Lou3000 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Hi, I am very, very new and also a complete novice to paint.net. I had some success yesterday whilst editing a photo using the clone stamp. However, when I went back today and reopened the photo for further modification, I found I couldn't do so. I uploaded a fresh photo, one I'd never worked on, and found I could edit that fine. Is there something I'm not doing - or failed to do when I saved my first photo initially - that I should be doing? Ta, in advance. :? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curmudgeon Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 *disregard* There I go again, trying to do two things at once Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lionhearted Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 If you save a single layer image in .PDN format it will preserve all the history. What you probably did was to save it in some other format, such as .PNG Whoa...saving as a PDN file doesn't preserve the history...it preserves the layers you've created. It's usually good practice to save in this format, for two reasons: a) It saves the layers you've created and all the settings created along with those You don't overwrite your original file, which it looks like you did. Hope that helps! Quote My Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou3000 Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 If you save a single layer image in .PDN format it will preserve all the history. What you probably did was to save it in some other format, such as .PNG Whoa...saving as a PDN file doesn't preserve the history...it preserves the layers you've created. It's usually good practice to save in this format, for two reasons: a) It saves the layers you've created and all the settings created along with those You don't overwrite your original file, which it looks like you did. Hope that helps! Erk! Technospeak! Using the file menu, what I did was "Save as" and gave my photo a name like "Photo1 Sample" assuming I could just extract it from the file I saved it in to start work on again - but it's like it's 'locked' and won't allow me to work any more on it. I was just practicing anyway (albiet that I was working on it for hours!) so no big deal if I have to start over but for future reference, how should I save something which I want to work on later? Could someone tell me in basic language and basic steps so I understand! ? *hands round chocolate cake as a bribe* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Man Dan Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Hmm. I'm not quite understanding what you're experiencing. If you add a layer to a file, then Paint.NET will by default save it in its own native format, .PDN. If you didn't add a layer, and just doodled on the photo with the paintbrush or the like, it would save it by default as a .PNG. In either case, though, the image would still be editable when you open it again in Paint.NET. So, I guess if you could elaborate a little as to what you did, what the "Save as type" drop-down in the Save As... dialog was set to when you saved, and what you're trying to do once you opened it again, we may have an easier go at troubleshooting it. Quote I am not a mechanism, I am part of the resistance; I am an organism, an animal, a creature, I am a beast. ~ Becoming the Archetype Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lionhearted Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Chocolate cake? What? I echo CMD's sentiments...could you be more specific? What do you mean by "locked-down"? Quote My Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou3000 Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 Okay *hands the plate of chocolate cake round again* What I meant by "locked" was just that I am unable to modify the photo at all. I click the mouse but nothing is working. I did the following things once I'd finished editing the photo of my Highland cows yesterday: From the Paint.net screen, I went to File. Selected 'Save As' and saved as 'HighlandCowsSample' (the save as type was paint.net pdn) The file was saved to 'My Pictures' When I opened Paint.net again today to re-edit, I did the following: Went to File/Open/My Pictures/Highland Cows/ Under "Files of Type" I selected Paint.net pdn The nice photo of the pretty cows came up onto my paint.net screen I selected the clone tool to continue modifying but it was then I discovered that although I could select the tool, when I tried to put it to work on the picture it didn't 'work'. I clicked Ctrl etc and although I could see that little circle 'flashing' nothing else happened. I am not able to 'clone' anything on the picture at the moment. As I mentioned, I opened another picture from 'My pictures' to test everything and I had no problem editing that one. Aaaagh! I'm drowning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Man Dan Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Alright, which layer is selected? When you open a PDN file with more than one layer, by default, the bottom layer is selected. So, if there's another full-canvas layer on top of the background, you'd see that one, but you'd be cloning things on the bottom layer, which wouldn't be visible because of the layer in front of it. That's the most likely cause I could think of at the moment. In fact, in testing on one of my own PDN files, I tested the clone stamp on one of my layers, saw no effect, was confused, then realized that I had selected a hidden layer. The changes were being made, but I couldn't see them. Quote I am not a mechanism, I am part of the resistance; I am an organism, an animal, a creature, I am a beast. ~ Becoming the Archetype Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou3000 Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 Ooh, now then. I went back to my cow picture and noted that there were two layers showing in the box. (What are layers for?). Within the layer box was the file entitled Highland Cow and this was ticked and then another box underneath called Background and this was ticked. Unticking the background brought up a sort of checkered background but other than that I still couldn't use the clone tool. But when I ticked "add another layer" this bought up another box (unticked) entitled 'Background' and I discovered I am able to use the clone tool again. As I said, I am a complete novice and think perhaps one does need a certain degree of knowledge when using paint.net to get the best out of it. The Help pages are not the most clear I've used. Actually, it was only by discovering a video on youtube on how to use the clone tool on paint.net that I understood what to do! But thanks for your help, everyone, most appreciated! *hands round the last of the chocolate cake* :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 I think I am having the same problem as Lou3000, basically. Is there or can someone give a tut on using layers? Please also explain: When you have more that one layer, you can highlight the different layers, and also check mark the different layers. What is the difference? :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBlackLamb Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 If a layer is highlighted it's the one that will be modified when you do anything. The check box is whether the layer is visible, if it's checked then the layer is visible, if it's unchecked the layer is invisible. Layers are a very useful thing, think of them as a stack of paper. Hope I made sense & this helps Quote dA Son, someday you will make a girl happy for a short period of time. Then she'll leave you & be with men that are ten times better than you can imagine. These men are called musicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lionhearted Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Think of layers like transparent sheets of paper...you can stack them on top of each other and each adds a bit to the picture. I'm too lazy to get detailed...I'd suggest reading the help files to get you started. Quote My Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBlackLamb Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Think of layers like transparent sheets of paper...you can stack them on top of each other and each adds a bit to the picture. I'm too lazy to get detailed...I'd suggest reading the help files to get you started. Copy cat You could also use this tutorial to help get you started It's very comprehensive. Quote dA Son, someday you will make a girl happy for a short period of time. Then she'll leave you & be with men that are ten times better than you can imagine. These men are called musicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lionhearted Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Think of layers like transparent sheets of paper...you can stack them on top of each other and each adds a bit to the picture. I'm too lazy to get detailed...I'd suggest reading the help files to get you started. Copy cat You could also use this tutorial to help get you started It's very comprehensive. Ha ha...posted within seconds of each other. Helpfulness strikes again! Quote My Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Thanks everyone! I did go look at this and went through it all. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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