CS3 > Photoshop CS3 Quick Selection Tool
Photoshop CS3 Quick Selection Tool
What does it do?
- Make a quick, accurate selection of an irregularly shaped object without having to manually trace the object’s edges.
- paint the selection using a brush tool using an adjustable round brush tip
- As you drag, the selection expands outward
- Selection automatically finds & follows defined edges in the image.
- apply the Photoshop automatic edge enhancement for greater selection accuracy.
top
How to do it
- Open stonehenge05.jpg
- Click the Quick Selection tool (4th from the top on the toolbar)
Tool Options
- Specify selection options in the options bar:
- New is the default option if nothing is selected. After making the initial selection, the option changes automatically to Add to.
- Add to extends selection if you select in new area
- Subtract from removes selected area you click on after initial selection
- To change the Quick Selection tool brush tip size,
click the Brush menu in the options bar
- type in pixel size or move the Diameter slider
- Use Size pop-up menu options to make the brush tip size sensitive to pen pressure or a stylus wheel.
- Choose Quick Selection options.
- Sample All Layers
- Creates a selection based on all layers instead of just the currently selected layer
- Auto-Enhance
- Reduces roughness and blockiness in the selection boundary
- automatically flows the selection further towards image edges and applies some of the edge refinement you can apply manually in the Refine Edge dialog with the Smooth, Contrast and Radius options.
Paint inside image
- Paint inside the part of the image you want to select.
top
Example

- The selection grows as you paint
- If updating is slow, continue to drag to allow time to complete work on the selection
- As you paint near the edges of a shape, the selection area extends to follow the contours of the shape edge.
- If you stop dragging and then click or drag in a nearby area, the selection will grow to include the new area.
top
Add or subtract from selection
- Add to or subtract from selection
- To subtract from a selection, click the Subtract from option in the options bar, then drag over the existing selection.
- To temporarily switch between add and subtract modes, hold down the Alt key.
- Click Refine Edge to further adjust the selection boundary or view the selection against different backgrounds or as a mask
top