Move Tool(V)

This tool used to select the layers, moves the selected layers. It also used to relocate the layers on the layer panel.

To move selection: –

  • Make a selection
  • Click on new selection from the option bar,
  • Cursor will have changed to (white triangle with gray box icon )
  • Click and drag at required place

Artboard tool

The artboard tool in the Tools panel, is grouped with the move tool to create special group layers called artboards that define canvas subareas, and expand the canvas as they are moved. Basically, an artboard is a container with a rectangular boundary that, in many ways, behaves like a layer group.

Auto Select layer/Group

Marquee Tool(M)

It is basic selection tool which can draw a box or circle to select a portion of image

Rectangular marquee tool (M): –

Rectangular marquee tool lets you to select an image rectangle /square shape

  • Open an image
  • Click on rectangle marquee tool
  • Click and drag over an image use Alt + shift key
  • Press space bar to move the selection
  • New selection
  • Add to selection (use shift key) you can add more than one selection
  • Subtract from selection (use alt key) You can subtract the over lapped selection.
  • Intersect from Selection: – Removes the non-overlapped selection eg

Feather: –

It lets you to blurs the edges of an image (0-250)

  • Style: –
  • Normal – Normal selection.
  • Fixed Aspect Ratio: – It makes a selection according to defined width and height
  • Fixed size: – It make a selection according to defined width and height in units

Elliptical marquee tool (m): –

This tool lets you to make a circular or oval shaped selection

  • Click on elliptical marquee tool from tool panel
  • Click and drag over an image
  • Use (Alt + Shift key) for the perfect shape with center point

Lasso tool(L)

This is also selection tools more complex than marquee tools. It allows to create freeform selection area.

Polygonal Lasso

To make straight – edged selections you can use the Polygonal Lasso tool.

The Magnetic Lasso

One of the most powerful selection tools is the Magnetic Lasso especially if you want to extract parts of an image from a background. The option bar contains all the settings you’ll need to make the Magnetic Lasso tool work better.

The Width setting tells it how far away from the mouse cursor it should look for an edge.

The Edge Contrast setting tells the lasso how much contrast there should be between two areas for it to define an edge.

A lower setting will cause the selection to form, even When the contrast on either side of the edge is low;

a higher setting will be more sensitive to contrast and works well for well-defined edges.

The Frequency setting defines how frequently fastening points Will be made a higher setting will cause more points to be created, Anchoring the selection quicker

The Magic Wand(W)

The Magic Wand tool lets you select areas that are of the same (or similar) color—extremely useful when the lasso tools don’t work.

Anti-Alias option, which is on by default, prevents jagged edges

Sample All Layers option tells the wand to make the selection based on All layers of the image rather than just the active layer

Quick Selection Tool

This tool allows to paint a selection as using a brush tool and create a selection area. This tool work like a brush

To select the layer Content: –

Press Ctrl key and click on the required layer icon on the layer panel

To save the selection: –

  • Make a rectangle marquee selection
  • Select >Save Selection
  • Type the selection Name
  • Click on ok

To load the Selection: –

  • First, save the selection
  • Select the selection name
  • Click on ok [Note* This is stored in the channel palette]

Olympic Ring: –

  • Create a new layer
  • Make a perfect circular selection
  • Fill red color
  • Select >transform selection
  • Press Alt + Shift key and drag inside
  • Press enter key and press delete
  • Duplicate the layer Press Alt key and drag with the move tool
  • Change the foreground color (Blue)
  • Edit >Fill (Shift + Backspace)
  • Use foreground color ( check on preserve transparency)
  • Press ok
  • Layer position: –
  • Press Ctrl key and double click on red ring layer to select
  • Select the blue ring layer
  • Click on erase tool and erase the red part

Color Range Selection: –

  • This command lets you to make a selection of sampled color Pixel
  • Open an image
  • Select >Color Range
  • Sample (click) the required color pixel with eye dropper tool
  • To add /Subtract the sample color pixel use Add Sample subtract sample
  • Define Fuzziness to define selection range
  • More value — more range
  • Less value—– Less Range

Making a border: –

  • Open an image
  • Create a new layer
  • Make a rectangular marquee selection
  • Select >Modify >Border
  • Width — 16pixel > ok
  • Apply two times or more than that
  • Fill colour, Gradient, Pattern etc
  • To expand and contract the selection: –
  • Make a selection
  • Select >Modify >Expand or Contract
  • Define Expand by or contract by, enter a pixel value between 1 and 100, and click OK

Refine selection edges

  • The Refine Edge option improves the quality of selection edges, letting you extract objects with ease.
  • Click Refine Edge in the options bar, or choose Select > Refine Edge. (Alt + Ctrl + R)

Alpha channels

  • Color information channels are created automatically when you open a new image. The image’s color mode determines the number of color channels created. For example, an RGB image has a channel for each colour (red,green, and blue) plus a composite channel used for editing the image.
  • Alpha channels store selections as gray scale images. You can add alpha channels to create and store masks, which let you manipulate or protect parts of an image.
  • Spot color channels specify additional plates for printing with spot color inks.

Select the image areas in focus

Photoshop lets you easily select the areas/pixels of an image that are in focus.

  • With the image open in Photoshop, choose Select > Focus Area. In the Focus Area dialog box, you can make changes to the default selection.
  • Adjust the In-Focus Range parameter to broaden or narrow down the selection. If you move the slider to 0, the entire image gets selected. However, if you move the slider to the extreme right, only the parts of the image in clearest focus remain selected.