![]() Note that if you hold down Option/Alt when the mouse is not held down, this will change the magnetic lasso tool behavior to the polygon lasso mode (or freeform pen tool if using the magnetic pen tool – see the magnetic pen tool page). Use Option/Alt double-click to close the path with a straight line segment.Īs you define an outline (with the mouse held down), if you hold down with the Option/Alt key, this will change the magnetic lasso tool behavior to that of a regular lasso tool, allowing you to manually follow the outline of an edge. Photoshop will intelligently follow the line you are currently on and close the loop wherever there is good edge contrast for the tool to follow. Or, you can double-click or hit the Enter key to close a selection with a line that will be determined by the magnetic tool. To complete a selection, click on the start point. When using the magnetic lasso, you can just click, drag and only click again when you wish to lay down a fastening point. Where you meet a fastening point, you can either proceed from that position or hit the delete key to reverse your tracks even further to the fastening point before that and so on… You can also manually add fastening points by clicking with the mouse. To reverse a magnetic outline, drag back over the outline that has been drawn so far. As you brush along an edge, an outline will follow the edge of greatest contrast within the brush width area and will stick to an edge like a magnet. The Frequency setting in the Options bar can be used to determine how far apart these points are placed, while the Edge Contrast can be used to specify the minimum contrast an edge has to have before the tool is attracted to that edge. In operation, the magnetic lasso draws a pseudo path, laying down fastening points along the way. But without such a tablet, you can also use the square bracket keys and on the keyboard to determine the size of the tool focus area. When this tool is used in conjunction with a graphics tablet and the ‘Use tablet pressure to change pen width’ option is checked in the magnetic lasso tool Options bar, you can broaden or narrow the area of focus by varying the stylus pressure. I reckon on this being quite a powerful Photoshop feature and should not be dismissed lightly as an ‘idiot’s lasso tool’. The magnetic lasso is bound to appeal to beginners and anyone who has problems learning to draw a lasso selection with the lasso tool. Figure 3 below shows the magnetic lasso tool Options bar.įigure 3 The magnetic lasso tool Options bar. ![]() You continue to brush along the edges until the outline is complete and then close the selection in the usual manner by clicking on the start point. The sensing area width can be set in the Options bar and when you move the tool along the edges in a picture, the magnetic lasso is able to sense where that edge is and create a selection that follows the edge. The magnetic lasso tool can be used to create semi-automatic outline selections. Figure 2 below shows the polygon lasso tool options bar.įigure 2The polygon lasso tool Options bar. Or you can hold down the Option/Alt key to subtract from an existing selection or hold down the Shift+Option/Shift+Alt keys to intersect with an existing selection. As with the marquee selection tools, you can hold down the Shift key and then drag with the lasso or polygon lasso tool to add to an existing selection. Release the Option/Alt key and the tool will revert to polygon mode again. If you want to temporarily revert to freehand lasso mode operation, hold down the Option/Alt key and drag with the mouse. Note that with the polygon lasso tool you don’t have to keep the mouse pressed down as is necessary with the lasso tool. To complete a polygon lasso tool selection, position the cursor directly above the starting point (a small circle icon appears next to the cursor) and click on the start point. When the polygon lasso tool is selected you can click to start the selection, release the mouse and position the cursor to draw a straight line, click to draw another line and so on. Release the Spacebar and you can continue to modify the shape as before. After drawing a selection with the lasso tool, if you hold down the Spacebar this lets you reposition the placement of the selection.
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