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Last updated 7/26/2011
Chapter 7: Selecting parts of an image
A selection defines the editable area in a photo (for example, you might want to lighten one part of a photo without
affecting the rest). You can make a selection with either a selection tool or a selection command. A selection border,
which you can hide, surrounds the selection. You can change, copy, or delete pixels inside the selection border, but you
can’t touch areas outside the selection border until you deselect the selection.
Making selections
About selections
Photoshop Elements contains several selection tools that suit different kinds of selections. For example, the Elliptical
Marquee tool selects circular and elliptical areas, and the Magic Wand tool can select an area of similar colors with one
click. More complex selections can be made with one of the Lasso tools. You can even smooth the edges of a selection
with feathering and anti-aliasing.
Note: Selections are limited to the active layer—to make changes to all layers at once, you first need to flatten the image.
Selection made with Elliptical Marquee tool, color adjusted in selected area
More Help topics
“Flatten an image” on page 60
“Define a feathered edge for a selection tool” on page 93
“Smooth the edges of a selection by anti-aliasing” on page 93
