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How do I move a layer to a specific XY position within the canvas in Gimp?

Currently, the only way I can find is to just eyeball it with the guides and/or mouse position. I want to specify the exact X and Y coordinates.

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I want to know this too, or how to do it in Photoshop. I made a question for that. superuser.com/questions/345669/… – Jonny Oct 12 '11 at 10:21
Does not seem to be (easily) possible in GIMP without using Python code as detailed below: graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/6813/8841 – SabreWolfy Dec 2 '12 at 9:00

3 Answers

up vote 4 down vote

There is a script to do this that can be download from the GIMP Plugin registry. It is called: "Move Layer To" http://registry.gimp.org/node/27806

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Nice first answer! – slm Jan 7 at 4:21
Almost perfect! Would be nice if the parameter dialog used the layer's current coordinates as the default values. – Oliver Giesen Jan 25 at 23:39
up vote 3 down vote

I'm using GIMP 2.6.11.

With these lines of Python the active layer can be moved to an absolute position, like (32, 64), from the Python console:

>>> x_new = 32
>>> y_new = 64
>>> img = _[0]
>>> layer = img.active_layer
>>> x_off, y_off = layer.offsets
>>> pdb.gimp_layer_translate(layer, x_new - x_off, y_new - y_off)

Alternatively, if you only want to move the content of the layer:

right-click, Layer > Transform > Offset

or Shft+Ctrl+O

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1  
This causes the pixels within the layer to move, rather than the layer itself - I need to move the actual layer. What you suggested may work if the layer is the same size as the canvas, or at least big enough not to clip any non-transparent pixels within the layer. – Scott Jul 7 '11 at 19:55
@Scott: I see - sorry I didn't find an easier way, but at least I figured out how to move the layer to an absolute position with some lines of Python. – Nicolas Kaiser Jul 7 '11 at 21:32
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Line three of you code should be img=gimp.image_list()[0]. The _ didnt work for me. – apple16 Jul 23 '12 at 21:58
up vote 0 down vote

I am afraid that Gimp doesn't include it because it is tedious. It is simple not the appropriate way of align when you are design. I recognize that sometimes is useful as a short-cut. The best approach is with guides:

A) Step 1 - Create the guides

  1. Go to Image->Guide->New Guide
  2. Specify if you want and horizontal or vertical guide
  3. Specify the number of pixels
  4. Repeat the procedure for another horizontal or vertical Guide (you can also do more guides to specify width and height)

Alternatively, you can also create the guides dragging from the rulers:

  1. Drag down (starting from the top ruler) a guide to the Y coordinate you want.
  2. Drag down (starting from the left ruler) a guide to the X coordinate you want.

B) Step 2 - Move the canvas

You can use the moving tool.

  1. Select your Layer
  2. Go to Tools -> Transform Tools -> Move
  3. Drag the Layer to the guides. Gimp will give you a hand with the exact pixels.

One of the design principle is that you should have things align in your whole project. Reducing the number of aligns (guides) helps you to get a cleaner design. I think that is why gimp does not include a tool to specify the exact coordinates. If you want to follow this design principle specify guides one by one becomes just a tedious labour.

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