Using Marquee Tools to Make Selections

---

The Marquee tools are used to make a specific selection in an image. Selections are useful for copying specific areas but more importantly they are useful for making alterations to an image. Making a selection constrains any changes to the selection area only. To make a selection, follow these steps:

1. Open any bitmap image (a JPG, GIF, or TIFF for instance).

2. Select the Marquee tool. (Click the little arrow to access the Oval Marquee if you want it.)

3. Choose the properties you want in the Property inspector. For practice, change the Edge to Feather and enter 10 for the Amount of feather. Leave the Style as Normal (Figure 19-2).

   
   Figure 19-2: The Property inspector showing the Marquee properties

   Caution 

   You must make set the properties prior to drawing the selection. Once it's drawn you can't change any of the properties except for Feather, which can be done using the Select ® Feather.

4. Click and drag to make your selection.

5. Select the Paint Bucket tool and fill the selection.

6. Press Control/Command+D to turn off the selection.

   Caution 

   The Marquee tool properties you set remain unchanged the next time you use the tools, so be sure you change them prior to drawing your selection.

Adding to and subtracting from a selection

You can make more than one selection in your document or you can add onto the current selection. To add onto the selection put your cursor just inside the selected area and hold the Shift key and drag with one of the selection tools to enclose the new area, ending inside the current selection. To add a totally new selection in a different area, simply press the Shift key and make the selection. You can use the Marquee tools or the Lasso tools to define the area or areas you want to add to the selection.

Subtracting from a selection is just as easy as adding to a selection. The difference is you press the Alt (Option) key as your drag to define the area you want to subtract.

Moving selections

You can move a marquee by using one of these methods:

• Press the arrow keys of your keyboard to nudge the selection 1 pixel at a time or press the Shift key and nudge it 10 pixels at a time.

• With the Marquee tool selected, you can place your cursor in the selection and click and drag to a new location.

Caution 

When moving a marquee selection be sure that a selection tool is selected. If you try to move a selection with the Pointer tool selected, you will move the selected portion of the image (i.e., cut). Also, make sure you click and hold as you move the selection. A simple click will deselect.

Saving and restoring selections

Some selections are complex and you may want to save them. When working with some special effects you may want to call up your selection again. To save and restore a selection follow these steps:

1. Choose Select ® Save Bitmap Selection.

2. To restore the selection, choose Select ® Restore Bitmap Selection.

Note 

It's easy to save and restore a selection, but there is a caveat. You can save only one selection per document. If you save a second one, it overwrites the first one.

Floating selections

So far you've seen how to make selections and move the selection itself. To build composite images many times, you need the ability to alter a part of an image and copy it, move it, and so on. If you want to move the selection and its contents follow these steps:

1. Make a selection.

2. Select the Pointer tool (or press Control [Option]) and drag to a new location. This moves the selection and its contents to a new location. It also removes the selected pixels from the original image.

3. To leave the pixels in place and move a copy only, you need to copy and paste and then use the Pointer tool (or any Marquee tool) to move the selection.

Using the Magic Wand

The Magic Wand tool works differently than all the other selection tools. The Magic Wand tool makes selections based on color. You determine the range of color in the selection by setting the tolerance. To set the tolerance of the Magic Wand tool, select the Magic Wand tool, and then in the Property inspector adjust the tolerance value. The higher the value, the more colors will be added to the selection. The Magic Wand works well for large areas of similar color.

Polygon

You use the Polygon Lasso tool by placing points around a selection area. Each time you click, the points are connected. Place points very close together in curved areas. After you define your selection area, double-click to close at the starting point.

---