Elena Rossi
Microsoft Paint is a graphics editing app that comes with Windows and allows users to create, edit, and manipulate images and drawings. Paint has various tools that enable users to select and modify specific areas of their work. The two primary selection tools in MS Paint are Rectangular Selection and Free-Form Selection. Rectangular Selection requires a rectangular object to be chosen, while Free-Form Selection allows users to select an object in any form.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of selection tools | 2 |
| Types of selection tools | Rectangular selection, Free-form selection |
| Use of selection tools | Duplicate or crop a picture |
| Other tools in MS Paint | Pencil, Brush, Fill with color, Shapes, Text, Eraser, Zoom, Crop, Resize |
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What You'll Learn
Rectangular selection
The Rectangular Select Tool in MS Paint is used to define rectangular or square selections. To use this tool, you must click, hold, and drag the mouse to create a selection. The initial click point defines one corner of the selection rectangle. When the pointer is moved, the selection is resized so that the opposite corner of the rectangle matches the cursor's location.
To force a rectangular selection to remain square, hold down the Shift key while dragging the selection out. This will force the height and width to remain equal as the shape is altered. There are three modes that dictate how a rectangular selection is sized when it is dragged out. In the first mode, the height and width of the selection rectangle are unrestrained and will follow the mouse pointer location as the selection is created. In the second mode, the height and width of the selection rectangle are locked in a specified ratio as the selection is dragged out. The third mode is the Fixed Ratio or Fixed Size selection mode, where dragging the cursor off the canvas will result in the selection being clamped to the edge of the canvas, preserving the size or ratio specified in the toolbar.
Once a rectangular selection has been created, it can be moved, rotated, and scaled using the Move Selection tool. To stop using an active selection, it needs to be deselected. Clicking anywhere off the canvas with one of the Selection Tools active will also deselect the active selection.
It is important to note that MS Paint has limitations when it comes to adjusting the borders of a rectangular selection without stretching the image. Users have shared a trick to overcome this limitation: zooming in as high as possible, starting one corner of the selection, and then holding down the left mouse button while rotating the mouse scroll wheel to zoom out, thus giving a larger area to complete the dragged selection.
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Free-form selection
To use the free-form selection tool in MS Paint, go to the "Home" tab and choose "Free-form selection" from the "Select" option. Then, select the desired portion of the image. The selected portion can be moved, rotated, or scaled.
The free-form selection tool is particularly useful for erasing background colours or elements from an image to create stand-alone objects. It enables users to cut out motifs freehanded, with the selected area being defined by a border path. This technique was traditionally done by hand with scissors or scalpels, but modern software has made it much easier and more accessible.
Additionally, free-form selection can be used for colouring parts of black-and-white images and vice versa. This technique is sometimes called the "Sin City effect," where a single object is coloured within a black-and-white environment.
It's important to note that when using the free-form selection tool, the active selection is indicated by a dashed moving outline, known as "dancing ants." This visual aid helps users identify the selected area. To deselect an active selection, simply click anywhere off-canvas or choose another tool, which will also remove the highlighting to improve colour accuracy.
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Lasso Select Tool
The Lasso Select Tool is one of the selection tools in MS Paint. It allows users to create a freeform selection region, meaning that the outer edge of the selection follows the cursor as it is dragged around the canvas. The shape is automatically closed by a straight line connecting the cursor back to the starting point. This tool is particularly useful when selecting odd shapes that do not fit inside a rectangle. Once a selection has been created, editing operations (including effects and adjustments) are limited to the active selection. It is not possible to edit outside of an active selection.
The Lasso Select Tool is available in other painting software, such as Paint.NET and Ibis Paint X. In Paint.NET, the Lasso Select Tool is used in the same way as in MS Paint, allowing users to create freeform selections.
It is worth noting that the Lasso Select Tool is different from the Magic Wand Tool, which selects areas of the active layer that have similar colours. The Magic Wand Tool can be used in conjunction with the Lasso Select Tool to create more complex selections.
Additionally, there are five selection modes that can be used with the Lasso Select Tool: Replace, Add, Subtract, Intersect, and Invert ("xor"). These modes alter how successive selections interact with each other. For example, in Intersect mode, only the overlapping areas between the original and new selections are kept, while the non-overlapping areas are discarded.
Overall, the Lasso Select Tool in MS Paint is a valuable instrument for creating freeform selections and editing specific areas of an image.
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Ellipse Select Tool
The Ellipse Select Tool is one of the three Shape Selection tools in MS Paint. It allows users to create elliptical or circular selections. To use this tool, simply click, hold, and drag the mouse cursor to form a selection. The initial click point defines one corner of the bounding rectangle of the selection, and as the pointer is moved, the selection is resized, with the opposite corner of the bounding rectangle matching the current pointer location.
To ensure that the elliptical selection remains circular, the Shift key can be held down while dragging it out. This forces the selection to maintain its circular shape as its size is altered. When the Shift key is used, the diameter of the selection circle is determined by the initial click point and the current pointer location.
The Ellipse Select Tool is versatile and can be used in conjunction with other tools and modes to create complex selections. For example, it can be used in Intersect mode, where only the overlapping areas between the original and new selections are kept, while non-overlapping areas are discarded. This allows for the creation of quarter-circle selections by first creating a large circular selection and then a smaller square selection.
Additionally, the Ellipse Select Tool can be used to create multiple selections at once by adding new selections to previous ones. This enables users to select multiple areas simultaneously, enhancing their editing capabilities. The Ellipse Select Tool is a valuable instrument in MS Paint for making elliptical and circular choices, offering adaptability and precision in image manipulation.
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Magic Wand Tool
The Magic Wand Tool is one of the four tools used to select an area within the active layer in MS Paint. The other three are Shape Selection tools. The Magic Wand Tool is used to select areas of the active layer that have similar colours. It is a quick and easy way to select a large area without having to trace the entire outline.
To use the Magic Wand Tool, simply click on the area you want to select. The tool will automatically select all contiguous pixels that are similar in colour to the pixel you clicked on. This is particularly useful for selecting areas with fuzzy or complex edges, such as clouds or trees.
The Magic Wand Tool is also useful for selecting areas with a range of similar colours. For example, if you have a gradient from light blue to dark blue, you can use the Magic Wand Tool to select all the pixels within a certain range of colours. This can be particularly useful for creating smooth transitions or selecting areas with gradual colour changes.
Additionally, the Magic Wand Tool can be used in combination with other selection tools to create complex selections. For example, you can use the Lasso Select Tool to draw a freeform selection region and then use the Magic Wand Tool to add or remove similar-coloured areas within that selection. This allows for precise and detailed selections that would be difficult to achieve with other tools.
Overall, the Magic Wand Tool in MS Paint is a powerful and versatile selection tool that can be used for a variety of tasks, from quick and easy selections based on colour similarity to more complex selections in combination with other tools.
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Frequently asked questions
The two selection tools in MS Paint are Rectangular Selection and Free-Form Selection. The Rectangular Selection tool requires a rectangular object to be picked or processed, while the Free-Form Selection tool allows you to freely select an object or picture in any form.
To use the selection tools, click and drag the mouse cursor to create a selection shape. Releasing the mouse button will exit editing mode and finalize your selection. Once selected, you can move, rotate, and scale the selection using the Move Selection tool.
MS Paint offers a variety of tools for editing images, including a pencil tool for freehand drawing, a brush tool with different styles and sizes, a fill tool, a shapes tool, a text tool, and an eraser tool.
To select and move objects without cutting the background in MS Paint, you can set "Color 2" to match the background color. This will allow you to fill in the cutout with the selected background color without cutting it.
