This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Workshop
Q&A
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Can I combine selections made with different Selection tools?
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Yes. Make a selection with one of the tools, switch tools, and then press the Shift key before you add to your selection. As long as you hold down the Shift key (making a tiny plus sign visible next to the tool), you can add to your selection as many times as you want.
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How can I deselect part of a selection?
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The easiest way to do this is to press Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key with the Selection tool active. You will see a small minus symbol next to the Selection tool. Select the part of the selection to deselect, and it is removed from the selection and added back to the picture.
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Can I use the marquee to draw a shape and then fill it?
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Yes, and that's exactly how to do it. With the selection active, use the Paint Bucket to pour a color into the selected shape(s).
Quiz
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To change from the Rectangular to the Elliptical Marquee:
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Go back to the toolbox and select the other one.
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Press Shift+M.
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Either a or b.
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To select a single row or column of pixels:
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Hold down Control+C and the Return key, while double-clicking.
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Press Return as you drag the mouse.
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Use the Single Row or Single Column marquees.
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How do you make the Magic Wand more precise?
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Insult it.
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Set the Tolerance to a lower number.
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Set the Tolerance to a higher number.
Quiz Answers
c. Easy, huh?
c. (Answer a. isn’t even possible unless you have three hands.)
b. A lower Tolerance setting means that the Magic Wand will select only the most similar pixels.
Exercise
Most pictures can be improved by careful cropping. Try this experiment. Cut two L-shaped pieces from a sheet of paper or cardboard, as shown in Figure 3.19.
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Figure 3.19 How to use a cropping frame.
Use these pieces as a cropping frame and look at your snapshots or at pictures in a magazine to see how different cropping affects the picture. Try finding long, narrow compositions, square ones, and rectangles.