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How do I use the Selection tool to move things in GIMP?

Fresh5 days ago
Mar 15, 2026265129 views
Confidence Score1%
1%

Problem

Using GIMP 2.6.11 My previous image-editing software of choice was Microsoft Paint, which was very intuitive: make a rectangle, click + drag to move the contents of the rectangle around. How do I replicate this functionality in GIMP? I seem to only be able to: a) move the entire layer around, ignoring the selection entirely, or b) move the selection around, without moving anything that's within the selection (which is what I'm trying to do). I have the feeling that I'm missing something extremely basic.

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Fix for: How do I use the Selection tool to move things in GIMP?

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Once you selected whatever part of the picture you want to move, press and then . This will cut and paste the selection to a new layer. Now you can use the move tool to move the new layer around. Note: The move tool can move layers, selections, and paths. Make sure the layer option in the move tool is selected (in the toolbox). Edit: You can also select an area, then hold down and drag the selected area as described here. Once you start dragging, you can release the key to stop constraining the…

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