Cloning tool

The cloning tool is a special tool that allows to reduplicate parts of the image. This is a great way to cover up areas that have minor imperfections. We'll talk about this tool as an example of the bitmap manipulation tools which are summarized later.

The options for the stamp tool allow you to select between two options for the source area, aligned or fixed.

• Aligned: The area moves parallel to the move of the stamp tool.
• Fixed: the selection area is fixed and copied to anywhere the stamp tool is applied.
  

You can also set the source for the taken sample:

• Image: this setting only takes pixels from the bitmap object that is currently selected.
• Document: uses the rendered bitmap displayed and therefore you can also clone the appearance of path objects that reside over the bitmap.

The size of the stamp is controlled by the size slider which also shows the current size of the tool in pixels.

A sample of the tip of the rubber stamp tool is in the stamp window. The slider next to the tip allows you to set the edge options for the rubber stamp. At the bottom the edges are hard, the softness increases by sliding the indicator up. When there is a soft edge the rubber stamp tool blends the cloned parts with the existing pixels.

Once you selected a sample area you can reassign the sample area by holding down the ALT (Macintosh: Option) key and clicking on the new sample area.