Photoshop Elements /

Selection Tools /

Selection Tools Flow Chart /

Magic Selection Tools /

Introduction

With the magic selection tools, Photoshop Elements does most of the work, with some help from you.

Selection Tools Chart

The chart below displays the selection tool families.

The magic selection tools are highlighted with blue.

They're the Magic Selection Brush (4.0 & 5.0), the Quick Selection tool (6.0), the Magic Wand tool, and Magnetic Lasso tool.

There are descriptions of each tool below.

Tool Families	Tools
Marquee Tools	Elliptical Marquee Tool	Rectangular Marquee Tool
Lasso Tools	Lasso Tool	Magnetic Lasso Tool	Polygonal Lasso Tool
Magic Wand Tool	Magic Wand Tool
Selection Brush Tools	Magic Selection Brush Tool (4.0 & 5.0)	Quick Selection Tool (6.0)	Selection Brush Tool

The Three Magic Selection Tools

Experiment with the three magic selection tools below.

Magnetic Lasso Tool

The Magnetic Lasso tool straddles the magic and mechanical groups.

You guide the cursor near the edge of the area being selected, and the selection border jumps to the edge.

Go to Lasso Tool Family.

Magic Wand Tool

The Magic Wand tool is one of the most used selection tools.

You help Photoshop Elements do the magic by setting a strength level, called Tolerance.

Then, you click on a tone or color.

Go to Magic Wand Tool.

Magic Selection Brush Tool (4.0 & 5.0)

You help Photoshop Elements do the magic by drawing on the area to be selected.

Go to Magic Selection Brush Tool.

Quick Selection Tool (6.0)

The Magic Selection Brush is now called the Quick Selection tool.

Go to Quick Selection Tool.