Canvas position

[PlainoldTony]

Hi all

When starting a new project the canvas is always centered within the window. I'm creating a video comprised of lots of individual still pictures, in the same way as cartoonists do, by creating slightly different pictures on seperate layers. Sometimes the canvas gets moved for various reasons which results in it being in different positions  on different layers. Is there a way of shifting the canvas around in a more precise way than using the scroll bars on the bottom and side? Currently, I'm using the edges of two pieces of postit pages as refences but it's quite tricky to move the canvas in a very precise manner, similar to the way of using the left/right/up/down keys on a selected area.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Try Ctrl + A (select all the current layer) then M (Move tool) then use the keyboard arrow keys for per-pixel shifting.

 

Pro tip: Ctrl + Arrow Key = 10px movement per button press.

[PlainoldTony]

Hiya Ego

Your solution moves the current layer around the canvas, but it's the canvas position itself within the window that I want to move in an accurate way. Remember I said in my post that I want a more accurate way of shifting the canvas than the scroll bars at the side and bottom.

[Pixey]

4 hours ago, PlainoldTony said:

Hiya Ego

Remember I said in my post that I want a more accurate way of shifting the canvas than the scroll bars at the side and bottom.

 

If I'm understanding this correctly, the actual canvas itself will remain in the center of the window, whatever you are doing, even if you change its size.

 

14 hours ago, PlainoldTony said:

Sometimes the canvas gets moved for various reasons

 

I'm guessing that your other layers are perhaps of a different size to your original canvas size?  Or, you are zooming in or out?

If so, make them all the same size?

 

 

 

[PlainoldTony]

Actually, the size of the layers is irrelevant to this matter. The whole issue revolves around scrolling the canvas using the scroll bars at the right hand side and the bottom. Using these scroll bars is not easy in order to get the canvas into a specific position in the window. But given that we seem to be having some difficulty understanding what I'm saying I must suppose that using the scroll bars is the only way to adjust the position of the canvas.

 

 

Florida is very beautiful but far too hot for me; even in winter.

Edited March 6 by PlainoldTony

[Pixey]

52 minutes ago, PlainoldTony said:

 

Florida is very beautiful but far too hot for me; even in winter.

 

That's why I moved from the Isle of Man to Florida (used to live in Laxey).

 

54 minutes ago, PlainoldTony said:

I must suppose that using the scroll bars is the only way to adjust the position of the canvas.

 

Yes, it seems so.  Good luck with your project.

[PlainoldTony]

We visit our daughter in Spain sometimes, but even that's too hot for me. Been to Florida. Liked it but have no wish to return. But we digress. 

Thanks for your input on the matter at hand.

[Rick Brewster]

2 hours ago, PlainoldTony said:

Using these scroll bars is not easy in order to get the canvas into a specific position in the window.

 

You can also use the Pan (hand) tool. I tend to use Space + Left Mouse Button for panning, which is available when any tool is active and when View -> Zoom to Windows is not enabled (it's always enabled after opening an image). After opening an image, press Ctrl+B to toggle off View -> Zoom to Window, then Space + LMB for panning.

[Tactilis]

39 minutes ago, Rick Brewster said:

I tend to use Space + Left Mouse Button for panning, which is available when any tool is active...

@PlainoldTony FYI, use of the Space + mouse shortcut is described in the Documentation here: https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/ViewTools.html#Pan 

 

And here the Documentation describes how you can use the arrow keys too: https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/KeyboardMouseCommands.html#2

(scroll down to 'Pan canvas' and 'Pan canvas x 10')

[toe_head2001]

For panning, I click and hold the middle mouse button (mouse wheel).

[PlainoldTony]

Tthanks to Rick, Tactillis and toe-head for those very useful tips. That is as near a solution as I could hope for. Maybe I can refine those a bit by experimentation, but at first try it looks like a good result.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

You can combine the Spacebar  and keyboard arrow keys. Unfortunately this is not per-pixel but instead scaled inversely by the amount you have zoomed in (large zoom = smaller movements. Small zoom = large movements).

 

At 100% zoom each combination keypress results in a 10px movement. At 600% zoom you get somewhere between 1 to 2px movements. I had to zoom in 1000% before I consistently get 1px movements. This may be scaled by your system - so some experimentation might be worthwhile.

 

Adding the Ctrl  key multiplies the movement x10.