6.0 Move Tool
Used for moving
the contents of selections or layers
Found at # 17 in the Toolbar diagram at left
To move a selection with the move tool, simply placed the pointer inside the selection border, and drag to where you want it. If you have selected more than one area [by holding down the Shift key while using a selection tool], they will all move in unison when one is dragged.
If you want to move a copy of a selection to a new location, leaving the original in place, press the Alt key, and then drag the selection. To make multiple copies of a selection while the move tool is selected, hold down the Alt key, and click an arrow key. A copy will appear displaced slightly from the original. Click the arrow key for as many copies as you would like.
You may drag selections, or layers from one window to another. Drag from the active window. A border will highlight the destination window if you can drop the selection there (some images don't accept drag and drop).
You can access the move tool while using most other tools by holding down the Control key. However, this does not work when using any of the pen tools, the hand tool, or the zoom tool.
The other options for moving selections or layers are the Copy, Cut, and Paste commands. Make sure your resolutions are the same in both windows before transferring images. Note that the Copy command copies only from the active layer. The Copy Merged copies from all visible layers.
The keyboard shortcut for this tool is the letter V.
The illustration below is the move tool's options bar. If you choose Auto Select Layer, the first layer with pixels which is under the cursor when the move tool is clicked on the image, will be moved, whether or not it is the currently selected layer.
Show Bounding Box does just that. It makes it a little easier to remember which item you are moving.
If you have selected multiple items, you can use any of the align, or distribute buttons which are at the right side of the options bar.
If you have doodled with a tool's options and want to get back to the default settings, click that tool's icon at the far left end of its options bar. Choose either Reset Tool to reset only the current tool, or Reset All Tools to restore default settings to every tool.
Please note that all descriptions, and illustrations featured refer to files which are in Photoshop's .psd format, and which are in RGB color mode. Other file formats, and color modes may generate different options. Some Photoshop features are not available for images not in .psd format, or RGB color mode. To find what color mode your image is in, choose Image > Mode.
Photoshop Tips | 6.0
Palettes | Effects
Links | FreePhotos | Animal Rights
Table of Contents | www.arraich.com
jay@arraich.com