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Paint Shop Pro 7

Vector Selection

Image credits » morgueFile

Selecting objects can be quite annoying when using the default Selection tools in PSP.
The best thing one can do when trying to select complex shapes is to first create a vector path over it and then create a selection from this path.

The great thing about vectors is that you can edit them, which doesn’t happen with normal selections. This means that if you can’t select your object properly on the first attempt with the Draw tool, for example, you’ll be able to edit it until it is perfect.

The tutorial:

Open your image, press Shift + D to duplicate it and close the original.

Go to Layers – Promote to Layer.

Add a new vector layer.

Set the foreground to null and background color to black or any other color you wish.

With the Draw tool, create a path around the desired object.
» Settings: type = point to point line, antialias + create as vector + close path = checked.

Note 1: I’m not exactly following the edges because of lack of time, but at least you have a good idea of what to do.

Note 2: For very complex objects it is best to zoom in before creating the path.

When you finish creating the path, right-click on it with the Object Selector tool and choose Create Raster Selection from the pop-menu.

Note: It is always a good idea to save your selections to an alpha channel.

Keep selected and hide the vector layer.

Go back to the photo’s layer.

Invert the selection and hit delete.
Deselect and you got yourself a clean object.

A few tips:

If you can’t get all edges correct and are not in the mood of editing the path again, try modifying the selection’s size (Selections – Modify – Expand or Contract).

If your object has a soft feel, feathering the selection will help making even smoother edges. All you have to do is go to Selections – Modify – Feather. Hit delete about 2 or 3 times.

If you have more than one area that you want to remove, create another path for it. Since PSP can’t handle compound paths, you’ll have to create a new path and a new selection for each area that you want to remove.

Tools, Menus and Palettes · Jul 30, 2004 ·