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Select with the magic wand tool, Select a color range – Adobe Photoshop CS4 User Manual

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USING PHOTOSHOP CS4

Selecting and masking

Last updated 1/10/2010

6

(Optional) Click Refine Edge to further adjust the selection boundary or view the selection against different
backgrounds or as a mask. See “

Refine selection edges

” on page 262.

Select with the Magic Wand tool

The Magic Wand tool lets you select a consistently colored area (for example, a red flower) without having to trace its
outline. You specify the color range, or tolerance, for the Magic Wand tool’s selection, based on similarity to the pixel
you click.

You cannot use the Magic Wand tool on an image in Bitmap mode or on 32-bits-per-channel images.

1

Select the Magic Wand tool

.

2

Specify one of the selection options in the options bar. The Magic Wand tool’s pointer changes depending on which
option is selected.

Selection options
A. New B. Add To C. Subtract From D. Intersect With

3

In the options bar, specify any of the following:

Tolerance

Determines the similarity or difference of the pixels selected. Enter a value in pixels, ranging from 0 to 255.

A low value selects the few colors very similar to the pixel you click. A higher value selects a broader range of colors.

Anti-aliased

Creates a smoother-edged selection.

Contiguous

Selects only adjacent areas using the same colors. Otherwise, all pixels in the entire image using the same

colors are selected.

Sample All Layers

Selects colors using data from all the visible layers. Otherwise, the Magic Wand tool selects colors

from the active layer only.

4

In the image, click the color you want to select. If Contiguous is selected, all adjacent pixels within the tolerance
range are selected. Otherwise, all pixels in the tolerance range are selected.

5

(Optional) Click Refine Edge to further adjust the selection boundary or view the selection against different
backgrounds or as a mask. See “

Refine selection edges

” on page 262.

Select a color range

The Color Range command selects a specified color or color range within an existing selection or an entire image. If
you want to replace a selection, be sure to deselect everything before applying this command. The Color Range
command is not available for 32-bits-per-channel images.

To refine an existing selection, use the Color Range command repeatedly to select a subset of colors. For example, to
select the green areas in a cyan selection, select Cyans in the Color Range dialog box, and click

OK. Then reopen the

Color Range dialog box, and select Greens. (The results are subtle because this technique selects parts of colors within
a color mix.)

1

Choose Select > Color Range.

You can also use Color Range to refine a layer mask. See

Change mask opacity or refine edges

” on page

326.

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