Mask cannot be created

Symptoms

If one or more of these match what you are seeing, you are on the right page.

• •Create Clip Path is greyed out
• •Both shapes disappear after creating the clip
• •The wrong shape ends up being clipped
• •The clip has hard edges when soft ones were wanted

Causes and fixes

Ordered from most to least likely. Work down the list — each cause is paired with what to do about it.

1. 1

   The clip shape is below the target in the layer stack.

   Place the clip shape on top of the shape to be clipped, select both, then choose Layer → Create Clip Path. The top shape defines the visible region.

2. 2

   Only one element is selected.

   Select both the clip shape and the target — or the clip shape and the target group — before running the command.

3. 3

   The two shapes do not overlap.

   The target is visible only inside the clip shape. With no overlap the result is correctly empty. Move one over the other.

4. 4

   A soft-edged mask is needed rather than a hard clip.

   Use an alpha mask instead. Position a gradient or texture shape directly above the target and set the target’s Mask Mode to Alpha or Luminance for feathered edges and gradient-driven reveals.

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