Feature Requests: Better Cropping & Text Controls

[gcan]

Have used an old version Paint Shop Pro (JASC) for many years, but I've wanted to find a new program that is actively being developed.  Stumbled on Paint.Net a few years ago, but I've been unable to ween myself off of Paint Ship Pro because, despite being many years older, it is still better at a few things.  Two things that I would like to see improved in Paint.Net before I think I could completely move from PSP:

 

1) One of the main things I use these tools for is to crop photos.  If I want to change, by a bit, the area I've selected in PSP, I can simply put my mouse cursor on the edge of the selection area (using the crop tool) and drag to change the size of the selected area.  MUCH easier than changing the selected area in Paint.Net.  

 

2) The Text options in PSP are far superior than in Paint.Net.  Again, I'm talking about a REALLY old version of PSP.  It uses the concept of a text box when adding text.  So, for example, I can drag the corners of a text box to change the size and aspect ratio of the text within the box, I can change the kerning of text within the box by simply dragging a slider, I can easily add drop shadow effects, I can use the mouse to select certain words or letters within the box and change the size, font, etc.  Of course, once the text box is merged with the rest of the image it can't be modified in those ways, but it seems like Paint.Net's text controls would benefit by implementing a similar idea to PSP's text box.

[BlastOfBN]

I sort of have a solution to your desire for advanced text tools.

 

Have you considered using the stylized text from @BoltBait’s plugin pack? The plugin pack also contains a feature that allows you to render drop shadows (should appear under the Object menu in the Effects tab). As for everything else you suggested, we’ll just have to wait and see.
 

If you don’t have that installed, get it here.

 

As for the better cropping you wanted, we’ll have to see how that’ll go. I personally don’t have much of a problem with the cropping system, but hey, everyone does things differently, and I respect that.

 

Consider using the magic wand if you haven’t by the way. 

[Tactilis]

4 hours ago, gcan said:

1) One of the main things I use these tools for is to crop photos.  If I want to change, by a bit, the area I've selected in PSP, I can simply put my mouse cursor on the edge of the selection area (using the crop tool) and drag to change the size of the selected area.  MUCH easier than changing the selected area in Paint.Net. 

Setting and changing the selected area before cropping is Paint.NET is very simple:

1. Press S to enable the Rectangle Select tool. Drag out the desired area with the mouse.
2. If you wish to change by a bit (or a lot) the selected area, press MM to enable the Move Selection tool. Simply put the mouse cursor on the edge of the selection area and drag to change the size of the selected area. You can also more the whole selection if you grab the inside.
3. Finally, press Ctrl+Shift+X to crop to the selection.

So, pretty much the same as in PSP, other than you press MM to adjust the selection. Not hard at all.


 

4 hours ago, gcan said:

2) The Text options in PSP are far superior than in Paint.Net.  Again, I'm talking about a REALLY old version of PSP.  It uses the concept of a text box when adding text.  So, for example, I can drag the corners of a text box to change the size and aspect ratio of the text within the box, I can change the kerning of text within the box by simply dragging a slider, I can easily add drop shadow effects, I can use the mouse to select certain words or letters within the box and change the size, font, etc.  Of course, once the text box is merged with the rest of the image it can't be modified in those ways, but it seems like Paint.Net's text controls would benefit by implementing a similar idea to PSP's text box.

Please see the Popular Feature Requests post https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/2940-popular-feature-requests/
"Ability to re-edit text, or "text layers", or some variation thereof"

 

 

[Ego Eram Reputo]

34 minutes ago, Tactilis said:

If you wish to change by a bit (or a lot) the selected area, press MM to enable the Move Selection tool. Simply put the mouse cursor on the edge of the selection area and drag to change the size of the selected area. You can also more the whole selection if you grab the inside.

 

^ That's "press M twice" - not a typo.

 

Also - When you've clicked and are holding a nub, the arrow keys on your keyboard give you fine control of the selection outline.

[gcan]

On 2/14/2023 at 4:07 PM, Tactilis said:

Setting and changing the selected area before cropping is Paint.NET is very simple:

1. Press S to enable the Rectangle Select tool. Drag out the desired area with the mouse.
2. If you wish to change by a bit (or a lot) the selected area, press MM to enable the Move Selection tool. Simply put the mouse cursor on the edge of the selection area and drag to change the size of the selected area. You can also more the whole selection if you grab the inside.
3. Finally, press Ctrl+Shift+X to crop to the selection.

So, pretty much the same as in PSP, other than you press MM to adjust the selection. Not hard at all.

 

Thanks!  How did I not notice that you can also resize the selected area after choosing the Move Tool???  This is a big help, and gets me that much closer to uninstalling PSP.  I knew there had to be a way, maybe it was the name of the tool that threw me (Move).  Perhaps a name change such as "Move/Resize" or increasing the size of the little "grab" circles would help clueless people like me better understand that the tool has multiple uses.  🙂

 

On 2/14/2023 at 4:07 PM, Tactilis said:

Please see the Popular Feature Requests post https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/2940-popular-feature-requests/

 

I look forward to an improved text tool!  Seriously, you have a great product and you are doing great work...  I'm SO close to being able to abandon PSP!

[Tactilis]

On 2/19/2023 at 9:18 PM, gcan said:

How did I not notice that you can also resize the selected area after choosing the Move Tool???  This is a big help, and gets me that much closer to uninstalling PSP.  I knew there had to be a way, maybe it was the name of the tool that threw me (Move).  Perhaps a name change such as "Move/Resize" or increasing the size of the little "grab" circles would help clueless people like me better understand that the tool has multiple uses.

There are two Move tools: Move Selected Pixels (shortcut key M) and Move Selection (MM).

