Changing Crop Tool Orientation

**like2innovate** · 1 Jan 2013, 8:14 pm

In lightroom, I find one feature of the crop tool very annoying. If you want to move the rectangle showing the section of the photo you are cropping, it moves in the opposite direction of your mouse. So say I select a region of the photo to crop, and then decide that I want to move the rectangle to the right. To do this I have to move my mouse to the left. Say I want to move the square up; I have to move the mouse down for it. I find this counter-intuitive for me, is there any way to change this so that when I move the mouse right, the rectangle moves right, when I move the mouse up, the rectangle moves up etc. ?

I didn't find anything to that effect, but figured I'd ask.

Thanks.

**clee01l** · 1 Jan 2013, 8:34 pm

You are thinking about this backwards. You do not move the rectangle on the image you move the image under the rectangle. Other applications that use rectangles have anchor points on the corners and sides of the rectangle and sometimes a rotation pin in the center. To move these rectangles, you grab the anchor point or some place ON the rectangle and drag the rectangle In LR if you place the cursor inside the rectangle and "grab". You are grabbing the underlying image.
As long as you look at the process in this light it is very intuitive. I stumbled on this when I first tried LR cropping too. Once you are able to grasp (pun intended) the concept, it becomes second nature.

**Victoria Bampton** · 2 Jan 2013, 11:20 am

It takes some getting used to, doesn't it. It seems people like it once they get used to it, so much so that they've just added the same functionality into CS6.

**MarkNicholas** · 2 Jan 2013, 7:15 pm

Yes I agree, initially it is a bit disconcerting particularly coming from PS, but after adjusting a few images you soon get used to it. I find the crop tool in LR to be one of its best features.

**Brad Snyder** · 2 Jan 2013, 9:31 pm

But to answer the OP's question, there's no magic 'swap' button. And to reiterate the fundamental feedback we've been getting from the UI design team since day 1, "Get used to it, this is better."
By that I mean, the interface is not likely to change in the foreseeable future.

**Kiwigeoff** · 2 Jan 2013, 11:06 pm

Photoshop has moved to the Lightroom model now!

**MarkNicholas** · 3 Jan 2013, 7:16 pm

Originally Posted by Kiwigeoff

Photoshop has moved to the Lightroom model now!

That shows you how long it is since I used Photoshop !!!

**like2innovate** · 12 Jan 2013, 7:14 pm

Clee01 & other posters here,

Thanks for your input. I've been implementing this "point of view" you described i.e. thinking about it the other way round, and indeed I find that it does get a lot easier. If it was upto me I'd have it the other way round, but that's just me. Thanks for the perspective though, makes it much easier now.

Originally Posted by clee01l

You are thinking about this backwards. You do not move the rectangle on the image you move the image under the rectangle. Other applications that use rectangles have anchor points on the corners and sides of the rectangle and sometimes a rotation pin in the center. To move these rectangles, you grab the anchor point or some place ON the rectangle and drag the rectangle In LR if you place the cursor inside the rectangle and "grab". You are grabbing the underlying image.
As long as you look at the process in this light it is very intuitive. I stumbled on this when I first tried LR cropping too. Once you are able to grasp (pun intended) the concept, it becomes second nature.

**Mark Sirota** · 13 Jan 2013, 11:12 am

As a way of persuading yourself that LR isn't backward, think about crop rotation. If you rotate the crop rectangle but leave the photo behind it alone, then you'd need to tilt your head to see whether you've got it straight. If you rotate the photo behind the crop rectangle, then your head can stay straight up.