The Marquee Tool
April 1, 1998
The Marquee tool is the most basic of selection
tools and often the one most useful. This tool is used to draw
selections based on geometric shapes. Specifically, the marquee tool
allows you to draw rectangular and elliptical selections. To form the
selection, simply click and drag the mouse.
You can easily choose the geometrical form by
changing the value for Shape in the options palette. A fast way to
access the Marquee tool is the "M" key. The "M"
also allows you to cycle between the rectangle and the ellipse.
![[Marquee Options]](Images/marquee_options.gif)
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Notice that there are two special
cases of rectangle in which you are constrained to a single row of
pixels or a single column of pixels. |
Note that a square is a special case of rectangle
and a circle is a special case of ellipse. To get a square from a
rectangular marquee or a circle from an elliptical marquee, simply
press and hold the SHIFT key while you drag out your selection.
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An often-desired function is the ability
to draw a rectangular or elliptical shape. To do this, simply use the
selection tool to define the outline of your shape and then use the
EDIT --> FILL or EDIT --> STROKE menu item to either fill or
outline the shape.
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As you are dragging out your selections, you should
notice that selections are drawn outwards from the point at which you
initially clicked on the canvas. Sometimes, this can be disconcerting,
especially if you are trying to select a circular area around some base
point. Fortunately, Photoshop has an answer.
To draw the selection out from the center, press and hold the ALT key
while dragging out the selection.
Of course, to
anti-alias
your selection, you can use the
Anti-alias checkbox or the Feather checkbox or both. The feathering
checkbox simply affords an extra degree of anti-aliasing.
Selecting Things
Introduction to Web Design with Adobe Photoshop | Table of Contents
The Lasso Tool
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