A
selection isolates
one or more parts of your image. By selecting specific areas, you
can edit and apply effects and filters to portions of your image
while leaving the unselected areas untouched.
Photoshop provides separate sets of tools to make selections
of raster and vector data. For example,
to select pixels,
use the marquee tools or the lasso tools. You can also use commands in
the Select menu to select all pixels, to deselect, or to reselect. To select vector data, you can use the pen or shape tools, which
produce precise outlines called
paths (just like in Adobe Illustrator). You can convert
paths to selections or convert selections to paths.
Selections can be copied, moved, and pasted, or saved and stored
in an
alpha channel. Alpha channels store selections
as grayscale images called
masks. A mask is like the
inverse of a selection: it covers the unselected part of the image and
protects it from any editing or manipulations you apply. You can
convert a stored mask back into a selection by loading the alpha
channel into an image.
Marquee tools
The
marquee tools let you select rectangles, ellipses, and 1‑pixel rows
and columns.
- Select a marquee tool:
- Rectangular Marquee
- Makes a rectangular selection (or a square, when used
with the Shift key).
- Elliptical
Marquee
- Makes an elliptical selection (or a circle, when used with
the Shift key).
- Single Row or
Single Column Marquee
- Defines the border as a 1‑pixel‑wide row or column.
- Specify one of the selection options in the options bar.
Selection options
- A. New, B. Add To, C. Subtract
From, D. Intersect With
- Do one of the following to make a selection:
- With the Rectangle Marquee tool or the
Elliptical Marquee tool, drag over the area you want to select.
- Hold down Shift as you drag to constrain the marquee
to a square or circle (release the mouse button before you release
Shift to keep the selection shape constrained).
- To drag a marquee from its center, hold down Alt
(Windows) or Option (Mac OS) after you begin dragging.
Dragging a marquee from the corner of an image (left), and
from the center of an image (right) by pressing Alt/Option as you
drag
- With the Single Row or Single Column Marquee tool,
click near the area you want to select, and then drag the marquee
to the exact location. If no marquee is visible, increase the magnification
of your image view.
To reposition a rectangle or elliptical
marquee, first drag to create the selection border, keeping the
mouse button depressed. Then hold down the spacebar and continue
to drag. Release the spacebar, but keep the mouse button depressed,
if you need to continue adjusting the selection border.
Lasso Tool
The Lasso tool is useful for drawing
freeform segments of a selection border.
- Select the Lasso tool
, and
select options.
- Drag to draw a freehand selection border.
- Specify one of the selection options in the options bar (see diagram above)
- To
draw a straight-edged selection border when no other pixels are
selected, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click
where segments should begin and end. You can switch between drawing
freehand and straight-edged segments.
- To erase recently drawn segments, hold
down the Delete key until you’ve erased the fastening points for
the desired segment.
- To
close the selection border, release the mouse without holding down
Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS).
Polygonal Lasso Tool
The
Polygonal Lasso tool is useful for drawing straight-edged segments
of a selection border.
- Select the Polygonal Lasso tool
, and
select options.
- Specify one of the selection options in the options bar (see diagram above)
- Click in the image to set the starting point.
- Do one or more of the following:
- To draw a straight segment, position the
pointer where you want the first straight segment to end, and click.
Continue clicking to set endpoints for subsequent segments.
- To draw a straight line at a multiple of 45°, hold
down Shift as you move to click the next segment.
- To draw a freehand segment, hold down Alt (Windows)
or Option (Mac OS), and drag. When you finish, release
Alt or Option and the mouse button.
- To
erase recently drawn straight segments, press the Delete key.
- Close the selection border:
- Position the Polygonal Lasso tool pointer
over the starting point (a closed circle appears next to the pointer),
and click.
- If the pointer is not over the starting point, double-click
the Polygonal Lasso tool pointer, or Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS).
Magnetic Lasso Tool
When
you use the Magnetic Lasso tool
, the
border snaps to the edges of defined areas in the image. The Magnetic
Lasso tool is not available for 32‑bits-per-channel images.
The Magnetic Lasso tool is especially useful for
quickly selecting objects with complex edges set against high-contrast
backgrounds.
- Select the Magnetic Lasso tool.
- Specify one of the selection options in the options bar (see diagram above)
- Set any of these options:
- Width
- To specify a detection
width, enter a pixel value for Width. The Magnetic Lasso tool detects
edges only within the specified distance from the pointer.
To change the lasso pointer so that it indicates
the lasso width, press the Caps Lock key. You can change the pointer
while the tool is selected but not in use. Press the right bracket
(]) to increase the Magnetic Lasso edge width by 1 pixel; press
the left bracket ([) to decrease the width by 1 pixel.
- Contrast
- To
specify the lasso’s sensitivity to edges in the image, enter a value between
1% and 100% for Contrast. A higher value detects only edges that contrast
sharply with their surroundings; a lower value detects
lower-contrast edges.
- Frequency
- To specify the rate at which the lasso sets fastening
points, enter a value between 0 and 100 for Frequency. A higher
value anchors the selection border in place more quickly.