Note that you don't need to grab the 'nubs' to resize. You can grab anywhere on the the edge to do this.
You can even hold the mouse button down and use the arrow keys to move/resize; this is particularly useful if you want precise pixel-perfect positioning.

 

Quote

I'm SO close to being able to abandon PSP!

I'd urge you to work your way through the excellent Paint.NET documentation.

Click the icon, and select Documentation (or just press the F1 key).



There is so much functionality in Paint.NET that you just don't know about yet. It really pays dividends to systematically work your way through the documentation; reading a bit each day and then experimenting so that you properly understand what is being described.

If anything is not clear, then please ask in the forum.


FYI: The Move tool description is here: https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/MoveTools.html

 

 

[gcan]

On 2/19/2023 at 3:05 PM, Tactilis said:

There is so much functionality in Paint.NET that you just don't know about yet.

 

I don't doubt it.  I spent years learning PSP, and I'm sure I will become more proficient with Paint.NET over time.  I've used it a bunch even today now that I've learned that I can easily resize a selected area with the Move tool.  

 

Just need that better Text tool and it's hasta la vista PSP.  Hopefully it's high on your priority list and is coming soon!  Think of all the "meme-ers" you'll be helping 🙂

 

[Tactilis]

5 minutes ago, gcan said:

Hopefully it's high on your priority list and is coming soon! 

I think you mean on @Rick Brewster's priority list!

 

[Disk4mat]

I spent about a month with PDN and never realized till now, that "Move Selection" works like "Edit Selection". You can move, resize and rotate? It also works with the other selection tools too? <insert holy cow moment>

 

I thought it was just a move the layer on the canvas while "Move the selected pixels" would move the selected object on the layer. Only by accident I clicked the wrong tollbar icon and tripped over this feature.

[Tactilis]

3 hours ago, Disk4mat said:

I spent about a month with PDN and never realized till now, that "Move Selection" works like "Edit Selection". You can move, resize and rotate? It also works with the other selection tools too?  <insert holy cow moment>

Only by accident I clicked the wrong toolbar icon and tripped over this feature.

I know I keep making reference to it in my posts - for example, see the one a few messages above - but I would urge all new (and not so new) users to read the paint.net documentation. It is really well written and explains clearly the operation of all the tools, the available keyboard shortcuts, the mouse actions & keypress modifiers, and so on.

Devoting some time to the documentation really speeds up your use of paint.net and stops you having to wait for accidental holy cow moments!

[Disk4mat]

8 hours ago, Tactilis said:

Devoting some time to the documentation really speeds up your use of paint.net and stops you having to wait for accidental holy cow moments!

 

Thats the best advice anyone could get. I am going to start reading thru it tonight and over the weekend. It would be awesome if there was a quick start guide for the 10 most common tasks. I might do that later down the road.

[Tactilis]

1 hour ago, Disk4mat said:

I am going to start reading thru it tonight and over the weekend.

I found it best to create examples and actually try each of the tools, while forcing myself to use the keyboard shortcuts and ALT+letter menu shortcuts - even if doing so felt slower initially compared to just using the mouse. Gradually this paid off as muscle memory took over. I now find it much faster.
 

[Ego Eram Reputo]

19 hours ago, Tactilis said:

read the paint.net documentation. It is really well written

 

 

Thanks @Tactilis - you've made my day.

[CircleBox]

How do you get text to fit into a nice little box? I've been wracking my brain on this for a couple of days. It seems if you use the stylized text plug in it add's shadows to the text. I'm just trying to do plain jane editing. 
 

Circle text is nice but it put's it in a circle, when I need it in a box. 

 

Clicking between sentences to press Return to make a line is great but if you click off you have to restart the whole thing. 

 

Copying text from a table just puts it in a straight line, then you have to edit it. So it's a null thing to do. 

 

Copying text from a word editor via screen shot has the color in the background and it's not super straight how to change it all (considering some times O's and A's have innards). 

 

Help pls? Ty. 

[BoltBait]

1 hour ago, CircleBox said:

How do you get text to fit into a nice little box?

 

Try this: https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/121504-wall-of-text-v11-jan-10-2023/

 

[CircleBox]

Oh wow, thanks. This is actually what I was looking for. 

 

edit: ahhh, its changing the size of the words. i need to play around with it a bit. 

Edited April 22, 2023 by CircleBox

[Djisves]

On 4/22/2023 at 6:05 PM, CircleBox said:

How do you get text to fit into a nice little box? ...

 

On 4/22/2023 at 7:10 PM, BoltBait said:

 

Try this: https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/121504-wall-of-text-v11-jan-10-2023/

 

 

Another option is Spaced Text. I use it often in presentations.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

One more recommendation: Dr Scott's Markup Renderer.

 

Requires a little HTML and CSS knowledge (or you could steal the code below ). One of the advantages is you can save the HTML file, which gives you the option of reproducing the text if needed.

 

[CircleBox]

Haha! That's a really advanced solution! 

 

Thank you for the other options. I will be going back to the project and using these for sure! 

[CircleBox]

Ayo my homies, is there anyway to fix this without starting over? It's basically the only white in the whole picture and I can just change the white only but I can't seem to figure out how. If it were just this little bit I would use the fill tool but I have a whole lot more text, think paragraphs. 

 

 

edit: oh dang you know what I forgot about this tool. thanks for the documentation. 

 

https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/RecolorTool.html#12

Edited May 2, 2023 by CircleBox

[Tactilis]

1 hour ago, CircleBox said:

Ayo my homies, is there anyway to fix this without starting over? It's basically the only white in the whole picture and I can just change the white only but I can't seem to figure out how.

This thread is about Cropping & Text Controls.

[CircleBox]

Seeing as I am working directly with text I figured it was relevant.