Newbie question re tools.

Had to play with cursors in Edit|Preferences|Display & Cursors before I could attempt an answer.

It’s easiest to see if you have Other Cursors set to Standard (vs. Precise; counterintuitive, but try it).
The magnetic lasso will look like an upside-down metal coat hanger with the hook part straightened out, stuck to a horseshoe magnet with its open-end facing left (YOU try to describe it without graphics). The icon will be just under File. No matter which of the four modes for mag lasso you use — New selection, Add to selection, Subtract from selection, Intersect with selection — when you complete your loop, a small circle (representing closure) will appear to the immediate right of the cursor.

To answer a related question about too-sticky lassos, if you select Add to selection, you can "close the loop," do anything you want — zoom, move with hand icon, whatever — and when you reselect the lasso, you can start where you left off, without worrying that your previous selection will be unselected.
PS 7.0.1

"Charles Minus" wrote in message

I am just learning Photoshop and using Photoshop 7. There are a couple of weird things happening that make me wonder if I need to do a re install. I have checked the PS manual and a couple of PS books from the library. None of them has any explanation for these problems.
WT 1. I can’t close magnetic lasoo. When I finish wrapping magnetic lasoo around something, I can’t make it stop, the line keeps following my cursor, I can’t shake it loose or change to another tool or anything. It’s like having a piece of sticky tape on your finger that you just can’t shake off. Am I just stupid or what? This doesn’t happen with regular lasoo or any other tool.

WT 2. Clone stamp tool does not work in the manner in which it is described. When I select a point (alt click) the x appears and then follows my cursor around. I thought it is supposed to copy a the first spot and put it where I want to drop it, but it just follows the cursor and clones wherever it is. Interesting effect, but not what I want. I don’t know if I have explained this well enough, but I have used a clone tool in other graphics programs and it never worked like this.
Thank you for your patience. If you have any advice or suggestions, I severely appreciate it.

Minus

To make it a little easier to follow,
Magnetic lasso or non magnetic point lasso,
double click the last point and it will close to first point. Otherwise click right on first point . Either way it starts to blink (marching ants is what they call them). This is your work path. cut lift filter what ever just inside the path.

Clone , you are on non aligned. I think ,if I read right . Change this feature in the tool box to aligned . I think this will get you an effect you want.It takes the spot you start at and clones it where you go. Hold the click down on the mouse once you start , otherwise it starts back at the touch down spot.

Sorry if this double posts , I think my normal posting server is frelled again.

"Charles Minus" wrote in message

I am just learning Photoshop and using Photoshop 7. There are a couple of weird things happening that make me wonder if I need to do a re install. I have checked the PS manual and a couple of PS books from the library. None of them has any explanation for these problems.
WT 1. I can’t close magnetic lasoo. When I finish wrapping magnetic lasoo around something, I can’t make it stop, the line keeps following my cursor, I can’t shake it loose or change to another tool or anything. It’s like having a piece of sticky tape on your finger that you just can’t shake off. Am I just stupid or what? This doesn’t happen with regular lasoo or any other tool.

WT 2. Clone stamp tool does not work in the manner in which it is described. When I select a point (alt click) the x appears and then follows my cursor around. I thought it is supposed to copy a the first spot and put it where I want to drop it, but it just follows the cursor and clones wherever it is. Interesting effect, but not what I want. I don’t know if I have explained this well enough, but I have used a clone tool in other graphics programs and it never worked like this.
Thank you for your patience. If you have any advice or suggestions, I severely appreciate it.

Minus

To make it a little easier to follow,
Magnetic lasso or non magnetic point lasso,
double click the last point and it will close to first point. Otherwise click right on first point . Either way it starts to blink (marching ants is what they call them). This is your work path. cut lift filter what ever just inside the path.

Clone , you are on non aligned. I think ,if I read right . Change this feature in the tool box to aligned . I think this will get you an effect you want.It takes the spot you start at and clones it where you go. Hold the click down on the mouse once you start , otherwise it starts back at the touch down spot.

