Ability to Flatten only SELECTED layers together.

[billyea]

For example if you were working on an avatar with a shadow, your layers box might look like this:

Person

Shadow (this layer is a pitch back blurred version of 'person')

Background

Now what if you want to combine Person and Shadow together so you can easily move it around, but NOT Background:

Person WITH Shadow

Background

There's only 'Flatten' which flattens ALL the layers together.

I want to know how I can select multiple layers, then click flatten and they'll flatten ONLY those. I'm sick of using copy and paste to 'combine' the layers together, especially when I have over 10.

[Illnab1024]

I concur, and I do believe that many others have and will concur, also. It gets very annoying. _Very..._

[13_15_4_14_1_18]

I've wondered this in the past too, but I haven't been able to do it other then opening a new Paint.Net document and just putting in the layers from the picture you want to flatten into the other document, flattening that, and then just copying & pasting it back into a single layer in the original picture. If there is anyone that knows a better way to do this, please tell us. If not, maybe you should run this by Rick in the Feature Request forum..

- Chris

[Illnab1024]

Yes...copy & paste is the only way. I now figure a way to implement this is simply be able to Ctrl + select layers and then click on a button that is "Flatten selected layers". I hope to see this in the first or second alpha version.

EDIT: As I recall, changing the UI isn't exactly simple. Several functions to make, remake, and modify.

[billyea]

In the layers box, PDN already has checkboxes next to each layer that are supposed to toggle visibility. What if there was a button that could "Flatten visible layers?"

[Crazy Man Dan]

Yeah, "Flatten Visible" would be my choice. (That's how most other apps do it, as well :wink:)

Another plus would be the ability to "Link" layers. For instance, one could move one layer, and all layers that are linked to that layer would move as well. The benefit there would be that the person and shadow layers in the example would still be independently editable.

[RejZoR]

You just have to flatten step by step and or use one more Paint.NET window where you manipulate other image and flaten it, then you just copy it from one window to another.

It's kinda lame and takes time at the moment, but this will be enhanced in Paint.NET 3.x as it will have tabs to manipulate several images within same window.

[Crazy Man Dan]

Yeah, for the time being, you could:

1. Save your file as a .pdn

2. Open a new PDN window

3. Select Layers -> Import From File...

4. Locate your PDN and import the layers you'd like to flatten together

5. Remove the Background layer if necessary and save the file as a .png

6. Return to the original image and Layers -> Import the .png

[Kevin Martin Media]

Hello all,

The way I do it is a bit of a pain in the doodah but works.

1. First hide all the layers in the main image so all you have visible are the images you wish to merge together.

2. Then flatten the image.

3. Open another paint window.

4. Then copy the flattened image and paste it to the new window.

5. Then click undo to unflatten the main image.

6. Then remove all the flattened and copied images from this main image.

7. Then copy the flatten image and paste it to your main image.

8. With any luck the flattened image will go into the right place on the main image.

Kev 

[Rle]

@ Kevin Martin Media

You are 15 years to late . 😉

[Kevin Martin Media]

1 hour ago, Rle said:

@ Kevin Martin Media

You are 15 years to late . 😉

AND YOUR POINT IS?

Thats why I never go on forums. You try to help and all you get is this.

BYE EVERYBODY

[Pixey]

Hello @Kevin Martin Media and welcome to the forum

 

Sorry, but we do have rules on our forum, so please don't think badly of us.

 

If you read the RULES, especially #11, you will see that you need to start a new thread if you have a question, but not to reply to a very old question in a thread. Don't worry, it's an easy mistake to do.