Hi Y'all!

Here's something that's bug'n me. I draw a path around an object to make a layer mask. And after I "Make Selection..." of the path, I have to invert it. Doesn't happen that way on my Mac at work. Inverting is not really a big deal but the part that's bug'n me is that if I have a path inside a path, like if I was trying to mask the letter O. The inside path would NOT be selected when I select "Make Selection..."

Anybody know what I'm talking about?

That's not a bug, the way the path behaves when making a selection depends on these small icons (highlighted on the image I attached).
Try to swich them and see what happens. The same icons also show up when you select the path with the black arrow.

Thanks Mint, but that didn't do it...

Mr. Loose,

How are you creating your selection from the path? Are you

1) going to the PATH pallette and then clicking on that little dotted circle icon at the bottom?

2) after drawing the path are you RIGHT CLICKING it and choosing "MAKE SELECTION"?

3) after drawing the path are you going CNTRL + ENTER?

I'm not sure if it will make a difference but try all three and see if one of them works.

P.S. I've tried everything to duplicate what you said is happening (i'm on a PC) but I can't get it to do what you said. WEIRD, EH?

Thanks for the reply there ReinMan, but I tried all 3 of the selection methods ya mentioned and it's still not working right.

here's what's happening...

1. Is what I'm starting with.
2. Is what happens when I make the path a selection.
3. Is what I'm trying to achieve, with one click.


I can work around it by selecting the inner circle separately, and then fill the layer mask using that selection. But it's a PITA ( pain in the ass )!

So now I'm on a Quest to figure this out! If and when I do I'll post the answer.


Rabbit for Dinner Tonight!
Happy Easter!

AHHH...... first clue:

Your selection thumbnail in the PATH palletttttte is reversed to what happens at my end.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Good Eye ReinMan!

And I stand corrected! Mint You are right!

I tried it again after seeing the pic ReinMan made. And it worked right the first time, I was like WTF!

Apparently I had the second behaivior selected when I was first doing it. But the forth one is what I was looking for.

Guess ya have to change that "before" you draw your path.

Thanks Guys!

I've told you

You can change also after you draw the path, select all parts of the path with the black arrow and switch the icons. You can also cut and join paths that way.

i think i know what the problem is....
here is what you need to do:
1. make the outer circle- make sure u are using the ADD TO PATH option



2. make the inner circle, which is actually the hole- make sure you are using the SUBSTRACT FROM PATH option.

this is very logical since you want to make a hole in your circle......

3. ctrl+click to make a selection from the path and there you go....

Right again mint! ( selecting with arrow tool then change it )

Thanks again!

Thank you also nevet!

this whole work with vector tools is so much easier in freehand or illustrator....

Nevet - using the PEN tool to draw paths in Photoshop is one of the best ways to create an accurate selection. It allows us to use the accuracy of Vector Fun Technology to mess with those pesky pixels.

http://photoshopcontest.com/tutorials/15/pen-tool-as-mask-selector.html

oh... i know that..... i've actually learned freehand before i learned photoshop... i'm just sayign that if you don't know how to use the pen tool it can be a bit confusing to learn it in photoshop because it's not a vector-based program.....

the first time i found out about pixels and resolution i went like this for 3 days and then like this for the rest of the week.....

so hurray for "Vector Fun Technology"