2. Creating and Using Selections

2. Creating and Using Selections
	Chapter 7. Painting with GIMP

Revision History
Revision $Revision: 2541 $	2007-12-31	j.h

2.1. Moving a Selection

Moving selections has changed with GIMP-v2.4. Rectangular and elliptical selections now show up in two modes. Default mode is with handles. If you click the selection, you only get the dotted outline (marching ants). The other selection tools have different behaviour.

2.1.1. Moving rectangular and elliptical selections

If you click-and drag the selection in default mode, you move the selection outline and you don't move the contents of rectangular or elliptic selections.

Figure 7.5. Moving selection outline

You can also use Alt (or Ctrl+Alt on some systems) and the arrow keys to move the selection outline one by one pixel. With Shift+Alt and arrow keys you can move it by 25 pixels steps.

If you click-and-drag the selection without handles, you create a new selection! To move the selection contents, you have to

hold down Ctrl+Alt keys and click-and-drag the selection. This makes the original place empty. A floating selection is created.

Figure 7.6. Moving a selection and its content, emptying the original place
hold down Shift+Alt keys and click-and-drag the selection to move without emptying the original place. A floating selection is created.

Figure 7.7. Moving a selection and its content without emptying the original place

	Note
	On some systems, it's preferable to push first the Alt, otherwise if you push first the Alt or Ctrl, GIMP fall over add/subtract to the current selection mode and after the Alt key is ineffective!

2.1.2. Moving the other selections

The other selections (Lasso, Magic wand, By Color) have no handle. Click-and dragging them doesn't move them. To move their contents, as with rectangular and elliptical selections, you have to hold down Ctrl+Alt keys or Shift+Alt and click-and-drag.

If you use keyboard arrow keys instead of click-and-drag, you move the outline.

2.1.3. Other method

	Note
	You can also use a more roundabout method to move a selection. Make it floating. Then you can move its content, emptying the origin, by click-and-dragging or keyboard arrow keys. To move without emptying, use copy-paste.