Using the Elliptical Marquee Tool in Photoshop

The Elliptical Marquee tool is designed for elliptical or circular selections. You can easily select objects such as clocks, balls, and full moons with this tool. The Elliptical Marquee tool works almost exactly like the Rectangular Marquee tool (described in the preceding section). The only difference is that you don’t drag from corner to corner; you drag from a given point on the ellipse, which makes the process a little tougher. Here are the steps:

1. Select the Elliptical Marquee tool from the Marquee flyout menu in the Toolbox.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut. If the Elliptical Marquee tool is visible, press the M key. If the Rectangular Marquee is visible, you must press Shift+M.

You may find it easier to create an elliptical selection by pressing the Alt (Option on the Mac) key and dragging from the center outward. First click the mouse button, and then before you move the mouse, press Alt (Option on the Mac) and finally the Shift key. Then drag. When you have your desired selection, release your mouse button and then the Shift+Alt (Shift+Option on the Mac) keys. This technique works for creating circles or squares.

To create a perfect circle, press the Shift key after you begin dragging. When you have your desired selection, release your mouse button and then your Shift key.

2. Position the crosshair (the plus sign icon of the cursor) near the area you want to select and then drag around your desired element. As you drag, the selection marquee appears.

3. When you’re satisfied with your selection, release your mouse button.
Your elliptical selection is alive and well. If you need to move the selection marquee to better center your selection, click and drag inside the marquee.

You can also move a selection with any of the marquee tools by pressing the spacebar while you’re drawing.