on
the right side of some icons on the Toolbar. Clicking the drop-down arrow displays
a menu of similar functions that you can select. Located below the Menu bar, the main Toolbar gives you one-stop access
to the most-used functions. You will see a drop-down arrow on
the right side of some icons on the Toolbar. Clicking the drop-down arrow displays
a menu of similar functions that you can select.
To Use the Main Toolbar:
Either the Property bar for that function, or a dialog box, opens. In some cases, as with the Auto Adjust tools, the function is applied immediately.
Click Ctrl+Z to undo an effect if you make a mistake.
Main Toolbar Tools
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Selection Tool |
Use the Selection Tool to select a photo or object. You can select multiple objects by holding down the Shift key as you click on each object. You can also select multiple objects by clicking and dragging across or around the objects. |
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Navigate This section contains functions that help you change the magnification of photos and objects, or move them to different locations. |
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Use the Hand Tool to reposition the work area. |
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Use the Magnifying Glass Tool to zoom in on a photo. Hold the Shift key down and click on a photo to zoom out. If you want to zoom in on a specific area in a photo, click and drag an exact rectangle around the area. |
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Fit to Screen |
Click Fit to Screen to display the entire photo within the work area. |
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Actual Size |
Click Actual Size to display the photo at its actual size. |
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Rotate This section contains functions to rotate the work area. |
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Click this icon to turn the work area 90° to the left. |
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Click this icon to turn the work area 90° to the right. |
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Crop This section contains the Crop Tool. |
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Click the Crop Tool, then click and drag a rectangle around the area you want to keep. Anything outside the rectangle will be deleted after you click Apply Crop. Objects and text inside the rectangle are merged with the photo and are no longer editable. |
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Auto Adjust This section contains functions for quick fixes to levels and colors. |
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Click the Auto Levels Tool to automatically correct the contrast in the photo. This can affect the colors in the photo. |
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Click the Auto Colors Tool to automatically correct color balance in the photo. |
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Click Auto Fix Tool to automatically correct both contrast and color balance in the photo. |
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Fix This section contains functions that you can use to manually correct a variety of problems in your photos. You can also use these functions to creatively blur or lighten an area for special effects. |
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Use the Red Eye Tool to reduce the red-eye effect caused when light from a flash reflects off the back surface of the eye. |
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Sharpen Tool |
Use the Sharpen Tool to reduce blurriness by increasing the color difference in adjacent pixels. |
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Use the Blur Tool to increase blurriness in a photo. |
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Use the Sponge Tool to add or remove gray from specific areas of a photo. Choose Saturate to remove gray and Desaturate to increase the amount of gray. |
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Use the Smudge Tool to pull color from one area of a photo and drag it into adjacent areas. |
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Use the Dodge Tool to lighten specific areas of a photo. Increasing the exposure increases the lightening effect of the tool. If you select Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights from the Mode menu, the Dodge tool lightens pixels that fall within the selected range only. |
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Use the Burn Tool to darken specific areas of a photo. Increasing the exposure increases the darkening effect of the tool. If you select Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights from the Mode menu, the Burn tool darkens pixels that fall within the selected range only. |
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Use the Repair Tool to repair flaws in a photo by copying and blending pixels from the surrounding area to cover the flaw. Press and hold the Alt key, then click in the photo close to the problem to select an area similar to the one you want to change. Release the Alt key, then click or drag in the image to paste the over the flaw. |
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Use the Rubber Stamp Tool to make an exact copy of an area so you can paste the copy over another area to hide flaws or create effects. Press and hold the Alt key, then click in the photo to select an area to clone. Click or drag in the image to paste the cloned area over the flaw. |
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Create This section contains tools for adding text or objects such as boxes, circles, and lines to photos. It also contains functions for painting and drawing, as well as a very useful eraser. |
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Use the Paintbrush Tool to paint on photos using a brush. Press and hold the Alt key, then click on a color in the photo to select that color. Release the Alt key, then click and drag to paint that color onto the photo. |
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Use the Airbrush Tool to paint on photos using an airbrush. Press and hold the Alt key, then click on a color in the photo to select that color. Release the Alt key, then click and drag to paint that color onto the photo. |
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Use the Pencil Tool to draw a single dot (or pixel) or to draw a freehand line. Increase the magnification to increase the accuracy of your pencil drawings. To draw a straight line press and hold the Shift key as you draw the line. |
