Using tools

You can use the tools to perform a variety of image editing and creative tasks. When you hold the pointer over a tool, a tooltip displays the tool name and shortcut key, and the status bar displays hints for using the tool.

The Edit tab lets you access a wide selection of tools for advanced image creation and editing. Some of these tools, such as the Crop, Move, and Text tools, reside in their own space on the Tools toolbar. Most tools, however, are grouped with other tools that perform similar tasks. A group of tools is denoted by a small flyout arrow on the right side of the active tool.

Some tools are grouped together in flyouts. You can access all tools in a flyout by clicking the flyout arrow beside the active tool.

For information about hiding and showing tools, see Viewing and hiding tools.

For information about moving, hiding, and displaying the Tools toolbar, see Using toolbars.

Depending on the type of layer you are working on, some tools may not be available. For example, the Paint Brush and Clone Brush tools work only on raster layers; the Pen tool works only on vector layers. For more information about raster and vector layers, see Understanding layers.

The following table briefly describes each tool on the Tools toolbar of the Edit tab.

 

Tool
Description
Pan
Lets you control which part of the image is visible in the image window
Zoom
Zooms in when you click, or zooms out when you right-click. You can drag to define an area for zooming.
Pick
Moves, rotates, and reshapes raster layers, and selects and modifies vector objects
Move
Moves a raster layer or a vector layer on the canvas
Auto Selection
Selects the edges of an area automatically when you enclose the area in a selection rectangle.
Smart Selection Brush
Selects the edges of an area automatically when you brush over a sample area.
Selection
Creates a geometrically shaped selection, such as a rectangle, ellipse, or triangle
Freehand Selection
Creates an irregularly shaped selection
Magic Wand
Makes a selection based on pixel values within a specified tolerance level
Dropper
Lets you choose the foreground/stroke color by clicking or the background/fill color by right-clicking
Crop
Trims or eliminates unwanted edges. Floating Crop toolbar also provides access to image enhancement options.
Straighten
Rotates a crooked photo to straighten it
Perspective Correction
Squares the perspective of buildings or other objects that appear to be leaning
Red Eye
Quickly corrects the red-eye effect commonly seen in photos
Makeover
Provides five modes — Blemish Fixer, Toothbrush, Eye Drop, Suntan, and Thinify — which let you apply cosmetic fixes to subjects in your photos
Clone
Removes flaws and objects by painting over them with another part of the image
SmartClone
A content-aware cloning tool that lets you blend a source selection into a new background.
Scratch Remover
Removes wrinkles, wires, and similar linear flaws from digital photos, and removes scratches from scanned photos
Object Remover
Covers unwanted elements of a photo with a neighboring texture in the same photo
Paint Brush
Lets you paint on your image with colors, textures, or gradients
Airbrush
Simulates painting with an airbrush or spray can
Lighten/Darken
Lightens areas as you drag, or darkens areas as you drag with the right mouse button. This effect is stronger than the effects produced by the Dodge and Burn tools.
Dodge
Lets you lighten areas of a photo by clicking or darken areas by right-clicking
Burn
Lets you darken areas of a photo by clicking, or lighten areas by right-clicking
Smudge
Smears pixels by picking up new colors as you drag, or pushes pixels by not picking up new colors as you drag with the right mouse button
Push
Pushes pixels by not picking up new colors as you drag, or smears pixels by picking up new colors as you drag with the right mouse button
Soften
Softens pixels as you drag, or sharpens pixels as you drag with the right mouse button
Sharpen
Sharpens pixels as you drag, or softens pixels as you drag with the right mouse button
Emboss
Creates an embossed effect by suppressing color and tracing edges as you drag
Saturation Up/Down
Makes colors more vivid as you drag, or less vivid as you drag with the right mouse button
Hue Up/Down
Shifts pixel hue values up as you drag, or shifts them down as you drag with the right mouse button
Change to Target
Recolors pixels while retaining detail
Color Replacer
Replaces the background/fill color with the foreground/stroke color when you click and drag, or replaces the foreground/stroke color with the background/fill color when you right-click and drag
Eraser
Erases raster layer pixels to transparency
Background Eraser
Erases around the edges of the areas you want to keep in a photo
Flood Fill
Fills pixels of a similar tolerance level with the current foreground/stroke material when you click, or with the current background/fill material when you right-click
Color Changer
Changes the color of an object while preserving the shading and luminosity of the original color
Gradient Fill
Adds a gradient fill that can be adjusted interactively on an image
Picture Tube
Places picture tubes, theme-based artistic elements, in your image
Text
Places text on your image
Frame Tool
Creates a container (frame) that you can fill with an image
Preset Shape
Adds predefined shapes (such as callouts, arrows, and starbursts) to your image
Rectangle
Creates a rectangle or square
Ellipse
Creates an ellipse or circle
Symmetric Shape
Creates symmetric or star-shaped objects
Pen
Creates connected or unconnected lines, freehand curves, and Bézier curve segments
Warp Brush
Shrinks, grows, twists, or distorts pixels
Mesh Warp
Distorts a photo by dragging points along an overlay grid
Oil Brush
Simulates oil brushstrokes on an Art Media layer
Chalk
Simulates drawing with chalk on an Art Media layer
Pastel
Simulates drawing with pastels on an Art Media layer
Crayon
Simulates drawing with crayon on an Art Media layer
Colored Pencil
Simulates drawing with colored pencil on an Art Media layer
Marker
Simulates drawing with an ink marker on an Art Media layer
Watercolor Brush
Simulates watercolor brushstrokes on an Art Media layer
Palette Knife
Simulates applying oil paint with a knife (instead of a brush) on an Art Media layer
Smear
Smears whatever pigment you’ve applied to an Art Media layer
Art Eraser
Erases whatever pigment you’ve applied to an Art Media layer

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