User guide

Manipulating Images 81
Making a selection
In any photo editing program, the selection
tools and techniques are as significant as any
of the basic brush tools or commands. The
basic principle is simple: quite often you'll
want to perform an operation on just a portion
of the image. To do this you must define an
active selection area.
The wide range of selection options in PhotoPlus lets you:
• Define just about any selection shape, using various drawing and
painting techniques.
• Modify the extent or properties of the selection (see p. 89)
• Carry out various manipulations on the selected pixels, including cut,
copy, paste, rotate, adjust colors, apply special effects, etc. (see p. 94)
Selection basics
Although the techniques for using the various selection methods differ, the end
result is always the same: a portion of the active layer has been "roped off" from
the rest of the image. The boundary is visible as a broken line or marquee
around the selected region (see above).
Whenever there's a selection, certain tools and commands operate only on the
pixels inside the selection—as opposed to a condition where nothing is selected,
in which case those functions generally affect the entire active layer.
You may occasionally (especially if the marquee is hidden) find
yourself using a tool or command that seems to have no effect... it's
probably because there's still a selection somewhere, and you're
trying to work outside the selection. In this case, just cancel the
selection.