Skip to main content
michaelc85945877
Participant
May 3, 2019
Answered

Constrain free transform horizontally/vertically but NOT proportionally

  • May 3, 2019
  • 3 replies
  • 910 views

Like everyone else I am still adjusting to the new transform behavior in Photoshop. As much as possible I try to adapt to changes in  software so that I don't become a dinosaur incapable of using a clean install of any application, so I purposefully haven't used the hack to revert the settings.

The problem I'm running into is that I cannot free transform an object to, say, stretch it horizontally. Oddly, the side transform handles don't allow me to stretch the object I'm transforming; they also constrain proportions. To me, this isn't logical or consistent with what those handles mean in most applications.

See below. I want to take this square layer mask and make it a rectangle. When I just grab the middle-right handle, the whole layer mask scales proportionally. When I hold down every combination of other keys, it will stretch, but I have no way of keeping my stretching only horizontal. I want to end up with a RECTANGLE not a PARALLELOGRAM. Obviously, there are workarounds, particularly with rectangular layer masks, but the "stretch" functionality is something I use constantly that was there in previous versions. How do I do this now?

For the record, I think the new behavior is probably more logical than the old(you more often want resizing to be constrained), but after this many decades it probably wasn't worth changing. Also, none of the other Adobe apps have followed suit.

Correct answer JohanElzenga

Did you try to hold down only the shift key and then drag a middle handle? That works for me...

3 replies

Known Participant
July 25, 2025

Important update:

Since Adobe made proportional constraint (no shift key required) the default, you now have to hold down the Option and Command key on the Mac (I'm guessing that would be the Control and Alt keys on Windows). 

barbara_a7746676
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 3, 2019

If you want to scale only the mask, click the link icon between the mask and the layer thumbnail so that you can work with the mask independently. Target the mask. Hold down Shift before you start dragging the side handle. Shift should be the only key needed. If you add the Control or Command key, the transformation could get skewed.

If that isn't working for you, try closing and reopening the file. If that doesn't work, try resetting preferences, and if that doesn't work you may need to uninstall/reinstall.

JohanElzenga
Community Expert
JohanElzengaCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
May 3, 2019

Did you try to hold down only the shift key and then drag a middle handle? That works for me...

-- Johan W. Elzenga