magic wand trouble

[amyb]

I seem to be having difficulty in CS2 that I didn't have in Elements. I have the Karen Aiken template and I'm trying to select out the different parts of the template so that I can copy each piece onto a different layer to make it back into a layered template. However, when I try to select one portion it outlines all the photo frames. I've been having this trouble since I started using CS2 and I thought it was something I was doing but maybe it's not ? :confused:

[MidnightChardonnay]

Hi Amy

I don't have these templates myself but I would guess that you need to have a read of the manual and help files so as to understand the effect that the tolerance and contiguous settings underneath the menu bar at the top of the screen make - and also those little square icons to the left of the tolerance box.

The magic wand determines what it will select by reference to the difference in colour and tonal values of adjacent pixels and that is what those settings adjust.

The magic wand tool can, indeed, be magical but it can also be a bummer as well :(

As you get further into CS2 you will find that there are lots of different ways of making selections so it's really worthwhile persevering in this area.

CS2 must seem a bit of a nightmare at times but keep with it. The very steep learning curve will start to level out in due course. Just rermember - no pain, no gain ;)

[Priss]

Amy, you're on the wrong layer.
When you are creating a template out of a flattened jpg

1) duplicate (ctrl+J) your backgound layer (and turn off visibility eyecon on the "real" background temporarily if you wish)--Build Linda's "safety net!"
2) Select one area with the magic wand tool and Ctrl+J that to a layer of its own
3) Ctrl +D to DESELECT (important)
4) go back to the background layer copy again and click the magic wand in a different area of the template (use the "add to selection" option of the tool if there is a part of the same color that sticks out somewhere on the layout but doesn't touch the area you've selected.

Repeat from step two--The tolerances on the magic wand will not matter on a grayscale image, because even set at the default, they will select only the nearest-neighbor colors.

Don't forget to step back, and don't forget to de-select.
Hope this helps.

[amyb]

Amy, you're on the wrong layer.
When you are creating a template out of a flattened jpg

1) duplicate (ctrl+J) your backgound layer (and turn off visibility eyecon on the "real" background temporarily if you wish)--Build Linda's "safety net!"
2) Select one area with the magic wand tool and Ctrl+J that to a layer of its own
3) Ctrl +D to DESELECT (important)
4) go back to the background layer copy again and click the magic wand in a different area of the template (use the "add to selection" option of the tool if there is a part of the same color that sticks out somewhere on the layout but doesn't touch the area you've selected.

Repeat from step two--The tolerances on the magic wand will not matter on a grayscale image, because even set at the default, they will select only the nearest-neighbor colors.

Don't forget to step back, and don't forget to de-select.
Hope this helps.


Priss - you always come through! :D Thanks so much! I was trying to use the magic wand on the background layer to copy to a new layer and it just wasn't working! Copying the background layer and then using the wand did the trick! Thanks a million.