Adobe photoshop elements User Manual

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ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
User Guide
You can designate a new foreground or 
background color using the eyedropper tool, the 
Swatches palette, or the Adobe Color Picker.
Using color settings in the toolbox
The current foreground color appears in the upper 
color selection box in the toolbox; the current 
background color appears in the lower box.
The Info palette and the Adobe Color Picker let 
you display color values using a number of color 
models. (See “About color modes” on page 68.)
To change the foreground or background color:
1
Do one of the following:
To change the foreground color, click the upper 
color selection box in the toolbox.
To change the background color, click the lower 
color selection box in the toolbox.
2
Choose a color in the Adobe Color Picker. 
To reverse the foreground and background colors:
Click the Switch Colors icon ( ) in the toolbox. 
To set current colors to black and white:
Click the Default Colors icon (
) in the toolbox.
Using the eyedropper tool
The eyedropper tool samples color from an image 
to designate a new foreground or background 
color. You can sample from the active image or 
from another image. (When you’re using the 
eyedropper, you can click in a background image 
without making it the active image.)
You can also specify the area sampled by the 
eyedropper tool. For example, you can set the 
eyedropper to sample the color values of a 
3-by-3-pixel area under the pointer. Modifying the 
sample size of the eyedropper affects the color 
readouts displayed in the Info palette. 
To select the foreground or background color:
1
Select the eyedropper tool (
).
2
To change the sample size of the eyedropper, 
choose an option from the Sample Size menu:
Point Sample to read the precise value of the 
pixel you click.
3 by 3 Average or 5 by 5 Average to read the 
average value of the specified number of pixels 
within the area you click.
3
Select a color:
To select a new foreground color from an image, 
click the color you want.
 To select a new background color from an 
image, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac 
OS) the color you want.