Selections - Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 for Photographers - page 276

Select > Refine Edge
A new way to modify the edges
of the selections you create was
introduced in Photoshop Elements
6. Called the Refine Edge feature
it is accessed either via the button
now present in all the selection
tools' options bars, or via the Select
> Refine Edge menu entry. The
feature brings together three differ-
ent controls for adjusting the edges
of the selection with two selection
edge preview options. The edge con-
trols also exist as separate entries in
either the Select or Select > Modify
menu. Bringing them together in
the one dialog, and then providing
live preview options as well, means
that the refining activity will be a
lot more accurate, as you will be
able to see the results of the changes
made to any of the controls reflected
in the image itself.

The Refine Edge dialog brings together all the controls used for
altering the characteristics of the selection's edge into a single
dialog. The feature also includes two edge preview options.

The feature's dialog contains a Pre-
view toggle, and Zoom and Move tools which can be used for navigating around enlarged
images to check the properties of the selection edge. The edge controls themselves come in
the form of the following three sliders:

Smooth - This option removes stepped or jagged selection edges.

Feather - Softens the edge of the selection by a given pixel value. You can use this setting to
provide a gradual transition between selected and non-selected areas.

Contrast - Increase contrast of the selection edge.

Shift Edge - Increase or decrease the size of the area outlined by the selection by the per-
centage value selected.

The Preview modes buttons at the bottom of the dialog provide a range of different ways to
view the selection on your picture. The left button displays a standard selection edge super-
imposed on the photo. The edge is outlined using the familiar 'marching ants' line.