The help files with seven are hard to follow, so don’t be to hard on yourselfTo make it a little easier to follow,
Magnetic lasso or non magnetic point lasso,
double click the last point and it will close to first point. Otherwise click right on first point . Either way it starts to blink (marching ants is what they call them). This is your work path. cut lift filter what ever just inside the path.

Clone , you are on non aligned. I think ,if I read right . Change this feature in the tool box to aligned . I think this will get you an effect you want.It takes the spot you start at and clones it where you go. Hold the click down on the mouse once you start , otherwise it starts back at the touch down spot.

Sorry if this double posts , I think my normal posting server is frelled again.

"Charles Minus" wrote in message

I am just learning Photoshop and using Photoshop 7. There are a couple of weird things happening that make me wonder if I need to do a re install. I have checked the PS manual and a couple of PS books from the library. None of them has any explanation for these problems.
WT 1. I can’t close magnetic lasoo. When I finish wrapping magnetic lasoo around something, I can’t make it stop, the line keeps following my cursor, I can’t shake it loose or change to another tool or anything. It’s like having a piece of sticky tape on your finger that you just can’t shake off. Am I just stupid or what? This doesn’t happen with regular lasoo or any other tool.

WT 2. Clone stamp tool does not work in the manner in which it is described. When I select a point (alt click) the x appears and then follows my cursor around. I thought it is supposed to copy a the first spot and put it where I want to drop it, but it just follows the cursor and clones wherever it is. Interesting effect, but not what I want. I don’t know if I have explained this well enough, but I have used a clone tool in other graphics programs and it never worked like this.
Thank you for your patience. If you have any advice or suggestions, I severely appreciate it.

Minus

Thanks for the careful and quick answer. I got the mag lasoo thing down now. It was the double click that fixed it for me. Great!

But, I still can’t get the clone stamp to work, or at least work the way I think it is supposed to. Let me try to describe it a little better.

I am set to aligned.

I move to the spot I want to clone. I hold down the alt key and right click the mouse. A cross and a circle appear over the area I wish to clone. Then I release the alt key, the cross disappearsm the circle remains. Using the mouse, I move the circle one inch northeast and click the mouse, the cross reappears at the spot where I first clicked and that area is cloned where the circle is now. Fine so far. But if I continue to move the circle, (with or without the mouse clicked) the cross also moves and what gets cloned is what is under the cross at the time that I click the mouse – which is different from the what was under it when I started. I want to continue to clone that first spot where I stopped, But that cross keeps moving with the circle. Is that what it is supposed to do? If so, how can I captpure that first spot and keep repeating it in different places?

What I am trying to do is pick one spot on the picture as a sample and clone it in several places. For example, there is one section with some nice grass. I want to clone that nice grass and put it over some places where there is just mud. I want the clone stamp to stay the same, not keep changing.

I don’t know if that makes it any clearer. Hope so.

BTW, I have to go to bed soon, so if you or anyone else, feels like responding, I may not get to see your answer til tomorrow.

Thanks again.

Minus

"Harkord F." wrote in
news:c4t866$21ca$:

To make it a little easier to follow,
Magnetic lasso or non magnetic point lasso,
double click the last point and it will close to first point. Otherwise click right on first point . Either way it starts to blink (marching ants is what they call them). This is your work path. cut lift filter what ever just inside the path.

Clone , you are on non aligned. I think ,if I read right . Change this feature in the tool box to aligned . I think this will get you an effect you want.It takes the spot you start at and clones it where you go. Hold the click down on the mouse once you start , otherwise it starts back at the touch down spot.

The help files with seven are hard to follow, so don’t be to hard on yourselfTo make it a little easier to follow,
Magnetic lasso or non magnetic point lasso,
double click the last point and it will close to first point. Otherwise click right on first point . Either way it starts to blink (marching ants is what they call them). This is your work path. cut lift filter what ever just inside the path.

