Cropping an image to a layer.

**pauland** · 01 November 2013, 09:07 AM

OK, Mike and Gary, thanks for your patience with me and this dumb question.

The thing that particularly caused me to stumble was that when selecting a layer, the content is shown as selected by photoshop, but the actual size of the selection was not, so I was left wondering how big that selection was. My Doh! moment in particular was not using the selection tool specifically to select what was there and then have the actual size revealed.

It seems counter-intuitive to me that selecting a layer never reveals the size of the content on the layer ( unless I'm missing another trick ).

I did discover ( on my photoshop journey ), that selecting a layer, then duplicating it allows the layer to be duplicated into a completely new document or another open document, as-is so that's a great feature.

Generally as a new user I find photoshop quite clunky, but that's because I only use it for fairly simple things as part of a pipeline, rather than as an asset/art creator in it's own right.

Thanks Guys. Job done.

**pauland** · 01 November 2013, 12:11 PM

Whilst we're on this subject - here's my real example - a UI element.

How can I tell it's exact XY position? Photoshop tells me how big the selection is, but not the position. That seems bizarre to me.

I can move the cursor to the corner of the selection - the cursor XY is always shown.

**mwenz** · 01 November 2013, 12:51 PM

You can show the rulers, making sure it is displaying in pixels (right-click on the ruler for the units). You can then make sure the 0,0 is in the upper left (double-click where they join).

You can always check a layer's dims by right-clicking on the image's title bar or tab, choose the appropriate action in the context menu. The X/Y will show only the current position. So if you want to display say something's X/Y at the top left, drag rulers into place.

Personally, I have never understood using PS for UI development. But it is heavily used, that's for certain. I cannot remember if Fireworks shows X/Y positions, but I used it for UIs back in the early 2000s. Before that couple year stint, I used CorelDraw for UI development, as well as afterwards. If you are subscribed, FW CS6 might be downloadable. I would check it out if so.

Mike

**pauland** · 01 November 2013, 01:01 PM

Thanks Mike.

My clients supply me their designs in PSD or AI format generally. It would be nice to know precisely, without any eyeballing, where a particular element has been positioned.

I think the easiest way I have found is to do an extreme zoom in to a corner and position the mouse. At high zoom I can get the position reliably. It seems a kludge though.

**mwenz** · 01 November 2013, 02:16 PM

Fireworks ought to open and write those PSD files just fine. From (a faulty) memory, I think the FW interface shows the coordinates.

So are these sprites where the coordinates are important?

**pauland** · 01 November 2013, 02:54 PM

So are these sprites where the coordinates are important?

Most clients aren't too picky. Occasionally a client gets huffy if a PSD design isn't reproduced pixel-perfect.

In this case, you are only seeing the background of a panel, not anything else - there's a ton of other stuff that sits over that. This is a Flash project and unlike the static PSD, these panels are sometimes hidden then revealed, so it's often better to handle them as separate entities in Flash, so I want to position that panel in the same place as on the PSD and of the same size.

It sounds trivial, and mostly it is, but sometimes it's not!

In this case the flash panel sits over HTML elements that are also visible through flash and as a result this panel needs to sit as closely over the panel it obscures in the underlying HTML.

It will never be perfect on all browsers or any browser at all times. It wasn't my idea..

**Albacore** · 02 November 2013, 09:18 AM

If what your are doing is for Flash, I am with Gary here, why not vector, use Illy for the job! You have the ability to name the graphic for Flash, Graphic/Movie as a symbol, you can export your all of your layers as a single frame with time line.... - individual or preserve your layers.... - copy & paste directly to and from Flash... - and I could go on about bezier points. Have a look here: http://helpx.adobe.com/flash/using/i...les-flash.html

As Mike mentioned for raster type files F/Works is the way to go. If my memory is correct and I am talking about CS 4 PS here the PS export to Flash is more GIF like in its approach to Flash animations.