Adobe Photoshop CS3 - Manual (Page 335)

PHOTOSHOP CS3
User Guide
328
Erase with the Eraser tool
The Eraser tool changes pixels to either the background color or to transparent. If you’re working in the background
or in a layer with transparency locked, the pixels change to the background color; otherwise, the pixels are erased to
transparency.
You can also use the eraser to return the affected area to a state selected in the History palette.
1 Select the Eraser tool .
2 Set the background color you want to apply if you are erasing in the background or a layer with locked trans-
parency.
3 Choose a mode for the eraser. Brush and Pencil set the eraser to act like those tools. Block is a hard-edged, fixed-
sized square with no options for changing the opacity or flow.
4 For Brush and Pencil modes, choose a brush, and set Opacity and Flow in the options bar.
An opacity of 100% erases pixels completely. A lower opacity erases pixels partially. See “Paint tool options” on
page 326.
5 To erase to a saved state or snapshot of the image, click the left column of the state or snapshot in the History
palette, and then select Erase To History in the options bar.
(Photoshop) To temporarily use the Eraser tool in Erase to History mode, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option
(Mac OS) as you drag in the image.
6 Drag through the area you want to erase.
Change similar pixels with the Magic Eraser tool
When you click in a layer with the Magic Eraser tool, the tool changes all similar pixels to transparent. If you’re
working in a layer with locked transparency, the pixels change to the background color. If you click in the
background, it is converted to a layer and all similar pixels change to transparent.
You can choose to erase contiguous pixels only or all similar pixels on the current layer.
Example of erasing similar pixels
1 Select the Magic Eraser tool .
2 Do the following in the options bar:
• Enter a tolerance value to define the range of colors that can be erased. A low tolerance erases pixels within a range
of color values very similar to the pixel you click. A high tolerance erases pixels within a broader range.
• Select Anti-aliased to smooth the edges of the area you erase.