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Use the Marker Tool to draw a single dot or to draw a freehand line. Increase the magnification to increase the accuracy of your marker drawings. To draw a straight line press and hold the Shift key as you draw the line. |
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Use the Neon Tool to draw a single dot or to draw a freehand line. Increase the magnification to increase the accuracy of your neon drawings. To draw a straight line press and hold the Shift key as you draw the line. Use the Glow setting to adjust the color. |
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Use the Vignette Tool to leave part of a photo visible while the rest of the photo is faded. You can select the shape of the visible area. |
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Use the Gradient Tool to add a gradient to objects. |
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Use the Bucket Tool to pour color over an entire photo. Use the Tolerance option to control whether the color is applied to pixels of the same color only or pixels of similar colors. |
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Use the Eraser Tool to remove pixels from a photo to reveal a transparent background. Opacity and paint mode options are not available with the Eraser. |
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Use the Text Tool to add horizontal text to a photo. |
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Use the Rectangle Tool to draw rectangular shapes. To create a perfect square, press and hold the Shift key as you click and drag. |
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Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool to draw rectangles with rounded corners. To create a perfect square with round edges, press and hold the Shift key as you click and drag. |
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Use the Oval Tool to draw oval shapes. To create a perfect circle, press and hold the Shift key as you click and drag. |
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Use the Arc Tool to draw arcs. To create a perfect quarter-circle arc press and hold the Shift key as you click and drag. An arc can be manipulated into almost any shape by adding points and handles that you can drag to change its shape. |
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Use the Line Tool to draw lines. To create lines at a 45° angle press and hold the Shift key as you click and drag. |
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Use the Shape Tool to select and draw a shape from a collection of pre-defined shapes. |
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Use the Polygon Tool to draw a multi-sided shape with anchor points that you can manipulate. The lines between anchor points are straight. |
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Use the Smooth Polygon Tool to draw a multi-side shape with anchor points that you can manipulate. The lines between anchor points are curved. |
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Use the Freehand Tool to draw freehand paths and shapes. |
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Use the Cookie Cutter Tool to select a shape from a collection of pre-defined shapes and cut the photo or object to that shape. |
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This section contains functions that you can use to select any part of a photo or object. If you use the functions with special keys, you can add or subtract from the selection, or overlap two different selections. Settings on the Properties bar can soften the edges, omit certain colors, or detect edges based on contrast. |
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Use the Marquee Tool to select a rectangular area within a photo. A dashed border displays around the selected area. |
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Use the Oval Marquee Tool to select a round area within a photo. To select a round area around a specific point press Ctrl+Shift as you click and drag. |
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Use the Lasso Tool to select a freehand area of a photo. If you release the mouse before connecting the two ends of the selection, the start and end points connect with a straight line. A dashed border displays around the selected area. |
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Use the Polygon Lasso Tool to select a freehand area of a photo by clicking at intervals to create points. If you release the mouse before connecting the two ends of the selection, the start and end points connect with a straight line. A dashed border displays around the selected area. |
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The Smart Lasso Tool is a combination of the Lasso Tool and the Polygon Lasso Tool. If you release the mouse before connecting the two ends of the selection, the start and end points connect with a straight line. A dashed border outlines the selected areas. |
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Use the Remote Move Tool to move the selection. Use this tool if you are working with a small selection of pixels and the pointer is interfering with your vision. |
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Use the Magic Wand to select all the pixels of one color throughout the image. Click the Magic Wand and click a specific color within the image. A marquee surrounds ALL the pixels of that color in the image and selects them. This allows you to delete, or edit those particular pixels, even if they are distributed all through the image. |
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Colors This section contains tools to select colors from the photo. |
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Click the Dropper Tool, then click on the color in the photo that you want to select. You can apply that color using the Create tools. |
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Color Picker |
Click the Color Picker to display the colors dialog.
Select the color that you want to apply to the object. If you click the
foreground or fill square in the icon, the color that you select is used
as the brush color when painting or used to fill an object. If you click
the background or stroke square in the icon, the color that you select
is used to outline objects. To set the foreground and background colors
to black and white, click the default colors icon |
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Click the Text Color Picker to open the colors dialog so you can select the color of text. |
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in the
lower right corner.