Not aligned means that each time you start cloning (by pressing the mouse button or pressing the pen to the tablet) the source will be at the same point you selected, even if you are cloning at very different locations each time. Aligned means that the first time you start cloning establishes a spatial relationship between source and target that will remain the same (x to the left, y to the right) regardless of where you start on subsequent cloning actions.
For example, let’s say you want to get rid of some electric wires. You can set the tool to "not aligned" and pick a target in the middle of the sky. Now, when you clone over the wires, each time you will be copying starting from that same point in the middle of the sky. This may or may not be a good thing, depending on how that area of the sky compares with your target areas, though.
Now let’s say you want to get rid of some wrinkles in fabric, or some dust spots. Now you are going to want to clone from a source that is relatively close by, in each case; you can’t pick a single area to clone from. So you set it to aligned, and pick a source that is delta’d (x,y) pixels from the target. Now, each time you clone, you will be cloning from the pixels that distance from the brush, instead of from a single starting location.
Good explanation Michael. 🙂
Michael, I was confusing the issue of that the source changes/stays the same with something else. Glad to see such a great response tonight. For some reason, lately, on the PS forums, ( much more than other type of forums for some reason I don’t know), one seems to get a lot of answers like:
"enroll in a class"
"see the help menu"
"try it yourself, see what happens"
You answer reminded me of the few good folks who are here.
"For some reason, lately, on the PS forums, ( much more than other type of forums for some reason I don’t know), one seems to get a lot of answers like "enroll in a class"…Your answer reminded me of the few good folks who are here."
Scottie, I haven’t been around "lately", but I’d like for you to expand your generic quote to say, reminded me of the MANY good folks who are here, rather than a FEW.
I’ve seen the "negative" answers sometimes, but there are more generous and helpful people here than just a few.
I have learned so much from these helpful people.
Patty
Hey, I’ve only been using PS for a bit over a year, so I’m still learning. I previously used another image editor with many similar features (Corel Photopaint), so I understand the concepts, and I pay attention to the details — like the aligned/unaligned cloning option. I, like many others, try to help get people over the hump.
Well your talent for for lucid explanation is quite good. There are a lot of those details — about 10 years worth.
