Help – Cropping just an object within an image

Talk about Pixelmator Pro, share tips & tricks, tutorials, and other resources.
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2021-11-29 15:16:58

I just can't figure out how to crop an object in Pixelmator Pro. Can anyone help?

I don't want to crop the whole image, but just want to chop off part of an object by moving the border, kind of like when you're in Apple Pages and double-click on an object to change the crop, instead of single-clicking.

Thanks!
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2021-11-29 17:03:43

I think all you need to do is click on the side you want cropped, not the corner.
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2021-11-30 13:03:35

marciachrist right — there shouldn't be any tricks to this, really. :grimacing: Just grabbing a crop box handle on the side and dragging it should work. If there's something that isn't working for you, it'd be interesting to learn a bit more about the issue.
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2021-11-30 19:41:43

I think I figured it out. I was trying to crop an object in the crop tool, which I couldn't do. It would just transform or distort the object.

Instead, I used the rectangular selection tool to drag a box over the part of the object I wanted to remove, and then pressed delete. That cropped the object as desired.

I still wish I could crop an object by double-clicking on it (like in Pages), but this will do.

Thank you!
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2021-11-30 23:11:32

Adjust cropping frame (have a good play with/without shift or shift+alt) and hit enter to make it final when the choice has been made.
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2021-12-01 03:15:44

I just tried cropping the object while holding down a few different buttons, but none produced the desired effect of actually slicing off part of the object.
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2021-12-01 09:42:18

Can we have screenshot from the moment before the final step with a example image and the whole Pixelmator Pro window?
I´m still not sure we´re talking about about cropping or cutting. Thanks.
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2021-12-04 16:22:14

Here's an example of the functionality I love from Pages:

https://media.giphy.com/media/UXdwwan3c ... /giphy.gif

It allows me to crop an object in a picture just by double-clicking on the object. I wish Pixelmator Pro had this option.
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2021-12-04 18:07:19

Just hitting "enter" or "return" is too much trouble? Just asking.
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2021-12-06 10:42:32

by Harris 2021-12-04 14:22:14 Here's an example of the functionality I love from Pages:

https://media.giphy.com/media/UXdwwan3c ... /giphy.gif

It allows me to crop an object in a picture just by double-clicking on the object. I wish Pixelmator Pro had this option.
That's actually image masking Pages are using (also used in Keynote). The image is not actually cropped but unwanted parts of it are nondestructively hidden. In Pixelmator Pro, if you load a selection of a layer and add a mask to it, it'll work in exactly the same way. Double-click to mask an image — fair suggestion! We'll have to think about it.
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2021-12-06 18:37:37

by Aurelija 2021-12-06 15:42:32
That's actually image masking Pages are using (also used in Keynote). The image is not actually cropped but unwanted parts of it are nondestructively hidden. In Pixelmator Pro, if you load a selection of a layer and add a mask to it, it'll work in exactly the same way. Double-click to mask an image — fair suggestion! We'll have to think about it.
Ah! I didn't have the right terminology. Thank you, Aurelija, for helping me with the right term and a way to do it. I'm excited to hear you'll consider double-clicking to mask! Thanks!
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2021-12-07 11:40:43

by Harris
Ah! I didn't have the right terminology. Thank you, Aurelija, for helping me with the right term and a way to do it. I'm excited to hear you'll consider double-clicking to mask! Thanks!
:raised_hands: I'm not sure if it would be possible to pull this off in Pixelmator Pro but I can see how a feature like this would definitely speed up things. :)
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2023-04-02 20:32:34

I come from video where cropping an image and repositioning it on the screen is pretty basic in every application. I would really like to see this in Pixelmator. Simply drag the edge of the frame without resizing the whole image proportionately. Normally to resize proportionately is only done with the corners. Even dragging a corner, like the upper right corner, horizontally shouldn't resize the image. Only if I drag it inward it or outward should it resize. Trimming to reframe the image with Transform seems unduly limited.

Thanks very much.