Scaling and Transforming Images

The Deform tool gives you the power to transform images interactively. Use the tool to scale, shear, distort, apply perspective, or rotate a layer as follows:

Scaling resizes the selection or layer horizontally, vertically, or proportionally.
Shearing skews a selection or layer vertically or horizontally.
Distorting stretches or contracts a selection or layer in any direction.
Applying perspective corrects the perspective or applies a false perspective on a selection or layer. For specific directions, see Correcting Image Perspective.
Rotating moves a selection or a layer around a pivot point. For specific directions, see Rotating Images.

Note: The Deform tool works on greyscale and 16 million color images only. To increase the color depth of an image, see Increasing the Color Depth of an Image and on raster layers only. To deform vector objects or text in similar ways, see Resizing and Reshaping Vector Objects or Scaling and Transforming Text.

To deform an image:

Choose a layer by clicking its name on the Layer palette.
On the Tools toolbar, select the Deform tool .
A bounding box with handles appears on the selection or the layer.
To deform the image by clicking and dragging in the image, do one or more of the following:
To resize, click and drag one of the corner or edge handles.
To resize while keeping the current proportions, right-click and drag a corner handle.
To move the entire image within the canvas, click and drag anywhere within the bounding box.
To change the center of rotation, drag the rotation pivot point.
To rotate, drag the rotation handle.
To change perspective symmetrically, press Ctrl and drag a corner handle horizontally or vertically.
To change perspective asymmetrically, press Shift and drag a corner handle.
To shear, press Shift while dragging a side handle.
To distort, press Ctrl and Shift while dragging a handle.

Note: To make the deform handles on a layer easier to see, drag the corner of the image window to make it larger than the image.

Adjust the deformation or view the deformation settings on the Tool Options palette. For more information on these settings, see More Deform Options.
To cancel previous deformations, choose Edit > Undo (Ctrl Z).

Note: By default, you must press the Shift and Ctrl keys to deform an image. To apply a deform operation without having to hold down keys, choose a different Mode from the Tool Options Palette:

Scale The default setting; you must hold down a key or keys.

Shear (Shift) Allows you to shear without holding down Shift.

Perspective (Ctrl) Allows you to change perspective without holding down Ctrl.

Free (Shift + Ctrl) Allows you to distort without holding down Ctrl + Shift.

Scaling and Transforming Images

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