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| Magic Wand Tool Tips
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Overview
The Magic Wand tool is one of three selection tools available in Adobe Photoshop. The main idea behind the Magic Wand tool is that it selects all of the elements of an image that are the same color for easy color changing, background removal and editing.
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Preparing to Edit
Open the photo or image that you want to edit in Photoshop by left-clicking "File" and select "Open". Browse your computer and select the file. Left-click "Open." The image will open in Photoshop.
We will use this photograph titled Purple Flower to demonstrate the Magic Wand tool.
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Selecting the Magic Wand tool
Select the Magic Wand tool by left-clicking its icon in the Tools Palette. Notice that when you select the Magic Wand tool, the Options bar across the top of your screen will change to display available options for the selected tool. (See Reference)
The Magic Wand tool in the Tools Palette
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Selection Options
There are four options for making a selection with the Magic Wand Tool: New Selection, Add to Selection, Subtract from Selection and Intersect with Selection. New Selection is selected by default. Make selections with the Magic Wand when making quick changes to objects of one color without changing any options.
Left-click to select the "Add to Selection" button when you have already selected an area and want to add more to it. Left-click to select the "Subtract from Selection" button when you have already selected an area and you want to subtract your selection from it. Left-click to select the "Intersect with Selection" button when you want the overlapping portions of your first and second selections to remain and the rest to be deleted. (See Reference)
Selection Tools in the Options bar.
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Tolerance
Tolerance refers to the range of colors that the Magic Wand "tolerated" for its selection. If the Tolerance is set to "50", the Magic Wand selects 25 shades above and below the pixel selected. Select the Tolerance by typing a number between 0 and 255 in the box on the Options bar.
To select the purple areas in all different shades in the Purple Flower image, the Tolerance must be set to approximately 100. (See Reference)
A selection with the Magic Wand of 15 Tolerance (top). The selection with the selected areas deleted (bottom).
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Other Options
The last three options available on the Options bar are: Anti-alias, Contiguous, and Sample All Layers. Left-click the check box next to "Anti-alias" to put a smooth, curvy edge on your selection. Leave the check box empty to keep jagged edges on your selection. Left-click the check box next to "Contiguous" to select areas connected to the color that you clicked on. Leave the check box empty to select the same color on the whole layer. Left-click the check box next to "Sample All Layers" to select colors in the whole image including all layers. Leave the check box empty to make selections on one layer at a time. (See Reference)
The other options in the Options bar.
