Cropping problem....

A few things, but first and my most recent problem:

1) I was processing some photos yesterday and something weird happened...I can't custom crop in LR3. I can enter my custom number, but if say I want to crop off the side, it goes back to "original" and keeps that size. I didn't click anything it just started doing this and I have NO IDEA why. I tried to "reset" the crop, but it still does it. Help me!


2) cs5. I can not figure out for the life of me how to crop. I use the crop tool, but it keeps one size, and then crops the entire image(instead of just like a layer). I use the Marquee tool, but I can't really re-size the crop area. I've tried googling and such, but can't find anything on this. Make sense?

You'd think I'd be able to fix such a simple problem as cropping, but I can't! Grr. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!
-Alex

Can't speak for LR, but in CS5 you need to clear the crop to be able to change the size. You should be able to put in what ever dimensions you want. You can also make presets for the crop tool for the common sizes. If you're using the Marquee tool, after you select the area, go to Image/Crop and it should crop to the selected area. If you're just wanting to "crop" a single layer - use a layer mask.

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In LR3 You need to unlock the constraint by clicking the LOCK, hitting the A key or right click and deselect the constraint option.

D Thompson wrote in post #12103030
Can't speak for LR, but in CS5 you need to clear the crop to be able to change the size. You should be able to put in what ever dimensions you want. You can also make presets for the crop tool for the common sizes. If you're using the Marquee tool, after you select the area, go to Image/Crop and it should crop to the selected area. If you're just wanting to "crop" a single layer - use a layer mask.

Gatorboy wrote in post #12103047
In LR3 You need to unlock the constraint by clicking the LOCK, hitting the A key or right click and deselect the constraint option.

Thank you both SO much. Very helpful.