Anchor a Floating Selection in Paint.NET

In Paint.NET, moving cut elements or pasting clipboard contents creates an active floating selection of pixels over your current workspace. Anchoring this floating selection permanently merges the pixels directly into the active layer. This can be accomplished instantly using keyboard shortcuts, the main application menu, or by switching editing tools.

Method 1: Press the Enter Key

The quickest way to commit the floating pixels to the active layer while maintaining your selection border is to press the Enter key on your keyboard. This bakes the modified pixels into the layer immediately, allowing you to perform additional actions within the exact same selection boundary.

Method 2: Deselect the Active Area

Deselecting the active area commits the floating pixels and removes the boundary outline at the same time:

• Keyboard Shortcut: Press Ctrl + D or the Esc key.
• Top Menu: Navigate to the top menu bar, click Edit, and select Deselect.
• Canvas Click: With any selection tool active (such as the Rectangle Select tool), click anywhere on the empty canvas outside the active bounding box.

Method 3: Switch to Another Tool

Selecting a non-transforming tool from the Tools window automatically anchors the floating selection to your active layer. Simply click on a tool such as the Paintbrush, Pencil, Eraser, or Fill Bucket to finalize the placement and immediately transition to your next editing task.