The Option Panel

The Options Panel displays a number of options related to the Tool you are currently using. All of the Selection Tools have a set of options, but some have more than others.

The "Style" drop down menu provides you with three constraining options for your selection. "Normal" allows you to draw a free selection with no constraint on width or height. "Fixed Ratio" allows you to designate a ratio for your selection in the two fields below the drop down menu. You can set the ratio as 2 width and 1 height and no matter how large your selection is the size ratio will always be 2 to 1. Fixed size allows you to set a size, in pixels, for width and height in the two fields below the "Style" drop down menu. If you input 200 width and 150 height in the fields your selection will always be 200 by 150.

You are also presented with 3 options under the "Edge" menu; Hard, Anti-Alias, and Feather.

Selecting "Hard" will make selections that are indiscriminate in the way pixels are selected. If the pixel is inside the selection it is considered selected. If you were to delete the pixel information with-in a selection with a "Hard" edge your image would look like this:

The edge is jagged because pixels are square. 

A selection with an "Anti-Aliases" edge softens the transition from the edge of the image or Selection to the color the edge is placed against.  It does this by creating pixels of a color that are somewhere in between that of your selection and the background it sits on.  Below you will find an example of an "Anti-Aliases" edge.

You’ll notice that the pixels along the edge of the circle are a mixture of grays and greens but not black or white. If you look at this image from a distance the edge of the circle will look smooth whereas the "Hard" edge still looks jagged.

Feathering your Selection creates a gradual softening effect, from solid color to transparency, similar to how a bird’s feather, under light, gradually becomes transparent. You will find that the slider beside the edge drop down menu is no longer grayed out when you select "Feather". This slider allows you to increase or decrease the amount of feathering you selection will create. Below you will find an example of a feathered edge.

The Magic Wand Tool differs from the other Selection tools in that rather than drawing a path yourself you simply {Click} the Magic Wand in the area you wish to select and the Magic Wand creates the Selection for you. It creates the Selection based on range of related colors. The range of colors is set in the Options Panel by moving the "Tolerance" slider.  Increasing the value increases the color range.

Make sure the "diana.png" image is open and in its original state (you can reload the image or use the History Panel to delete your modifications.) Select the "Magic Wand Tool." In the Options Panel, set the Tolerance level to 10. Now {Click} on any part of black area around the back of the boat. A Selection path is created that encompasses some of it but not all of it. The color of the area that you clicked on becomes the base color that establishes the related color range, in this case shades of black.  However, it does not surround the entire back. Deselect the Selection.  Change the Tolerance to 60 and {Click} the same area again. The Selection path should encompass the entire edge of it. Deselect the Selection again.