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elvisgreenchina
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Free transform scale problem with border

Aug 26, 2011 12:40 PM

When "show transform controls" is checked and I have a layer selected, a white border shows at the edges of the layer with small boxes at the corners and midpoints. Hovering above one of these boxes changes the cursor into the "scale arrow." Traditionally, clicking the border with that arrow and holding down the mouse button allows you to scale down the layer by dragging the mouse.

 

In Photoshop CS5 (and perhaps other new versions), clicking the border and holding the mouse button has no effect. Dragging the mouse reverts the pointer into the "selection arrow" and drags the image across the screen instead of resizing it. This is because when you click on the border, it suddenly expands into a larger area. Only by clicking once and then letting go can you move your mouse cursor to the newly defined edge and then scale down the image. This is incredibly frustrating and adds a second, unneeded step in the process. Because I instinctively try to grab hold of the border as is, I usually wind up dragging the image by mistake.

 

What's up with this?

1689 Views   12 Replies   Latest reply: Mama Shan Canfield, Sep 1, 2011 5:48 AM
 
Replies
  • JJMack
    3,411 posts
    Jan 9, 2006
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    1. JJMack,
    Aug 26, 2011 2:00 PM   in reply to elvisgreenchina
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    Post a screen capture. CS5 Transform works fine om my machines. However I do no see ane white border around the layer just see the 8 transform boxes.

     
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  • elvisgreenchina
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    2. elvisgreenchina,
    Aug 26, 2011 2:04 PM   in reply to JJMack
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    Actually... it seems that it only does this with text layers. But it's still pretty annoying. As for the white border, I just meant to say border. It shows up white if you have a black backdrop.

     
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  • JJMack
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    Jan 9, 2006
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    3. JJMack,
    Aug 27, 2011 8:39 AM   in reply to elvisgreenchina
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    Text layers seem to work the same way as other layers on my machines and yes with text I see a border in the controlls.

    The Shift Ctrl and Alt keys also act as modifiers. Shift constrains the scale, Alt Tramsforms from the center and Ctrl can distort the tramsform.

     
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  • Noel Carboni
    20,949 posts
    Dec 23, 2006
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    4. Noel Carboni,
    Aug 27, 2011 8:21 AM   in reply to elvisgreenchina
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    I just tried it with a text layer as well...  No problems here.

     

    TransformControl1.jpg

     

    TransformControl2.jpg

     

    I'm thinking something may be wrong with your display driver.

     

    Try this:  Edit - Preferences - Performance, disable OpenGL Drawing, restart Photoshop, and test again.

     

    If the problem is eliminated, visit the web page of the maker of your video card and look for an updated display driver to match your hardware and OS.  Once installed, re-enable OpenGL Drawing, restart Photoshop, and retest.

     

    -Noel

     
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  • elvisgreenchina
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    5. elvisgreenchina,
    Aug 28, 2011 12:24 PM   in reply to Noel Carboni
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    Hm. Thanks for the suggestions, but still no joy. Here's an example:

     

    Before:

     

    before.png

     

    And after I click on any transform box:

     

    after.png

     

    I get this result in varying degrees on every text layer in every file.

     
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  • Mama Shan Canfield
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    6. Mama Shan Canfield,
    Aug 28, 2011 12:40 PM   in reply to elvisgreenchina
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    Maybe just shut off the checkbox for  "Show Transform Controls" and simply use a Control T to engage the Free Transform Box.

     
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  • Noel Carboni
    20,949 posts
    Dec 23, 2006
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    7. Noel Carboni,
    Aug 28, 2011 12:51 PM   in reply to elvisgreenchina
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    elvisgreenchina wrote:

     

    still no joy

     

    I suppose this could be an issue with Text settings somehow...  Have you tried using the Reset Character menu entry in the CHARACTER panel?

     

    ResetCharacter2.jpg

     

    Try the same concept with the PARAGRAPH panel.

     

    -Noel

     
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  • Mama Shan Canfield
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    8. Mama Shan Canfield,
    Aug 28, 2011 12:54 PM   in reply to Noel Carboni
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    Yeah, Noel's suggestion is probably the cure!

     
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  • Noel Carboni
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    Dec 23, 2006
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    9. Noel Carboni,
    Aug 28, 2011 1:10 PM   in reply to elvisgreenchina
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    One last thought...

     

    Are you sure you haven't "baked" the layer on which you're working into pixels into a higher layer, which is now obscuring the text layer?  It's almost hard to imagine the resizing rectangle could be moving without the contents changing.

     

    -Noel

     
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  • Mama Shan Canfield
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    10. Mama Shan Canfield,
    Aug 28, 2011 1:19 PM   in reply to Noel Carboni
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    Sometimes "Smart Objects" don't show the change until after the transformation has been committed. Also it could be that they are not putting their mouse on a corner handle, and that's why it's just moving the position.

     
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  • elvisgreenchina
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    11. elvisgreenchina,
    Sep 1, 2011 5:47 AM   in reply to Mama Shan Canfield
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    Well, the problem is that the corner handles move when initially clicked on because the transform controls box expands unexpectedly, so if I click and drag, the cursor turns into a "move" arrow instead of scaling arrows because it's no longer on a corner box being in the same spot where the box used to be. The expansion of the transform box tends to happen moreso vertically.

     

    Like I said, it happens in varying degrees on every text layer I create in any document. Unfortunately the "reset character" suggestion didn't resolve the problem. I can't imagine that it's a font issue either, since it happens even with standard fonts like Arial. I haven't yet figured out what causes some text layers to expand more than others. It also happens whether or not I'm using a predefined text area.

     

    I'm going to open up CS3 on my laptop and compare the results between versions. Again, thanks for all the replies.

     
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  • Mama Shan Canfield
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    12. Mama Shan Canfield,
    Sep 1, 2011 5:48 AM   in reply to elvisgreenchina
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    2 questions:

    1. Does it do this if you uncheck the move tool options for auto select and show transform controls? In other words, using just the Edit Transform (Ctrl T) command?
    2. Do you have Comcast as your ISP?
     
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