Can one move a layer by an exact distance?

DR
Posted By
Dave Rado
Dec 29, 2006
Views
5658
Replies
8
Status
Closed
I want to move a layer by x mm, but I can’t see any tool that allows one to do this – the only ways I can see to move things is by either nudging them with the cursor keys or dragging with the mouse, and no measurements are displayed in either case. Is there any way to move something by a specific distance?

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DR
Dave Rado
Jan 1, 2007
Worked it out for myself in the end. In case anyone else has the same problem, what you seem to have to do is make the rulers visible, zoom right in until the measurements displayed on the ruler are small enough for your needs, set guides to mark the "move to" position, and drag until whatever you are moving snaps to the guide.

Dave

Dave Rado wrote:
I want to move a layer by x mm, but I can’t see any tool that allows one to do this – the only ways I can see to move things is by either nudging them with the cursor keys or dragging with the mouse, and no measurements are displayed in either case. Is there any way to move something by a specific distance?
A
Anthony
Jan 2, 2007
If you want to move a layer by an exact distance:
1. Click on the layer.
2. Go to edit > transform > scale
3. Your layer will be selected with a rectangular box. On the tool options bar at the top, you’ll see some options if you want to rotate your layer, or change the size of your layer, etc. To move your layer you’ll be using the X and Y options. This option enables you to move your layer relative to your starting point.
4. Click on the triangle icon which is after the X option but before the Y option. If you point your mouse over the icon, it says, "Use relative positioning for reference point". This will set your preferences to mm instead of pixels.
5. Now if you want to move your layer say 3mm to the right, type 3 in the X options menu, however if you want to move it say 3mm to the left, type -3 in the X options menu. Do the same with the Y options menu if you want to move your layer up and down.
DR
Dave Rado
Jan 2, 2007
Brilliant, thanks. It doesn’t change my preferences from px to mm, though, unless I type in (for example) "3 mm" in the "x" box. But that’s just what I was looking for, and very clearly written, many thanks.

Dave

Anthony wrote:
If you want to move a layer by an exact distance:
1. Click on the layer.
2. Go to edit > transform > scale
3. Your layer will be selected with a rectangular box. On the tool options bar at the top, you’ll see some options if you want to rotate your layer, or change the size of your layer, etc. To move your layer you’ll be using the X and Y options. This option enables you to move your layer relative to your starting point.
4. Click on the triangle icon which is after the X option but before the Y option. If you point your mouse over the icon, it says, "Use relative positioning for reference point". This will set your preferences to mm instead of pixels.
5. Now if you want to move your layer say 3mm to the right, type 3 in the X options menu, however if you want to move it say 3mm to the left, type -3 in the X options menu. Do the same with the Y options menu if you want to move your layer up and down.
A
Anthony
Jan 3, 2007
Sorry about the wrong info then. When clicking on the triangle icon, just change the units to mm and you should be set. Cheers.
A
Anthony
Jan 3, 2007
Also, just for some info, I use this transforming option many times when using photoshop to get everything to size and scale. Just to the left of the X option menu is a "Referencing Point Location". This icon has 8 white dots and 1 black dot. It’s quite difficult to explain over the computer but if you click on anyone of those white dots it turns black. This feature basically sets that point as your reference point. The points are:
(Top-Left)
(Top-Middle)
(Top-Right)
(Center-Left)
(Center-Middle)
(Center-Right)
(Bottom-Left)
(Bottom-Middle)
(Botton-Right)

If you click on any one of these points, it becomes your reference point and therefore as a result your X and Y options are relative to that point. For example, if your reference point location is Top-Left, and your X value is 5 mm and Y value is 100mm, your layer is 5mm left of the canvas and 100mm from the top of the canvas. I hope this information may be helpful for you.
DR
Dave Rado
Jan 3, 2007
Yes it is, thanks. But is there any way of getting it to display the *current* measurements in (say) mm when it is displaying them in (say) pixels? I can only get them to change the display preferences by moving something in the way we discussed – but does one really have to move something and then move it back to where it was just to get the option bar to display the measurements in the units one wants?

Dave

Anthony wrote:
Also, just for some info, I use this transforming option many times when using photoshop to get everything to size and scale. Just to the left of the X option menu is a "Referencing Point Location". This icon has 8 white dots and 1 black dot. It’s quite difficult to explain over the computer but if you click on anyone of those white dots it turns black. This feature basically sets that point as your reference point. The points are:
(Top-Left)
(Top-Middle)
(Top-Right)
(Center-Left)
(Center-Middle)
(Center-Right)
(Bottom-Left)
(Bottom-Middle)
(Botton-Right)

If you click on any one of these points, it becomes your reference point and therefore as a result your X and Y options are relative to that point. For example, if your reference point location is Top-Left, and your X value is 5 mm and Y value is 100mm, your layer is 5mm left of the canvas and 100mm from the top of the canvas. I hope this information may be helpful for you.
A
Anthony
Jan 4, 2007
If you want to change your settings so that your meaurement units will be permanant, what you have to do then… is you right click on the form menu box for BOTH the X and Y options and as you right click different measurement unit settings should appear. Click on the measurement unit you want, say for example, (mm) and do that for both the X and Y options. Your settings should stay like that… so if you were to create another photoshop document and you used that transforming option, your measurement unit settings should be (mm). And if you ever wanted to change your measurement units, say, from (mm) to (pixels), just right click on the X and Y options menu form and should change you measurement settings to (pixels), just and should all set.
DR
Dave Rado
Jan 6, 2007
Wow! Not what I’d call user-friendly, but a great help, thanks.

Dave

Anthony wrote:
If you want to change your settings so that your meaurement units will be permanant, what you have to do then… is you right click on the form menu box for BOTH the X and Y options and as you right click different measurement unit settings should appear. Click on the measurement unit you want, say for example, (mm) and do that for both the X and Y options. Your settings should stay like that… so if you were to create another photoshop document and you used that transforming option, your measurement unit settings should be (mm). And if you ever wanted to change your measurement units, say, from (mm) to (pixels), just right click on the X and Y options menu form and should change you measurement settings to (pixels), just and should all set.

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