Move Selection to Another Image in GIMP

In this quick guide, we will show you how to move a selection from one image to another using GIMP. This is a useful technique when you need to reuse a selection made on one image for another.

To begin, open both images in GIMP and make sure the source image is active (i.e., it's the image where your selection is located). Next, click the Bucket Fill tool to select it from the Toolbox window. This will allow us to create a new selection.

There are seven selection tools available in GIMP: Rectangle Select, Ellipse Select, Free Select (Lasso), Select Contiguous Regions (Magic Wand), Select by Color, Select Shapes from Image (Intelligent Scissors), and more. For this tutorial, we'll use the Rectangle Select tool. Hold down your left mouse button and draw a rectangle around the area you want to select.

Alternatively, you could also use the Unified Transform tool to move your selection. However, I find that it doesn't fit as smoothly into my workflow, but you may have a different style.

Once you've made your selection, you can move it to another image by following these steps: make sure both images are open and the source image is active, then click on the 'Copy' option from the Edit menu. This will copy the selection to the clipboard.

Next, go to the target image and activate it (i.e., make it the active image). Then, go to the Channels list and drag any of the R/G/B channels down to the canvas of the target image. This will paste the selection onto the new image.

It's also worth noting that you can copy a selection set in both images to quickmask. To do this, select both images and then go to the Edit menu and click on 'Copy.' Then, open the Channels list and drag any of the R/G/B channels down to the Channels list to copy it.

Remember to be careful when moving selections, as it's easy to drive yourself nuts just trying to get the right layer to move! If you want to let GIMP choose which layer to move automatically, you can start to run into trouble if you're using a very small font or a typeface with very narrow letterforms. In this case, you'll have to click one to properly select the layer.

By following these simple steps, you should be able to easily move your selection from one image to another in GIMP. Happy editing!

Gimp move selection to another image