Selections Menu

Selections has a truckload of stuff we will be using. Many filters will not work on a canvas if you haven't chosen to Select All or have the image Floating. If you wish to edit the entire canvas, choose Select All. If you wish to edit just the image without going outside of the lines Float the image. Erasing, painting, filters etc... will only effect the section that is floated and not the remainder of the canvas. If your item is on another layer, you will first need to choose the layer its on.

Select None means basically nothing is selected, this is used very nicely for deformation effects, flipping or mirroring etc.

From mask is one you have already masked or have a mask ready to use. I do not use masks. Again there are many ways to create the same effect and I normally go a different route.

From Vector Object, if you created a vector object and copied it you are ready to use it.

Invert is one I use very often. Example... I have place a tube on my canvas and it has transparent areas. I want to create a background around the item or add something in the transparent areas. I would select all on the canvas then float it, then invert it. Once its inverted, the empty areas of the canvas are active and ready to be played with and this will not change or disturb the object on my canvas.

Matting is a cleanup tool of sorts. My personal opinion is it doesn't do much good. So I do not mess with this area.

Modify is an important area to me and two controls very often, the contract and expand.

If you have a selection active and see the dancing ants but do not want to see the dancing ants Click the Hide Marguee... as for myself I never use this either.

Convert to Seamless Pattern.... I never had alot of luck with this one. There are free filters that do a much better job that I use. Simple is one of them. They can be downloaded from here.

Promote to Layer... if you open an image and its says it is background then you need to promote it to a layer before editing it. If you do not and you erase you will have a funky background color that you cannot make transparent without a hassle.

Again I do not mess with Alphas...

Float ... means selection of the image or items on the layer ready to edit.

Defloat, means to un float the image.

 

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