with an image. If, however, you want a regular gradient, the again do as sabrown said, switch to Colour Mode by clicking the icon.

[Kat]

Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!! (and: *aaarrrggghhh*lol*)

Well, part of my problem is the language. Not necessarily the English language, moreover the special language relating to these graphic things. It's like learning yet one more language... :oops: So it might happen that I just don't understand properly enough what is being meant by what is being said.

And it's NOT the authors' fault: the same thing happened to me when 2 years ago I did a beginners workshop for Photoshop on the Internet. If this hadn't been backed up by an e-mail group, I would have been lost from lesson 9 on... or so.

Again, thank you so much for your help! Now I'll go ahead and try this on the grey level and see what's going to happen.

[Crazy Man Dan]

Well, part of my problem is the language. Not necessarily the English language, moreover the special language relating to these graphic things.

= Jargon.

We usually try to keep it to a minimum around here when we're explaining things, since Paint.NET is targeted toward being most people's introduction to graphics tools, but sometimes it can't be helped.

Here's wishing you luck with your future editing!