Selecting rotated text (and other objects)

[ejdewan]

I'm drawing a small map, and in several places there is text rotated so as to fit next to a slanted line. The problem comes when I decide to move the text, usually along a line parallel to itself, or perhaps in some other direction. As far as I can tell, the only way to select the text is with the lasso tool, which can be very difficult, because of the close tolerances. Maybe the easiest way is simply to erase the text and re-create it. So, is there some way to rotate the selection box, so I can grab the slanted text easily?

[Rick Brewster]

You can select a rectangle, and the use the Move Selection tool to rotate it (right mouse button - see status bar for that info).

[yellowman]

Always type the text on a new transparent layer, that way you can select it with any selection tool and rotate it with right mouse (click and hold then move it arround)

Or use Rotate Text plugin find it in dpy's pack: http://forums.getpai...showtopic=16643 , also for best result, use the plugin on a new layer.

BTW, above is correct if you are creating the map yourself with everything including the text, but if you are using an existing map with text, then just select the text with any selection tool, and copy it and paste it on a new layer, then rotate it with right mouse and finaly erase the unwanted parts.

Hope this helps, but if the case is not above, then some details would be helpful to answer your question.

EDIT: thanks Rick you were faster

Edited May 7, 2012 by yellowman

[ejdewan]

Thanks for the helpful comments. I think I didn't pose my question clearly enough; yes, when creating text and pictures, rotation is fairly easy, and I have mastered this aspect of it. However, after the object in question has been bitmapped into the picture, it can be devilishly hard to go back and select some parts of it, especially, for example, slanted text that sits within a few pixels of a line or some other object. The lasso tool is not quite up to this task. My original idea was to implement some form of rotation for the selection tool itself, so as to match a selection rectangle to some rotated part of the picture. However, an easier technique might be to have another selection tool which is similar to the standard line-drawing tools in which you click once to locate a starting point, and then, perhaps while holding down the shift key, click on successive points until you have the object in question surrounded (by a series of straight lines), and then release the shift key, at which point the tool completes the selection back to the starting point. This would make it relatively easy to create a selection line that navigates through long, narrow gaps between parts of the diagram. (An example of this might be a bar code printed at an angle, where you want to splice out one or more lines for some reason.)

Well, I'm outta here. My map is completed, and I couldn't have done it with Microsoft Paint. Thanks a lot for Paint.net, and for all the help! I'll make a contribution, if I can find out how to pay by check.

[ejdewan]

Afterthought: your suggestion to use extra layers to isolate stuff is right on the money! I could have put all the text in a separate layer, and made adjustments with no trouble at all. Cheers.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

However, after the object in question has been bitmapped into the picture, it can be devilishly hard to go back and select some parts of it, especially, for example, slanted text that sits within a few pixels of a line or some other object. The lasso tool is not quite up to this task. My original idea was to implement some form of rotation for the selection tool itself, so as to match a selection rectangle to some rotated part of the picture.

If you place your text on it's own layer then you can select it easily. That's why we recommend that text always goes on it's own layer. If you're rendering text directly to the map layer then you're going to have this problem endlessly.

Thanks a lot for Paint.net, and for all the help! I'll make a contribution, if I can find out how to pay by check.

See the Paint.NET website, donate page: http://ww.getpaint.net/donate.html