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Posted on 14/07/09 10:39:53 AM |
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Canna_W
* Posts: 14 Reply |
Elliptical Marquee Tool
Hi, just doing my first exercise in this amazing book (and it does look absolutely fantastic), and already I'm stuck 
I've selected a circle using the elliptical marquee tool, using alt to regulate the shape of the selection. No problem. It was just where I wanted it to be. I then tried to remove the exact middle of the circle using the same tool, by selecting whilst pressing alt again. But this time, nothing I could do would make the second selection be in the right place. I couldn't get it over the centre of the circle as desired - instead my 'remove' inner selection wandered off to one side of the inside of the circle. I had no control over where I wanted it to be. Any tips about getting it in the right place would be much appreciated. |
Posted on 14/07/09 11:34:40 AM |
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Pete
Body Booster Posts: 121 Reply  |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
Hi Canna_w, whilst keeping the left mouse button clicked release the alt key and then press it again. this should return it to the center. you can then hold down shift as well to make it a perfect circle. hope this helps Pete |
Posted on 14/07/09 11:52:48 AM |
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Pete
Body Booster Posts: 121 Reply |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
... oh and if you want to get the starting point to be on exactly the same spot, you could create some guides so the starting point snaps to these. To create the guides click in the ruler area and drag the guides out onto the workspace (if the rules are not visible click: view -> rules in the top bar). Do this on the horizontal and vertical and the selection tool should snap to the point the guides cross at. |
Posted on 14/07/09 8:00:18 PM |
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Canna_W
* Posts: 14 Reply |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
Hi Pete, thank you for that! Miraculously the top suggestion worked. Great... I also did some experimenting with pulling out 2 guides in the shape of a crucifix , and starting to draw out the ellipse from the intersection where the lines crossed. I noticed there was a big difference in how it worked if you drew out the ellipse/circle pressing just alt, or alt and shift, or just shift. I've been making selections of various types for years, but have always avoided the ellipse tool as being a bit weird. It's nice to begin to make headway with it. Thanks again. |
Posted on 15/07/09 08:20:10 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
Hi Canna W Also, once you have made a selection, you can modify it by going to Select - Transform Selection. Therefore if the Circle or elipse is not quite the right size, transforming can save you making the selection all over again. Nick |
Posted on 15/07/09 1:09:47 PM |
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Canna_W
* Posts: 14 Reply |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
Many thanks Nick - I've tried that too now. Excellent. I'm slowly beginning to feel in charge of the ellipse marquee tool now, rather than hanging on wildly to the end of its tail!  |
Posted on 15/07/09 1:32:49 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7068 Reply  |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
Remember you can hold the spacebar to move the marquee selection around while you're drawing it. This is a most useful shortcut! |
Posted on 16/07/09 06:46:11 AM |
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Canna_W
* Posts: 14 Reply |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
Hi Steve, congrats on an amazing book (I'm really loving it), but I'm afraid I don't get that 
With the tool set to 'new selection', it appears possible to move the ellipsis/circle around the screen simply by placing your mouse inside it and pulling or pushing. The space bar seems irrelevant for this task. I tried creating a circle by pulling out with my mouse whilst holding down alt and shift.....and then pressing the space bar at the same time, but this just decreased the viewing size. It did nothing like moving anything. I can't see what function the space bar has with this tool.... |
Posted on 16/07/09 07:33:58 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7068 Reply |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
Thing about the spacebar is that it allows you to move a selection around while you're still drawing it. Hold the spacebar to move it, then when you release the spacebar you can continue dragging to adjust the size. It works best when you're adding a second selection to the first. Take a look at the movie on the DVD about selections, which shows what I mean. If you find it's zooming in and out, that's the particular combination of keys you're holding. Release the Shift key first - you can always press it again after you've moved the selection. Glad you're enjoying the book! And keep posting these queries. |
Posted on 16/07/09 08:13:23 AM |
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Pete
Body Booster Posts: 121 Reply |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
No problem Canna, happy to help. Thanks for the spacebar tip steve, I hadn't picked that one up. |
Posted on 17/07/09 07:43:01 AM |
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Canna_W
* Posts: 14 Reply |
Re: Elliptical Marquee Tool
Okay Steve, I've got that now. The secret was keeping the mouse clicked down all the time. It was when I released the mouse I got the size reduction thing from the space bar, rather than the ability to move around. |