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mikeengles
Inspiring
October 15, 2011
Answered

Cropping Layers

  • October 15, 2011
  • 6 replies
  • 35802 views

Is is not about time that layers as well as the canvas should be cropable using the crop tool?

As far as I can see the only way to crop a layer is to make a selection and delete portions.

Mike Engles

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer John Waller

    If Adobe WERE to change the Crop Tool to work on layers as you suggest, unless it was done in such a way that somehow the default behavior was retained as it is now, there would be a big re-learning curve for a lot of existing/expert Photoshop users, who expect the Crop Tool to work on the entire document.  I'm sure that would be troublesome.

    No need to touch the Crop Tool.

    Just add a Crop Layer Tool to the existing button collection of Crop Tool/Slice Tool/Slice Select Tool.

    6 replies

    rexb98364742
    rexb98364742
    Participant
    July 11, 2019

    You can't handle the truth!!!        

    arc_fixer
    arc_fixer
    Participating Frequently
    October 17, 2011

    Howdy.

    acresofgreen: It seems to me that you are not asking HOW to crop a layer, but suggesting a new program feature which would add that functionality to the crop tool's repertoire.

    I agree. And like Noel I think I understand where the OP is coming from.

    When you use the Marquee Tool to make a selection, inverting the selection and deleting is fine, except that unlike the Crop Tool, the Marquee Tool will not let you adjust the selection once you release the mouse. To adjust it, you have to select Transform Selection. Furthermore, any layer pixels extending beyond the canvas are not deleted, which could cause problems later. These are little things, but they add up. So I think a feature request is a good idea. And it might not  affect the legacy behavior of any tool.

    In the meantime, you can make your own Crop Layer Tool. It uses a simple action. A layer mask is created, adjusted, and applied. When invoked, the action adds the mask, unlinks the mask,  and chooses the Transform Tool. Then it pauses for you to make your crop. The first thing you see looks pretty much like Crop Tool. Except that the boundary of the layer is selected instead of the canvas. Note that the layer mask is selected.

    Drag it just like the Crop Tool. You are transforming the mask, which crops the layer. And you see a live preview, effects and all.

    When satisfied, hit Enter to accept the crop. The action then applies the mask. The result is below. The layer has been cropped.

    With Actions in Button Mode and a keyboard shortcut assigned, the Tool/Action is accessed with as much ease and used the same as the Image Crop Tool.

    Below is the action.

    How to make the action.

    Start recording.

    1. Ctrl+Click on the layer thumbnail.

    2. Click on the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the layers palette.

    3. Click on the link between mask and layer thumbs to release the link.

    4. Select the Transfrom Tool (Ctrl+T). The layer mask should still be selected. Drag boundary to a new position. Doesn't matter where. It will need to be reset after the action is recorded. Hit enter.

    5. Right Click on layer mask thumbnail and select Apply Layer Mask.

    Stop recording.

    Now go back to step 4, Transform. Set it to conditional (highlighted above). This will make it stop so you can make your crop. Next, double click on the command. This will select the Transform Tool. In the options bar set the scale percentages highlighted below to 100%,

    This is necessary because Actions won't record a null transformation. But once recorded, you can reset to the original state. And if the mask isn't at 100% we won't see the whole layer when the action stops for the crop.

    This may sound like a lot, but it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to set up the action following the above instructions. And for that small investment, you have a Layer Crop Tool which works just like any other tool. You select it with the mouse or keyboard shortcut, make your adjustment, then hit enter.

    FWIW.

    Peace,

    Lee

    JJMack
    Community Expert
    JJMackCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 17, 2011

    When you use the Marquee Tool to make a selection, inverting the selection and deleting is fine, except that unlike the Crop Tool, the Marquee Tool will not let you adjust the selection once you release the mouse. To adjust it, you have to select Transform Selection. Furthermore, any layer pixels extending beyond the canvas are not deleted, which could cause problems later. These are little things, but they add up. So I think a feature request is a good idea. And it might not  affect the legacy behavior of any tool.

