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Feature request: ability to define selection size


f

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Use the Rectangle selection tool, than move it, that way, you can move certain parts...

That is not whast I am looking. If I want to have a selection made that is precisely 300*600, I would have to use the Move tool and move it a little bit one way and a little bit the other way to make the selection exactly 300*600. There is no way to define a selection to be exactly 300*600.

So to make it more clear, maybe what I want is a menu item called in "Image" => "Selection Size" => a-way-to-specify-the-X-and-Y-axis of the selection wanted

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You could just drag the selection to the markers on the ruler, then move it.

Yes but is exactly the situation I want to avoid. I want to be able to DEFINE the size of the selection, not having to deal with dragging out a selection to a specified size.

Try working with a 5000*3000 size picture and drag out a 343*321 selection. A shortcut that brings up a selection size selector would be better, IMHO.

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Open the image you are interested in. Select all and copy.

Create a new image and set your canvas size. Paste the image. No, do not expand the canvas to the image size.

In 2.72, you can see the borders of the selection and move the selection around. In 3.0a3, I couldn't see the selection rectangle but it centered the image and I could still move it around.

Does that help?

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I was planning to do something for this in 3.0 but it just didn't make the cut in the time that was available.

The design is to put some text entry boxes up in the toolbar. When you draw a rectangle selection, for instance, these text boxes will be populated with the dimensions you have drawn. You can then edit the text to be the exact size you want the selection to be (you can also type in values before drawing the selection, of course).

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I was planning to do something for this in 3.0 but it just didn't make the cut in the time that was available.

The design is to put some text entry boxes up in the toolbar. When you draw a rectangle selection, for instance, these text boxes will be populated with the dimensions you have drawn. You can then edit the text to be the exact size you want the selection to be (you can also type in values before drawing the selection, of course).

Thank you for acknowledging my request, even though you have decided to delay/postpone/just-not-do-it.

I like the approach you are suggesting, but I still think that a keyboard shortcut that makes it is possible to create the X and Y dimension, then followed by pressing ENTER (or the OK button), creates a selection and then automatically selects the Move Tool (where you can move the selection, not the content behind it - i.e. when the selection is transparently blue), is worth considering. It could work within the approach you are suggesting to.

BTW, thanks for a truly great free picture editing program. v3 i shaping up to be a very nice upgrade to Paint.Net.

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I was planning to do something for this in 3.0 but it just didn't make the cut in the time that was available.

The design is to put some text entry boxes up in the toolbar. When you draw a rectangle selection, for instance, these text boxes will be populated with the dimensions you have drawn. You can then edit the text to be the exact size you want the selection to be (you can also type in values before drawing the selection, of course).

Or maybe the feature could, more easily, be implemented by making the dimensions that are shown in the status bar when you resize you selection, clickable (where it currently says "Selected area XXX x XXX (XXX pixels), which when pressed pops up an XY resize window. I.e. you create a selection (by pressing S and drawing out a selection), then click the statusbar where is says "Selected area....." and in that window you would be able to define a specified size. I'm repeating myself, but a keyboard shortcut for this would of course be nice :)

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f, did you read my (interim) solution to your problem above?

Yes. and thank you for taking the time to try and help out.

However, it is not that it is impossible to so right now, this whole thing. There are many ways. It is that it is either unintuitive (the solution you are suggesting) or cumbersome (the solution I use to to this).

Your solution is unintuitive (to me at least), because you have to picture (pun intended) your whole picture in your head, as you try to fit it to the smaller canvas size. You do this by anticipating what the picture looks like as only the part that is on the canvas is shown. If your selection is small for example, you have to do a lot of moving around. If you, in the middle of fitting your picture to the canvas decide you selection must be bigger you have to change the canvas size and start over.

The cumbersome (but more intuitive) way I have chosen to "cope" with the missing feature is by

1. Pressing S (selection tool)

2. Drawing a selection close to the size I want

3. Pressing M twice (Move tool)

4. Adjusting X axis with mouse

5. Adjusting Y axis with mouse

6. Move selection to the specified place on picture

7. CTRL+SHIFT+X (crop to selection) or copy the selection or whatever is needed.

that is the reason I would like the feature I am suggesting.

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Yeah, that's what I was doing before I answered your question and started thinking more about it. I would have to zoom in and fine-adjust to get the dimensions just right. Otherwise the selection size would be off by one or two pixels. Your idea is intuitive for sure, mine is just quicker once it is realized.

I've got a lot of pictures that I have to crop to the same size in the interim but I can't use an automatic tool because my object of interest is not exactly centered in each of them. Fortunately by using 3.0, the paste operation puts my object of interest (which is close to center) near the middle of the frame anyway so it isn't that hard to adjust.

I'm glad you asked your question because even my answer doesn't fulfill your needs exactly, it gave me a better solution to my own problem.

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I'm glad you asked your question because even my answer doesn't fulfill your needs exactly, it gave me a better solution to my own problem.

And that...my friend...is the power of conversation and individual thought :D Hooray!

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I would like to request that the ability to define a selection be added. E.g. being able to define a 300*600 (or any other) area in the "Move" tool

I should add that it would also be nice, if this feature gets implemented, to be able to lock a selection's aspect ratio. I.e. if I am making a picture for a webpage that has to be a certain aspect ratio, so that when you expand using the corners of a selection, the aspect ratio remains constant.

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