sel-area-tools.md

Selection area tools

< Tools

Universal

Selection area tools have simple, additive, and subtractive selection modes:

Simple selection

Any previous selection is overridden and the results of the selection operation comprise the new selection.

Additive selection (hold Ctrl)

The pixels captured in the selection operation are added to the selection prior to the operation.

Tool cursors will have a + symbol next to the reticle to indicate the tool is in additive mode:

Subtractive selection (hold S)

The pixels captured in the selection operation are removed from the selection prior to the operation.

Tool cursors will have a - symbol next to the reticle to indicate the tool is in subtractive mode:

Brush Select

Icon:

Hotkey: V

Behaviour

Behaves like the brush, but for selection.

Actions

• Select:
• Increment/decrement brush width: Arrow Keys or Shift + Scroll Wheel

Modifiers

• Ctrl - hold to enable additive mode
• S - hold to enable subtractive mode

Tool Options

• Brush breadth: 1px - 100px
• Brush shape:
  • Circle
  • Square
  • Line
    • Angle: slope of the brush

Wand

Icon:

Hotkey: W

Behaviour

• performs a search operation that captures pixels based on how similar their color is to the pixel that initiated the operation
• modifies the selection with the pixels captured by the search operation

Note:

The wand uses the same search algorithm as the fill tool.

Actions

• Select:
• Adjust tolerance: Arrow Keys or Shift + Scroll Wheel

Modifiers

• Ctrl - hold to enable additive mode
• S - hold to enable subtractive mode
• Shift - hold to enable global mode

Tool Options

• Tolerance: determines how similar adjancent colors must be for the fill to spread
• Search diagonally: when turned on, diagonal pixels are checked for adjacency in addition to cardinally adjacent pixels.

Box Select

Icon:

Hotkey: X

Behaviour

Use the box select tool to make rectangular selections. This is a convenient way to quickly enclose a desired selection area.

Actions

• Select:
• Move selection: Arrow Keys

Modifiers

• Ctrl - hold to enable additive mode
• S - hold to enable subtractive mode
• [while pixel grid is on] Shift - hold to snap selection to the pixel grid

Polygon Select

Icon:

Hotkey: Y

Behaviour

Define a polygonal selection area by placing vertices. Successive vertices form edges that define the bounds of the selection. Placing a vertex down on the same pixel where the shape began will close the polygon.

Actions

• Place vertex:
• Close polygon: Shift +
• Remove previous vertex:
• Abandon current polygon:

Modifiers

• Ctrl - hold to enable additive mode
• S - hold to enable subtractive mode