Expert: Glen Demers - 11/28/2008

Question
Demers,

I've been using Photoshop CS2 for a while and have painted lots of artwork in it. But, for the first time, I came across a problem related to copying and pasting.

First of all, some information on the painting I'm copying from, just in case you need it. It's in .tif format, CMYK Color mode, resolution of 300dpi, and all the layers are flattened into one. If you need more information, let me know.

What I want to do is copy a section of the painting and paste it into a new file (which is in RGB Color mode). In the past, I always selected my desired area using the Rectangular Marquee Tool, clicked Copy, opened a new file, then pasted into it. But when I try to do that with this painting, after I paste into my new file, nothing happens - the new file is still blank.

I tried many ways to figure out the problem. I changed the mode of the painting to RGB Color and then copied and pasted into a new file, but it still did nothing. I tried to open the new file in CMYK Color mode and then copied and pasted into it, but it still did nothing. I tried to open the new file in 300dpi and copied and pasted into it, but it still did nothing. I tried all the different ways that I could think of to copy and paste, but the result was the same - it didn't go through. So then I tried to copy and paste my other paintings that were in CMYK Color mode, 300 dpi, and whatnot into a new file, and they all worked fine. The only solution I can think of for this painting would be that it's stubborn.

The last method I can think of would be to save my painting as a new file and edit it so that only my desired section is left, by either cropping the painting and such.

But before I do that, do you know how to solve my problem as to why my painting doesn't copy and paste normally?

Thank you very much for your time.

Jess

Answer
Hi Jess,

Copy and paste is more a function of your system than Photoshop, perhaps you are running low on memory.
You can bypass the system clipboard by having a new file open, make your selection in your original painting, select the move tool, hold down the option (Mac) or Alt (PC) key, a scissors icon will appear, and drag the selection to the new file window.

Hope this helps,
Glen Demers
Adobe Certified Expert, Photoshop 7
Prepress Technician, Best Printing Online
www.bestprintingonline.com

For more Photoshop tips please visit our help pages <a href="http://www.bestprintingonline.com/photoshop.htm">here</a>