    Lee

    You make some very good points here.  I completly forgot that the selection tool only works within the canvas area  that when you do the select inverse areas outside the canvas area of the layer would not be selected and clear would not clear these unselected  areas outside the canvas area.  The older one gets the more they forget.  Most of the layer corpping I do is a virtual crop of smart object layers with a layer mask that is unlinked from the smart object. When you do that the whole laye remains and there is no problem for you can transform the layer to size the visible objects the size you want and you can position the content you want within the mask visible area.  In fact untill CS5 Layer Mask and smart objects could not be linked.  CS5 cause me an extra step to unlink the layer mask after I added it the the smart object layer. Maybe CS4 I skipped that release.

    You action more or less works like I do except I keep the layers pixels and layer mask wthere you delete the layer mask applting its effects.  Your Action would also not work in my work flow without first converting my smart object layers to a normal layer Rasterzise it.  For there is no apply option if you delete a layer mask on a smart object layer you just revert back to the smart object.

    What is interesting about your action is the select layer tranparency step for it loades a selection that extends outside of the canvas area in fact if the layer is larger then the canvas on all four sides you will not see any marching ants even if your image window is larger ther the large layer.

    Message was edited by: JJMack

    JJMack
    Noel Carboni
    Noel Carboni
    Legend
    October 16, 2011

    I can understand where you're coming from, but just a subjective comment: 

    If Adobe WERE to change the Crop Tool to work on layers as you suggest, unless it was done in such a way that somehow the default behavior was retained as it is now, there would be a big re-learning curve for a lot of existing/expert Photoshop users, who expect the Crop Tool to work on the entire document.  I'm sure that would be troublesome.

    -Noel

    John Waller
    Community Expert
    John WallerCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    October 16, 2011

    If Adobe WERE to change the Crop Tool to work on layers as you suggest, unless it was done in such a way that somehow the default behavior was retained as it is now, there would be a big re-learning curve for a lot of existing/expert Photoshop users, who expect the Crop Tool to work on the entire document.  I'm sure that would be troublesome.

    No need to touch the Crop Tool.

    Just add a Crop Layer Tool to the existing button collection of Crop Tool/Slice Tool/Slice Select Tool.

    M
    mikeenglesAuthor
    Inspiring
    October 16, 2011

    Hello

    Exactly, add an option to use crop tool to crop a layer and cut out unnecessary steps

    Mike Engles

    acresofgreen
    acresofgreen
    Inspiring
    October 16, 2011

    It seems to me that you are not asking HOW to crop a layer, but suggesting a new program feature which would add that functionality to the crop tool's repertoire. If that is so, you might want to post your suggestion in the forum: http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family

    Silkrooster
    Silkrooster
    Legend
    October 16, 2011

    Make a selection and add a mask...

    JJMack
    Community Expert
    JJMackCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 16, 2011

    Silkrooster wrote:

    Make a selection and add a mask...

    Yes using a layer mask is best for it does no destroy the layers pixels. However if you save a layed file the file size is a bit larger because the layer pixels that do not show are still there and are saved. And the layer and layer mask would need to be linked and rotated to imitate the crop tool rotate feature or the laye rotated before adding the layer mask

    JJMack
    JJMack
    Community Expert
    JJMackCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 16, 2011

    No the crop tool works correctly and crops all layers as well as canvas. If you want to effectly crop a layer that is done by using the rectangle marquee tool. Select the rectangle area you want then do a select inverse and clear the layer area outside the selection. If you rotated the rectangle area you will also need to rotate the the layer after the clear to imatate the croping tools rotating feature. The Camvas size and the rest of the layers will be unchanged.

    JJMack
    C
    chriswirth@gmail.com
    Participant
    May 21, 2019

    freaking lame and a pain in the ass. should be a simple crop tool.

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