'Select all ' is greyed out

[toymaker1]

Hello.
I am starting to learn how to use MOHO 12 Pro. I will mainly be working with images created in Photoshop Elements. I have successfully imported a layered PSD image. I now want to select the PSD image in order to work on it. e.g. the first thing is I want to re-scale the image. I find that 'Select All' is greyed out, and i only seem to be able to choose 'Select None'. I am using an iMac 10.11.6. I would have inserted a screenshot into this message, but it is not clear how I do that. It just says 'insert image', but does not seem to provide a link to the image on my iMac.

Thanks for any help.

[Greenlaw]

Do you mean you wish to scale all of the layers for the image equally? If so, it's best to place them inside a Group layer and scale the Group layer. This is generally preferred over scaling each image individually--it's much easier to keep track of scaling in one keyframe vs, many keyframes on the timeline.

BTW, it is possible to multi-select all your Photoshop layers. Don't use Select All, intead use shift-click the topmost layer and shift-click the bottom one--this will select all your PSD layers. This is useful for applying certain layer properties to all of the selected layers...however, I don't think you'll able to scale them together this way.

AFAIK, if you really need to scale the individual layers you'll have to do that individually, which could get messy if you want to use different origins (.a.k.a, pivot points) for each layer. IMO, it really is much easier to scale the single Group layer.

BTW, one other advantage to using the group is that you can set a custom origin. This is very useful for quickly adding global sqaush and stretch effects to a character. For example, you can place the origin at the ground line and use it to squash and stretch the character when it's running or jumping. Place that group inside another group with a different origin, and you can use that group to make the character appear to swing while holding on to something. It's kinda like using a chain of nulls or locaters in 3D animation programs.

FYI, Select All refers to all selectable items in a layer, not all layers. Click any single layer and the command should become active.

[Greenlaw]

Slight correction: in Moho 12, I guess you can call up all the selected layers to the timeline and scale them together there. Maybe? I haven't actually tried that. It's not something I would normally do since scaling the group is easier for getting the same result.

Also, if you scale down the individual layers, you might compromise the resolution of the image if you later want to globally scale them up using a Group Layer--in other words, you'll be stuck with scaling up all the individual layers to get the higher resolution back again.

Hope this helps.

Edit: I just tried the multi-layer selection for scaling several layers. I guess you need at least one keyframe on the mainline so this is probably not going to be useful during initial setup and rigging. Admittedly, I don't have a lot of experience with multi-layer editing yet so maybe another user will follow up with more reliable info.

[Greenlaw]

Re: adding images to a post, Insert Image assumes the image already exists online.

What you really want is Upload To TinyPic at the bottom of the text editor. Just click Choose File to select the image on your drive and click Upload Now. Once the image is uploaded, you have the option to insert it in the text.