Marquees

(see also: Bitmap Menu and Toolbar)

Marquees select part of the image and allow only that part to be edited. The marquee can have any shape, and its border is marked by a flashing dotted line. Marquees can only exist inside the rectangular boundary of a bitmap. If you leave a marquee on a bitmap and go do something else, the Marquee will be remembered and will still be there. Use the Clear Marquee option below to remove it.

Selecting the Entire Bitmap

  • Select the bitmap.
  • From the Bitmap menu, select Marquee Select All.
    mceclip2.png

Using the Marquee Tool

The Marquee tool selects rectangular portions of the bitmap.

With the bitmap selected, from the Bitmap Edit toolbar:

  • Select the Marquee tool.
    mceclip1.png
  • Click and drag the cursor over the bitmap.
  • After creating one marquee, you can add or subtract areas:
    • Hold Shift and drag to add additional sections to the selection marquee. A small + appears near the bottom of the cursor to indicate Add.
    • Hold Ctrl and drag to subtract sections from the selection marquee. A small - appears near the bottom of the cursor to indicate Subtract.
  • Once drawn, click inside the marquee and drag it to move the marquee to the desired position.

Using the Lasso Tool

The Lasso tool allows you to select a marquee by tracing its outline on the bitmap.

With the bitmap selected, from the Bitmap Edit toolbar:

  • Select the Lasso tool. 
    mceclip2.png
  • Click and drag the cursor over the bitmap to create a closed shape.
    • To add and subtract areas from an existing marquee, hold Shift and Ctrl while you drag. (A small + or - appears near the bottom of the cursor to indicate Add or Subtract.)
  • Click inside the marquee and drag it to move it to the desired position.

Using the Magic Wand Tool

The Magic Wand tool lets you select an area of a bitmap based on color. You can specify the color range, or tolerance, for the magic wand tool's selection.

With the bitmap selected, from the Bitmap Edit toolbar:

  • Select the Magic Wand tool. (note that the Make Transparent Tool at the end of the toolbar has the same icon; be sure not to confuse the two)
    mceclip3.png
  • Adjust the Tolerance in DesignCentral as needed.
    mceclip1.png
    • Enter a low value to select colors very similar to the pixel you click, or a higher value to select a broader range of colors.
  • Click the Magic Wand cursor over the bitmap.

Use Shift and Ctrl to add or subtract areas from the existing marquees. (A small + or - appears near the bottom of the cursor to indicate Add or Subtract.)

Clearing Marquees

This will clear any existing marquee on the bitmap.

  • Select the bitmap with a marquee.
  • From the Bitmap menu, select Clear Marquee.
    mceclip0.png

Inverting Marquees

This reverses the selection to the rest of the Bitmap. If you have a circle selected, it will reverse it so everything outside the circle is selected.

  • Select the bitmap with a marquee.
  • From the Bitmap menu, select Invert Selection. 
    mceclip3.png
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