Pick a selection tool, drag around the area, then choose Layer › Layer Mask › Reveal Selection to show only that area. A mask hides part of a layer without erasing any pixels.
Make a selection
Use one of these:
- Elliptical Marquee Tool or Rectangular Marquee Tool for simple shapes. Drag on the canvas.
- Quick Selection Tool, Magic Wand Tool or Lasso Tool to follow the edges of an object.
- Select › Subject to let Picto pick the main subject. The Quick Selection Tool and Object Selection Tool also have a Select Subject button in the options bar. If nothing is found, Picto says "No subject found" and suggests the Object Selection or Lasso tool.
Smart selection runs on your computer. It needs no account and no cloud.
Adjust the selection
- Select › Inverse Selection swaps the selected and unselected areas.
- Select › Modify has Border…, Smooth…, Expand…, Contract… and Feather…. Feather softens the edge.
- Select › Select and Mask… refines an edge, for example around hair.
- Select › Deselect removes the selection. Select › Reselect brings back the last one.
Turn the selection into a mask
- Click the layer you want to mask in the Layers panel.
- Choose Layer › Layer Mask › Reveal Selection to show only the selected area, or Hide Selection to hide it.
To start with the whole layer visible or hidden and paint the mask yourself, use Layer › Layer Mask › Reveal All or Hide All.
Remove or apply a mask
- Layer › Layer Mask › Delete removes the mask.
- Layer › Layer Mask › Apply applies the mask to the layer's pixels.
- Layer › Layer Mask › Disable Layer Mask (or Enable Layer Mask) switches the mask off and on.
To limit a color adjustment to the selection, see Adjust colors without changing your pixels.