Tools

The toolbox in the Quick mode contains a small set of easy-to-use tools. The tools available in this mode are Zoom, Hand, Quick Selection, Eye, Whiten Teeth, Straighten, Type, Spot Healing Brush, Crop, and Move.

Toolbox in the Expert mode

In the Expert mode, the toolbox is richer than the toolbox in the Quick mode. The tools are organized in the following logical groups:

• View
• Select
• Enhance
• Draw
• Modify

Tools in the View group of the Expert mode toolbox

Zooms in or zooms out your image. The related tools shown in the Tool Options bar are Zoom In and Zoom Out. For more information about the Zoom tool, see Zoom in or out.

Moves your photo in the Photoshop Elements workspace. You can drag your image using this tool. For more information, see Viewing images in Expert or Quick modes. 

Tools in the Select group of the Expert mode toolbox

Moves selections or layers. For more information, see Move a selection.

Selects an area in your image in a rectangular box. Hold the Shift key to make the selection a square.

Selects an area in your image in an elliptical shape. Hold the Shift key to make the selection a circle.

Selects an area in your image in a free-form shape. 

Selects part of an image by selecting the high-contrast edges around a shape.

Draws straight-edged segments of a selection border.

Makes a selection based on color and texture similarity when you click or click-drag the area you want to select. 

Selects the area where you paint with the brush.

Selects the pixels with similar colors in a single click.

Adds or removes areas to and from a selection by automatically detecting the edges. For more information on this tool, see Edit and refine selections. 

Automatically makes a selection when you draw a shape around the object you want to select. 

For more information on selection, see Use tools to make selections.

Tools in the Enhance group of the Expert mode toolbox

Removes the red eye effect, pet eye effect, and corrects closed eyes in your photos. For more information about the tool, see Precisely remove red eye, Remove the Pet Eye effect, and Correct closed eyes.

Removes spots from your photos. For more information about this tool, see Remove spots and unwanted objects. 

Removes spots from your photo by selecting a part of your photo as the reference point.

Applies tonal and color adjustments to specific areas of a photo.

Paints the adjustment to specific areas of a photo just like a painting tool.

For more information about Smart brushes, see Adjust color and tonality using the Smart Brush tools and Apply the Smart Brush tools.

Paints with an image sample, which you can use to duplicate objects, remove image imperfections, or paint over objects in your photo. You can also clone part of an image to another image. For more information, see Clone images or areas in an image.

Paints with a pattern defined from your image, another image, or a preset pattern. For more information, see Use the Pattern Stamp tool.

Softens hard edges or areas in an image by reducing details. For more information, see Blur or soften edges. 

Sharpens a photo by focusing soft edges in the photo to increase clarity or focus. For more information on sharpening, see Sharpen an image.

Simulates the actions of dragging a finger through wet paint. The tool picks up color where the stroke begins and pushes it in the direction you drag. For more information on the tool, see Use the Smudge tool.

Changes the color saturation of an area. For more information on how to use the tool, see Adjust saturation in isolated areas.

Lightens areas of an image. You can use the tool to bring out details in shadows. For more information on the Dodge tool, see Quickly lighten or darken isolated areas.

Darkens areas of the image. You can use the tool to bring out details in highlights. For more information on the Burn tool, see Quickly lighten or darken isolated areas.

Tools in the Draw group of the Expert mode toolbox

Creates soft or hard strokes of color. You can use it to simulate airbrush techniques. For more information about the tool, see Use the Brush tool. 

Changes the existing colors and details in your image so your photo looks like it was painted using stylized brush strokes. For more information about the tool, see Use the Impressionist Brush tool.

Simplifies replacing specific colors in your image. For more information about the tool, see Replace color in an image.

Erases the pixels in the image as you drag through them. For more information about the tool, see Use the Eraser Tool.

Turns color pixels to transparent pixels so that you can easily remove an object from its background. For more information about the tool, see Use the Background Eraser tool.

Changes all similar pixels when you drag within a photo. For more information, see Use the Magic Eraser tool.

Fills an area that is similar in color value to the pixels you click. For more information about the tool, see Use the Paint Bucket tool. 

Applies a fill or a pattern to your image, instead of using one of the brush tools. For more information, see Fill a layer with a color or pattern.

Fills in an area of image by a gradient. For more information, see Apply a gradient.

Copies or samples the color of an area in your photo to set a new foreground or background color. For more information about the tool, see Choose a color with the Eyedropper tool.

Provides different shape options for you to draw. When you select the Custom Shape tool, you can access these shapes in the Tool Options bar. 

The other shape-related tools available in the Tool Options bar are:

• Rectangle
• Rounded Rectangle
• Ellipse
• Polygon
• Star
• Line
• Selection

For more information about creating shapes, see Create shapes.

Creates and edits text on your image.

The other type-related tools available in the Tool Options bar are:

• Vertical Type 
• Horizontal Type Mask  
• Vertical Type Mask 
• Text on Selection 
• Text on Shape 
• Text on Custom Path

For more information about adding and editing text on your image, see Add text.

Creates hard-edged freehand lines. For more information, see Use the Pencil tool.

Tools in the Modify group of the Expert mode toolbox

Trims the part of an image according to the selection. For more information about the tool, see Crop an image.

Crops a photo into a shape that you choose. For more information about the tool, see Use the Cookie Cutter tool.

Transforms the perspective of a picture while cropping it. For more information about the tool, see Perspective Crop tool.

Intelligently resizes photos without changing important visual content, such as people, building, animals, and more. For more information, see Recompose a photo in Expert mode. For a step-by-step, guided method to recompose, see Recompose a photo in Guided mode.

Selects an object in your photo and moves the selection to a different location, or extends it. For more information about the tool, see Move and reposition objects.

Realigns an image vertically or horizontally. For more information about the tool, see Straighten an image.

Use a tool

To use a tool in the Quick or Expert mode, first select the tool from the toolbox. Next, use the various options in the Tool Options bar to accomplish your task.  

Select a tool

Do one of the following:

• Click a tool in the toolbox.
  
• Press the keyboard shortcut for the tool. For example, press B to select the Brush tool. The keyboard shortcut for a tool is displayed in the tool tip. You can also find a list of helpful keyboard shortcuts in Keys for selecting tools.

Select options from the Tool Options bar

The Tool Options bar appears at the bottom in the Photoshop Elements window. It displays the options for a selected tool. For example, if you select the Crop tool from the toolbox, you find related tools (Cookie Cutter tool and Perspective Crop tool), and other options in the Tool Options bar.

Click here to watch a video on how to use the Crop tool. The video explains the options available in the Tool Options bar for the Crop tool.

Edit tool preferences

You can modify the default preferences for tools. For example, you can hide the tool tips or change the appearance of a tool pointer.

Edit General preferences

Set the appearance of a pointer

Resize or change the hardness of painting cursors by dragging (Windows only)

You can resize or change the hardness of a painting cursor by dragging in the image. As you drag, you preview both the size and hardness of the painting tool.

• To resize a cursor, right-click + press Alt, and drag to the left or right.

• To change the hardness of a cursor, right-click + press Alt, and drag up or down.

Reset tool settings to default

You can restore the default settings of a selected tool or all tools.