Photoshop Elements 3 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide

Figure 4.59 The Border command lets you control the

width of a selection border. Normally, the border width

is set to 1 pixel.

Border: 10 pixels Border: 40 pixels

Figure 4.58 Choose Select > Modify to use the Border,

Smooth, Expand, and Contract tools.

Modifying

Selection Borders

You can make subtle—or significant—changes

to a selection border with four options found

on the Select > Modify menu (Figure 4.58).

The Border command lets you change the

width of the selection border. The Smooth

command smoothes out a jagged or irregular

selection edge. To make a slight increase in

the size of a selection, use the Expand com-

mand. To reduce the selection area, use the

Contract command.

To change the width of the border:

1.

Make a selection in your image with any

of the selection tools.

2.

From the File menu, choose Select >

Modify > Border.

3.

Enter a value for the border width.

The selection border changes based on

the number you enter (Figure 4.59).

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Making Selections

Modifying Selection Borders

To smooth the edge of the border:

1.

From the File menu, choose Select >

Modify > Smooth.

2.

Enter a value for the radius of the border.

The radius value can range from 1 to 100

and defines how far away from the current

edge the new outline can move to create a

smooth edge. Lower numbers, from 2 to 5

or so, typically give good results.

To expand or contract the

selection area:

1.

From the File menu, choose Select >

Modify; then choose Expand or Contract.

2.

Enter a value for the number of pixels by

which you want to change the area.

The selection border will expand or con-

tract based on the pixel value you enter

(Figure 4.60).

Figure 4.60 You can expand or contract the size of a

selection border from the Modify menu.

Expand: 10 pixels Contract: 10 pixels

120

Chapter 4

Modifying Selection Borders