Selecting with the Shape Selection Tool

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The Selection tool is what Paint Shop Pro calls the easiest to use of the three tools used to make selections. For the sake of distinguishing between the terms Selection tool and selection tools , we'll call the Selection tool the Shape Selection tool. (The other two are the Freehand and Magic Wand toolsmore about them later in this chapter.) All three tools are displayed from the Selection tool on the toolbar:

NOTE

You can practice making selections by opening an existing file or creating a new blank image window. Even though the image is blank, you can still see the selections.

Choosing a Selection Shape

The Shape Selection tool allows you to select a portion of your image in any one of 15 different shapes , including circles, rectangles, triangles , stars, and arrows.

NOTE

At any time, you can press Ctrl+A to select the entire image.

Adding Feathering

Feathering is a process that expands your selection and softens the edges of your selection. You won't notice its effect on a blank image, but on an actual image, you can easily see the difference.

The image on the left was selected without feathering, and the image on the right was selected with feathering set to 10. Notice the softer edges as well as the extension of the selection area.

Understanding Anti-Alias

Anti-alias is certainly a mouthful of a word! It's a graphic term that digital artists use to refer to mathematical calculations and pixels on a screen. When an image is aliased, it has a somewhat jagged edge. Therefore, using anti-alias smoothes the edges of slanted lines and curves by filling in the pixels, giving a smoother appearance.

Actually, you see the anti-alias feature not only when you select portions of an image but also when you are using some of the tools, such as the Preset Shapes tool or the Draw tool.

The image you see here is zoomed in to show the effect of using anti-alias. The circle on the right with the hard jagged edge is drawn without the anti-alias feature, whereas the circle on the left with smoother blending of the edges is drawn with the anti-alias feature.

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