Skip to main content
B
BadStar
Inspiring
March 14, 2019
Answered

Having a really hard time moving an image

  • March 14, 2019
  • 3 replies
  • 3987 views

I'm not trying to do anything fancy. Let's say I have an image of a meadow and I open a new layer with a bear. So I want to move the bear around. I choose the Move tool, make sure I have the bear layer active and position the cursor over the bear, left click and drag the bear around, right? Sometimes that seems to work; sometimes not. Sometimes I have to hit ctrl-a while I'm in the bear layer and then the move will work the first time, but then when I try it again, the entire canvas moves (instead of just the bear).

I am a total noob so I'm sure I must be doing something wrong. And I kept the above description simple for the sake of trying to keep things simple but in reality I often have several layers open.

I've read the "move and copy selections" from Adobe several times but still can't quite get the hang of it.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Greg_S.

    Was the Auto-select layer box checked by default?  If so, maybe you should uncheck it.  That way, you shouldn't accidentally click a layer by mistake. And if you first click the move tool, then select the layer you want to move in the layer panel, it should remain selected until you select another layer in the panel. 

    3 replies

    Greg_S.
    Community Expert
    Greg_S.Community ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    March 15, 2019

    Was the Auto-select layer box checked by default?  If so, maybe you should uncheck it.  That way, you shouldn't accidentally click a layer by mistake. And if you first click the move tool, then select the layer you want to move in the layer panel, it should remain selected until you select another layer in the panel. 

    B
    BadStarAuthor
    Inspiring
    March 15, 2019

    Thank you, Greg. That did the trick. Appreciate it.

    hatstead
    hatstead
    Inspiring
    March 14, 2019

    BadStar  wrote

    I'm not trying to do anything fancy. Let's say I have an image of a meadow and I open a new layer with a bear. So I want to move the bear around. I choose the Move tool, make sure I have the bear layer active and position the cursor over the bear, left click and drag the bear around, right? Sometimes that seems to work; sometimes not. Sometimes I have to hit ctrl-a while I'm in the bear layer and then the move will work the first time, but then when I try it again, the entire canvas moves (instead of just the bear).

    In Editor, go to the expert tab.

    1. Open picture B, the one you wish to select something from (bear) to add to another picture.
    2. Use one of the selection tools, e.g. selection brush, lasso tool, to select the object. You will see an outline ("marching ants") once the selection is complete
    3. Go to Edit menu>copy to copy the selection to the clipboard
    4. Open picture A (meadow), then go to Edit>paste
    5. Use the move tool to position object from picture B.
    6. In the layers palette you should see picture A as the background layer, and object B on a separate layer.
    B
    BadStarAuthor
    Inspiring
    March 15, 2019

    Thanks, hatstead, and thanks for the step by step instructions. That does work great, but with more complicated psds I'm having issues (although I think I'm figuring it out a bit). Forgive me for copying and pasting from my other post, but really this is what I've learned.

    With more complicated .psds with multiple layers, I'm having issues like

    1) I click on the layer I want to move

    2) I click on the Move tool

    3) When I click on the image itself, the layer switches to a layer higher up on the layer menu and I end up moving that layer instead

    My workaround is making the layer that shouldn't be moved invisible (the red line through the eye icon) and then I can move the layer/image I want to. I think what's happening is I'm picking up the other layer since it's above the layer/image I want to move.

    So another workaround would be to have the layer/image I want to move on top of the layer menu to move it, right?

    Still, this seems pretty complicated. Is there an easier way?

    Greg_S.
    Community Expert
    Greg_S.Community Expert
    Community Expert
    March 14, 2019

    Do you have the Auto Select Layer box checked for the Move tool? That should help you when you click and drag on an object layer that you want to move around in a larger image.  The Show Bounding Box option also shows a blue outline for the layer so you know what is selected.

    B
    BadStarAuthor
    Inspiring
    March 15, 2019

    Thanks Greg. What you wrote works perfectly. And yes, I have "Auto Select Layer" checked and it outlines the image. But with more complicated .psds with multiple layers, I'm having issues like

    1) I click on the layer I want to move

    2) I click on the Move tool

    3) When I click on the image itself, the layer switches to a layer higher up on the layer menu and I end up moving that layer instead

    My workaround is making the layer that shouldn't be moved invisible (the red line through the eye icon) and then I can move the layer/image I want to. I think what's happening is I'm picking up the other layer since it's above the layer/image I want to move.

    So another workaround would be to have the layer/image I want to move on top of the layer menu to move it, right?

    Still, this seems pretty complicated. Is there an easier way?

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices