How to Draw Elliptical or Rectangular Marquee Tools in Photoshop CS3

Photoshop CS3's selection tools allow you to confine edits within the selected marquee, copy sections of an image, or create additional graphics. Photoshop CS3 offers two shape selection tools: the Rectangular Marquee Tool and Elliptical Marquee Tool. As the names imply, these shape selectors allow you to define rectangular or elliptical areas of your photos. You may also restrain width and height proportions to create a perfectly square or circular selection shape.

Instructions

1. Open your image in Photoshop CS3.

2. Click the Rectangular Marquee Tool or the Elliptical Marquee Tool from the left tool panel. Both tools reside in the same button, located second from the top of the panel. Clicking this icon selects the currently displayed tool, but will also open a side menu where you can select the alternative tool. If you cannot see the tool panel, click "Window" from the top menu and select "Tool."

3. Click on the image and drag your mouse to create the rectangular or elliptical marquee. Wherever you click defines a starting corner. Drag your mouse in any direction to create the marquee.

4. Hold the Shift button while dragging to confine the selection marquee to a square or a circle.

References

• Adobe: Draw a Circle or Square
• Photoshop Essentials; Photoshop Selections - The Rectangular Marquee Tool; Steve Patterson