Floating selection move blocked by weird cursor

[Ken Shirriff]

I regularly cut a region, paste it, move the floating layer, and anchor it. But sometimes the move is blocked by the mysterious cursor below. I haven't been able to figure out why sometimes I can move the layer and sometimes I can't. What is going on and what does the mysterious circle/tangent cursor mean

Thanks,
Ken

[PixLab]

(08-10-2023, 11:11 PM)Ken Shirriff Wrote: What is going on

You are messing up with shortcuts keyboard, instead of doing Ctrl+V, you're doing Ctrl+B (V and B are just beside on the keyboard)

   

(08-10-2023, 11:11 PM)Ken Shirriff Wrote: what does the mysterious circle/tangent cursor mean

This is the path tool   , and the "can't/forbidden" is you hit the Ctrl key while outside of a node (usually to close a path or use the node's legs) -> thus this cursor

Move tool
Path tool (shortcut B, certainly B as Bézier)

Repetitive and fast shorcuts on your keyboard can lead to mistake and call the path tool, just hit "M" to get back the move tool or when you Ctrl+V, check that you don't hit the B just beside....

[Ken Shirriff]

Thank you Patrice for the explanation of the mystery cursor and what's happening. It's very likely that my finger slips and hits B.

I'm not sure how to get out of the path tool though. If I select a region, do command-C, B (by mistake), command-V, M (to get back to move), the move tool is highlighted but I still have the path cursor. blocking me. I can click on the move tool multiple times but it still won't let me move. Even if click the move tool and do another command-V to paste again, I still can't move. To escape from path mode, I need to start over by selecting a new region, then command-C and command-V. (Getting stuck in path mode seems like a bug to me but probably I just don't know what is supposed to happen.)

(I'm using a Macbook, so I'm using command- rather than ctrl-)

[PixLab]

(08-11-2023, 02:52 AM)Ken Shirriff Wrote: To escape from path mode, I need to start over by selecting a new region, then command-C and command-V. (Getting stuck in path mode seems like a bug to me but probably I just don't know what is supposed to happen.)

(I'm using a Macbook, so I'm using command- rather than ctrl-)

Did you try "Esc" or the "Escape" key top left on keyboard, before hitting the "M"?

[Ken Shirriff]

(08-11-2023, 05:52 AM)PixLab Wrote: Did you try "Esc" or the "Escape" key top left on keyboard, before hitting the "M"?

I ended up in a mode where Escape didn't help and I was stuck in path mode. Even if I restarted it and opened another file, the path cursor was there and wouldn't go away. Even reinstalling Gimp didn't help. Eventually, I figured out that the Move tool had the Path option turned on. After resetting that, things are working much better.

Thanks for your help in tracking this down.