using tools

WH
Posted By
Walter_Holt
Jul 27, 2004
Views
253
Replies
5
Status
Closed
I am new to Elements.
How to I stop a tool when I am finished using that tool? I can move to another tool OK but when I have used my final tool and the photo is just as I want it to be the last tool used keeps running or should I say "stays selected".
I have searched the help section but stopping a tool once it is selected is not mentioned. PS: I think a small horizontal menu box showing the selected tool is missing from my screen. I just have the vertical tool box on the left of my work area and the main menu at the top of my screen
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TF
Terri_Foster
Jul 27, 2004
Walter,

You will Always have a tool currently selected. Most people park on a tool that won’t change their image when not using a tool. R Marquee, hand, and zoom are popular choices. You must be talking about the status bar. Yes, there’s a bar at the bottom that you access a menu by clicking on the black arrow. You should be able to select a running status on current tool, document size, and a few more options. I think you can only select on at a time to be displayed in a running dialog. Sure it’s not there….it’s easy to overlook.

Terri
WH
Walter_Holt
Jul 29, 2004
Thanks for your help and good advice.
The last tool I had been using was the lasso tool. I couldn’t make the dotted line stop running around the area I had outlines with the lasso even though I was done with all my corrections. I feared the running dotted line would always be in my final image.
Thanks again.
Walter Holt
PA
Patti Anderson
Jul 29, 2004
The dotted lines are affectionately (well sometimes affectionately) called "marching ants." They are there to indicate a selection. To de-select, use the keyboard shortcut, CTRL+D.

Patti
TF
Terri_Foster
Jul 29, 2004
The dotted lines mean a selection is active so you only can effect what is contained within that outline. The long way to deselect a selection is by going up the menu bar picking selection then deselect. A faster way to deselect is to put your cursor in the middle of the selected area and right click. A context menu will pop up with all the things you can do with a selection…pick deselect. Faster still way to deselect is a keyboard shortcut…ctrl D. I think about everything has a context menu. These context menus will save you from doing a lot of digging thru option menus.

Terri
WH
Walter_Holt
Aug 4, 2004
What great answers- right to the point!
Thanks,
Walter

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