Why can't the crop tool do this?

[Dubious Drewski]

The crop tool in photoshop requires you to enter a specific width and height into the boxes. You then drag your selection and photoshop crops and resamples. I wish I could choose to have no resampling done.

Why the heck can't I enter a ratio as a crop size instead of specific pixel measurements. Say I want a 2/3rds shaped image for printing a 4x6, but I do not want photoshop to blow up or shrink my image to do it.

Is there a way to do this?

[dflynn]

To crop with specific heights and widths you have already had to change the Rectangular Marquee to Fixed Size, which means you would have had to skip over the Fixed Ration option.

And cropping doesn't blow up or shrink images, it "Crops" or cuts off, the excess, exactly what cropping means to do.

[Dubious Drewski]

I don't think I explained properly. Cropping does indeed resample your image. Try it: Enter very large numbers into the width and height boxes of the crop tool and then drag a very small square on your image and hit enter. The image will be resampled to the huge size.

Currently, the only way to get a crop selection at 2/3rds is to enter exact sizes into the width and height boxes, like 1600 px, 2400 px. This will give me 2/3rds, but it resamples the image to those pixel dimensions. Do you see what I mean?

And what do you mean I "skipped over the fixed ratio option". What and where is that?

Thanks for the help so far though.

[dflynn]

I don't know what version you are using, but in CS3, the Image>Crop
option is only available when a selection is made with a marquee tool, or by hitting ctrl(apple)+clicking a layer. Only when the marching ants appear can you crop in CS3

If you are using some other option to cut the edges off your image you aren't cropping.

To crop properly,
1)Grab your rectangular marquee

2)Where it says "Fixed size" in my image, but it will probably say "normal" in yours, select that menu and choose "Fixed Ratio"
3) click and drag on your picture, notice how it stays in whatever ratio you entered to the right of the little "Fixed Ratio"
4) Go to Image>Crop
it will cut the sides off your image and leave you with a cropped image.

[Dubious Drewski]

Oh I see. You do it differently. Thank you, I never use the selection marquee to crop I always use the actual crop to to do it (Yes, there is a crop tool, it's on the toolbar, hit C to activate it)

This does fix my problem though. Thanks immensely.