Clone , you are on non aligned. I think ,if I read right . Change this feature in the tool box to aligned . I think this will get you an effect you want.It takes the spot you start at and clones it where you go. Hold the click down on the mouse once you start , otherwise it starts back at the touch down spot.

Sorry if this double posts , I think my normal posting server is frelled again.

"Charles Minus" wrote in message

I am just learning Photoshop and using Photoshop 7. There are a couple of weird things happening that make me wonder if I need to do a re install. I have checked the PS manual and a couple of PS books from the library. None of them has any explanation for these problems.

WT 1. I can’t close magnetic lasoo. When I finish wrapping magnetic lasoo around something, I can’t make it stop, the line keeps following my cursor, I can’t shake it loose or change to another tool or anything. It’s like having a piece of sticky tape on your finger that you just can’t shake off. Am I just stupid or what? This doesn’t happen with regular lasoo or any other tool.

WT 2. Clone stamp tool does not work in the manner in which it is described. When I select a point (alt click) the x appears and then follows my cursor around. I thought it is supposed to copy a the first spot and put it where I want to drop it, but it just follows the cursor and clones wherever it is. Interesting effect, but not what I want. I don’t know if I have explained this well enough, but I have used a clone tool in other graphics programs and it never worked like this.

Thank you for your patience. If you have any advice or suggestions, I severely appreciate it.

Minus

O.k.

again simple fix ,from me a simple mind.

Non aligned starts you in same spot every time.Aligned sets distance from area to be cloned to area to be covered by clone.

alt click to get bullseye. Keep alt button and click(mine is left button on normal set mouse)depressed until you get to where you want clone tool to paint over. Release alt and hold clock to paint over.

So you basicaly are releasing alt to soon.

I like the easy questions that I can actually answer. My way of paying back this newsgroup.
Harkord F.

Hey, thank — but it doesn’t work 8*(

As I said, I have used the clone tool on other graphics programs (e.g. PhotoImpress) and it worked just like you describe. However, this is not how it works for me in Photoshop. I am thinking there might be something wrong with my program. Here goes again, and thank you for your patience.

"Harkord F." wrote in
news:c4tdlm$2rua$:

O.k.

again simple fix ,from me a simple mind.

Non aligned starts you in same spot every time.Aligned sets distance from area to be cloned to area to be covered by clone.

I am working with aligned not checked.

alt click to get bullseye. Keep alt button and click(mine is left button on normal set mouse)depressed until you get to where you want clone tool to paint over. Release alt and hold clock to paint over.

Wait, I can’t find my clock! (Just kidding). Anyway, yeah that works. no problem. but as i continue to paint, the content of what I am painting changes. I want to ba able to pick one spot, clone that spot, and use that spot to paint. As I move the bullseye or whatever, (actually mine looks like a small box now) the results change as the original spot where the sample is extracted from follows my movements instead of staying in one place and allowing me to continue cloning that one spotl

I will try to draw a picture. When I alt click, a figure that looks like a circle with an + in it appears. Than, when I drag the circle to where I want to paint, the + stays where it was and it looks like this: + o

Byt when I start painting with the circle, the + moves and maintains the same spatial relationship to the circle as it had when I began painting. so the content of the circle/brush is constantly changing to imitate whatever the + is over at the time.

Oh hell, I don’ know, maybe that’s what it is supposed to do. thanks for listening.

So you basicaly are releasing alt to soon.

I like the easy questions that I can actually answer. My way of paying back this newsgroup.
Harkord F.

I know what you mean, that’s whats great about usenet, I’ve been on it for years and enjoy giving back when I can also. I hope that somedayI’ll be answering questions for newbies in this NG too.

ciao

Minus

Got it, you want the rubber stamp clone.
Choose an image , capture (alt,click) and that becomes your paint brush , right?

This is a tool selection. Hold the clock(well the click then) on the clone. Selection comes up , move it to pattern stamp tool. Capture your image and it becomes the paint brush. Sorry , didn’t get what you where looking for at first.

Glad to help. Books , manuals , online tutorials . The usenet is still where I got the best tricks for this deep program.