On an image with well-defined edges, try a higher
width and higher edge contrast, and trace the border roughly. On
an image with softer edges, try a lower width and lower edge contrast,
and trace the border more precisely.
- Stylus Pressure
- If you are working
with a stylus tablet, select or deselect the Stylus Pressure option.
When the option is selected, an increase in stylus pressure decreases
the edge width.
- Click
in the image to set the first fastening point. Fastening points
anchor the selection border in place.
- To draw a freehand segment, either release or keep the
mouse button depressed, and then move the pointer along the edge
you want to trace. The most recent segment of the selection border remains
active. As you move the pointer, the active segment snaps to the
strongest edge in the image, based on the detection width set in
the options bar. Periodically, the Magnetic Lasso tool adds fastening
points to the selection border to anchor previous segments.
- If the border doesn’t snap to the desired edge, click
once to add a fastening point manually. Continue to trace the edge,
and add fastening points as needed.
Fastening points anchor selection border to edges
- To switch temporarily to the other lasso tools, do one
of the following:
- To activate the Lasso tool, hold down Alt
(Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and drag with the mouse button
depressed.
- To activate the Polygonal Lasso tool, hold down
Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click.
- To erase recently drawn segments and fastening points,
press the Delete key until you’ve erased the fastening points for
the desired segment.
- Close the selection border:
- To close the border with a freehand Magnetic
segment, double-click, or press Enter or Return.
- To close the border with a straight segment, hold
down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and double-click.
- To close the border, drag back over the starting
point and click.
Quick Selection Tool
You
can use the Quick Selection tool
to
quickly “paint” a selection using an adjustable round brush tip.
As you drag, the selection expands outward and automatically finds
and follows defined edges in the image.
- Select the Quick Selection tool .
- In the options bar, click one of the selection options:
New, Add To, or Subtract From. New is the default option if nothing is selected. After
making the initial selection, the option changes automatically to
Add to.
- To change the Quick Selection tool brush tip size, click
the Brush menu in the options bar and type in a pixel size or move
the Diameter slider. Use the Size pop‑up menu options to make the
brush tip size sensitive to pen pressure or a stylus wheel.
When creating a selection, press the right
bracket (]) to increase the Quick Selection tool brush tip size;
press the left bracket ([) to decrease the brush tip size.
- Choose Quick Selection options.
- Sample All Layers
- Creates a selection based on all layers instead of just
the currently selected layer.
- Auto-Enhance
- Reduces roughness and blockiness in the selection boundary. Auto-Enhance
automatically flows the selection further toward image edges and applies
some of the edge refinement you can apply manually in the Refine
Edge dialog with the Smooth, Contrast, and Radius options.
- Paint inside the part of the image you want to select. The selection grows as you paint. If updating is slow,
continue to drag to allow time to complete work on the selection.
As you paint near the edges of a shape, the selection area extends
to follow the contours of the shape edge.
Painting with the Quick Selection tool to extend the selection
If you stop dragging and then click
or drag in a nearby area, the selection will grow to include the
new area.
- To subtract from a selection, click the
Subtract from option in the options bar, then drag over the existing
selection.
- To temporarily switch between add and subtract modes,
hold down the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) key.
- To change the tool cursor, choose Edit >
Preferences > Cursors > Painting Cursors
(Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > Cursors >
Painting Cursors (Mac OS). Normal Brush Tip displays the
standard Quick Selection cursor with a plus or minus sign to show
the selection mode.
Selecting with the Magic Wand Tool
The
Magic Wand tool lets you select a consistently colored area (for
example, a red flower) without having to trace its outline. You
specify the color range, or
tolerance, for the Magic
Wand tool’s selection, based on similarity to the pixel you click.
You cannot use the Magic Wand tool on an image
in Bitmap mode or on 32‑bits-per-channel images.
- Select the Magic Wand tool
.
- Specify one of the selection options in the
options bar. The Magic Wand tool’s pointer changes depending on
which option is selected. (See diagram above.)
- In the options bar, specify any of the following:
- Tolerance
- Determines the similarity or difference of the pixels
selected. Enter a value in pixels, ranging from 0 to 255. A low
value selects the few colors very similar to the pixel you click.
A higher value selects a broader range of colors.
- Anti-aliased
- Creates a smoother-edged selection.
- Contiguous
- Selects
only adjacent areas using the same colors. Otherwise, all pixels
in the entire image using the same colors are selected.
- Sample All Layers
- Selects
colors using data from all the visible layers. Otherwise, the Magic
Wand tool selects colors from the active layer only.
- In the image, click the color you want to select. If
Contiguous is selected, all adjacent pixels within the tolerance
range are selected. Otherwise, all pixels in the tolerance range
are selected.
Optional: After you make any selection, click
Refine Edge in the Control Panel to further adjust the selection
boundary or view the selection against different backgrounds or
as a mask. See
Refine selection edges.
.
, and drag from the source image to the destination image. The duplicate layer or group appears above the active layer in the Layers panel of the destination image. Shift-drag to move the image content to the same location it occupied in the source image (if the source and destination images have the same pixel dimensions) or to the center of the document window (if the source and destination images have different pixel dimensions).
