Beginner Photopea Tutorial

Best Use of Copy and Paste

Beginner Tutorial #5

Overview

This tutorial is not just a short page training on how to copy and paste. While we will go over that, for beginners, we already presume if you are this far within our tutorials, you already know how to copy and paste. We will focus upon the difference between copy and cut, shortcut keys, how to copy and paste pictures to different layers, various tools for which work directly with copy, cut and paste, and where we can use those functions within the Photopea software. The information you learn in this tutorial can be used for both Photopea and Photoshop.

What is copy and paste?

Copy and paste refers to the ability of creating a duplication of something stored in a different location, name or layer. When referring to an image in Photopea, copy and paste will generally refer to duplicating a portion or an entire image layer to a new image layer.

How do I copy and paste?

Edit menu option for Photopea cut, copy and paste with copy selected.

There are several different methods for which to copy and paste within Photopea. Let us learn the long methods before we learn the shortcuts.

In order to properly use the copy and paste function, being familiar with layers is a necessity. We define layers in our first photo editing basics tutorial. Let us ensure we have an image within a layer and we have that layer selected within the layers section in Photopea. The layers panel can be seen by clicking Windows on the menu bar and then clicking Layers.

  1. Using the Menu
    1. Click Edit on the menu bar at the top of Photopea. A drop-down menu will appear.
    2. Click Copy
    3. Click Edit on the menu bar again.
    4. Click Paste

This action will create a new layer with a duplicated image on that new layer. This was the old but still good method, prior to the invention of smart objects, of ensuring your original image layer remained unchanged in the case of a mistake. Discussing or defining the advanced skill level of smart objects is beyond the scope of this beginner tutorial. For right now, know that you can copy and paste pictures to a new layer to create a backup of them. The original image layer can be hidden by clicking on the eye next to the layer name in the layers panel.

What is the difference between copy and paste vs. cut and paste?

How do I cut and paste?

Edit menu option for Photopea cut, copy and paste with cut selected.

The cut feature in Photopea works slightly differently from the copy feature. The cut feature is located in the Edit menu at the top of Photopea. It is grayed out by default and requires some type of image layer selection to become a selectable option in the Edit menu. This selection in the image layer may be a portion of the image layer or the entire layer.

Partial image layer selections may be completed with a variety of tools. The Rectangle, Ellipse, Lasso, Polygonal Lasso, Magnetic Lasso, Wand, Quick, or Object Selection tools are some of the easiest tools to utilize for selections.

An entire image layer may be selected by clicking Layer in the menu bar and then clicking Select All.

Once a selection has been made in the image layer, the Cut option in the Edit menu now becomes active and selectable. Click Edit on the menu bar and then click the Cut option. The item selected now disappears. The selected item now becomes part of the computer's clipboard feature.

Here are examples of basic copy and paste and cut and paste within the same image.

A copy and paste operation example copying the head of one person to another.
A cut operation example instead of copy and paste moving the head of one person to another.

Note: It is important to paste this into a new layer as soon as possible because some computers, by default, do not have the capability to store more than 1 item on the clipboard. If something else is copied, it will overwrite the now cut image. If the clipboard is overwritten and the project in Photopea has not been saved and closed, go to the image layer in Photopea, hold down the Control Key (CTRL or CMD for Mac) and while holding that key down, press the Z key one time and the cut layer should return. This is a keyboard shortcut for step backwards in Photopea. The menu item for this is to click Edit and then choose either Undo/Redo or Step Backwards.

We have successfully cut the item or object from the image layer and now it is time to paste it to a new layer. Click Edit on the menu bar and choose paste. This will create a new layer automatically and paste the cut item to that new layer.

What are the shortcut keys for copy, cut and paste?

Windows and Macintosh

What is the best practice for using copy or cut and paste?

A forest with a road.
A forest with the road removed from a copy and paste of the trees over the road.
A forest with the road removed from a copy and paste of the trees reversed over the road.

Use copy and paste when desiring to keep the original selection or image intact. For example, we have a forest and would like to fill in more trees to cover up a road in the original image layer. For this effect, we could select the trees and use copy and paste to create a new layer of trees and move them over the road and then change the direction and trim around the trees to make them appear more realistic.

Note: There are tools that go beyond the beginner tutorials, such as the rubber stamp, that make it easier for us to create the elaborate effect that we just described by automatically copy and pasting for us but we want to learn to walk before we learn to run. Let us learn the baby copy and paste steps first and then we can feel more comfortable stepping into the easier and more advanced methods.

An example of Solo Boss diverse business professionals with giant heads.

We would utilize the cut feature when we do not need or desire the original item contained within the image layer for which we are editing.

For example, we want to put a gigantic head on an individual. If this is our desire, we may choose to:

  1. Use the lasso tool to draw around and select the head of the person or object.
  2. We now cut the selection from the original image and paste it to a new layer.
  3. We then edit it slightly by using the eraser tool to remove any undesired areas.
  4. Now we use the Move tool and transform controls to increase the size of the object.
  5. We refine it with the eraser tool to remove any areas that don't match up to the original image.

In the above example, copy and paste or cut and paste would both work but since cut and paste leaves an open area, it is easy to spot this to cover it up so I would choose cut and paste instead of copy and paste.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions regarding this topic.

Copying an image creates an exact duplicate while leaving your original picture completely untouched. Cutting an image will completely remove your selected area from the original layer and save it to your clipboard so you can place it somewhere else.

To remove and relocate an object, you must first choose a specific area using a selection tool like the lasso or magic wand. Once your area is highlighted, go to the edit menu and choose the cut option. The item will vanish from your screen and be saved to your clipboard. You can then go back to the edit menu and choose paste, which will automatically place your removed item onto a brand new layer.

You can speed up your workflow by pressing the control key and the letter C at the same time to copy an item on a Windows computer, or the command key and the letter C on a Mac. To remove an item, press the control key and the letter X for Windows, or the command key and the letter X for Mac. If you make a mistake, pressing the control or command key along with the letter Z will undo your last action.

The removal tool is inactive by default because the software does not know what part of the image you want to remove. You must first use a selection tool to highlight a specific portion of your picture, or choose to select the entire layer. Once the software recognizes your highlighted area, the option to remove it will become active in your menu.

You should duplicate an item when you want to keep your original picture intact, such as when you want to multiply background elements like trees to hide a road. You should remove and relocate an item when you no longer need the original object in its current spot, like when you want to enlarge a specific element and cover up the empty space left behind.

About the author

Wayne Leiser
Wayne Leiser
Editor & Contributor
Copy Image
Copy Image URL
Download Image
Support