"Charles Minus" wrote in message

Hey, thank — but it doesn’t work 8*(

As I said, I have used the clone tool on other graphics programs (e.g. PhotoImpress) and it worked just like you describe. However, this is not how it works for me in Photoshop. I am thinking there might be something wrong with my program. Here goes again, and thank you for your patience.

"Harkord F." wrote in
news:c4tdlm$2rua$:

O.k.

again simple fix ,from me a simple mind.

Non aligned starts you in same spot every time.Aligned sets distance from area to be cloned to area to be covered by clone.

I am working with aligned not checked.

alt click to get bullseye. Keep alt button and click(mine is left button on normal set mouse)depressed until you get to where you want clone tool to paint over. Release alt and hold clock to paint over.

Wait, I can’t find my clock! (Just kidding). Anyway, yeah that works. no problem. but as i continue to paint, the content of what I am painting changes. I want to ba able to pick one spot, clone that spot, and use

that

spot to paint. As I move the bullseye or whatever, (actually mine looks like a small box now) the results change as the original spot where the sample is extracted from follows my movements instead of staying in one place and allowing me to continue cloning that one spotl
I will try to draw a picture. When I alt click, a figure that looks like a circle with an + in it appears. Than, when I drag the circle to where

I

want to paint, the + stays where it was and it looks like this: + o
Byt when I start painting with the circle, the + moves and maintains the same spatial relationship to the circle as it had when I began painting. so the content of the circle/brush is constantly changing to imitate whatever the + is over at the time.

Oh hell, I don’ know, maybe that’s what it is supposed to do. thanks for listening.

So you basicaly are releasing alt to soon.

I like the easy questions that I can actually answer. My way of paying back this newsgroup.
Harkord F.

I know what you mean, that’s whats great about usenet, I’ve been on it for years and enjoy giving back when I can also. I hope that somedayI’ll be answering questions for newbies in this NG too.

ciao

Minus

I was giving you how to do it on photoshop 4.
seven , first define pattern. Use your rectangular marquee tool (upper left box of tools) to outline a squareish area.
next , go to edit . define pattern.
turn on pattern clone, look at top tool bar for pattern. bring down that box to the pattern you defined.
That will be your paint brush for the tool.
..
I use 4.0 sometimes just because it is less complicated. Sorry for the bad info
Harkord F.

"Charles Minus" wrote in message

I am just learning Photoshop and using Photoshop 7. There are a couple of weird things happening that make me wonder if I need to do a re install. I have checked the PS manual and a couple of PS books from the library. None of them has any explanation for these problems.
WT 1. I can’t close magnetic lasoo. When I finish wrapping magnetic lasoo around something, I can’t make it stop, the line keeps following my cursor, I can’t shake it loose or change to another tool or anything. It’s like having a piece of sticky tape on your finger that you just can’t shake off. Am I just stupid or what? This doesn’t happen with regular lasoo or any other tool.

WT 2. Clone stamp tool does not work in the manner in which it is described. When I select a point (alt click) the x appears and then follows my cursor around. I thought it is supposed to copy a the first spot and put it where I want to drop it, but it just follows the cursor and clones wherever it is. Interesting effect, but not what I want. I don’t know if I have explained this well enough, but I have used a clone tool in other graphics programs and it never worked like this.
Thank you for your patience. If you have any advice or suggestions, I severely appreciate it.

Minus

By Jove, I’ve got it! Harkford, thank for sticking with me through this. It was the pattern stamp I was looking for. Your suggestion worked perfect. How very cool.

Thanks again pal.

Minus

Harkord F." wrote in
news::

I was giving you how to do it on photoshop 4.
seven , first define pattern. Use your rectangular marquee tool (upper left box of tools) to outline a squareish area.
next , go to edit . define pattern.
turn on pattern clone, look at top tool bar for pattern. bring down that box to the pattern you defined.
That will be your paint brush for the tool.
.
I use 4.0 sometimes just because it is less complicated. Sorry for the bad info
Harkord F.