Serif PhotoPlus X3 ECD518624M User Manual
Product codes
ECD518624M
40
Manipulating Images
To add or subtract to/from the existing selection with a selection tool:
•
Select the tool and drag while holding down the Shift or Alt key,
respectively. The newly selected pixels don't have to adjoin the current
respectively. The newly selected pixels don't have to adjoin the current
selection—it's possible to select two or more separate regions on the
active layer.
Modifying the selection
If you right-click (or choose the Select menu) while you have a selection on your
page, a series of selection-related commands can be used:
page, a series of selection-related commands can be used:
•
The Invert command selects the portion of the active layer outside the
current selection. Unselected pixels become selected, and vice versa.
•
The Modify item provides a submenu with several functions that can
save you the trouble of hand-drawing to change the selection
boundaries:
boundaries:
•
Choose Contract... to shrink the borders of the selection, or Expand...
to extend its borders. Each command displays a dialog that lets you
to extend its borders. Each command displays a dialog that lets you
enter a specific pixel value.
•
Choose Border... to create a new selection as a "frame" of a specified
pixel width around the current selection.
pixel width around the current selection.
•
Grow and Similar both expand the selection by seeking out pixels
close (in color terms) to those in the current selection. Grow only adds
pixels adjacent to the current selection, while Similar extends the
selection to any similar pixels in the active layer.
close (in color terms) to those in the current selection. Grow only adds
pixels adjacent to the current selection, while Similar extends the
selection to any similar pixels in the active layer.
Both commands use the tolerance setting entered for the Color
Selection Tool on the Context toolbar. As the tolerance increases, a
Selection Tool on the Context toolbar. As the tolerance increases, a
larger region is selected. Typically when using these tools, you'll start
by selecting a very small region (the particular color you want to "find"
in the rest of the image).
in the rest of the image).
•
If the selected region has ragged edges or discontinuous regions (for
example, if you've just used the Color Selection Tool), use the
example, if you've just used the Color Selection Tool), use the
Smooth... command to even them out. The Radius setting determines
the extent of smoothing.
the extent of smoothing.