# PhotoshopElements

# Use the Magic Extractor

Use the Magic Extractor to make accurate selections based on the appearance of foreground and background areas that you specify. You can specify these areas by placing colored marks in the areas you want to select. After you mark the areas and close the dialog box, only the foreground area appears in the photo.

The Magic Extractor makes it easy to select people or objects so that you can superimpose them on other backgrounds. For example, you can remove yourself from a photo of you on your bicycle at home, and superimpose it on a photo of cyclists in the Tour de France. You can save the extracted image as a file that you can use again and again.

Using the Magic Extractor

A.
  Area you want to extract marked with red dots

B.
  Background marked with blue dots

C.
  Extracted image

1. Open the photo containing the object you want to extract.
2. To limit what appears in the Magic Extractor dialog box, make a preliminary selection using the Oval or Rectangular selection tool.
3. Choose Image > Magic Extractor.

   The Magic Extractor dialog box opens with the Foreground Brush tool selected by default.

4. Click multiple times or draw lines to mark the area you want to extract.
5. Click the Background Brush tool and click multiple times or draw lines to mark the area that you do not want included in your selection.
   When selecting objects with varied colors and textures, drag across all the colors and textures to ensure a more accurate selection.
6. To help mark your selection, use the Zoom tool or the Hand tool to magnify and navigate around the photo. Press Option as you use the Zoom tool to zoom out.
7. To specify a different brush size or color, do any of the following:

   - Choose a new size from the Brush Size menu.

   - Click the Foreground Color or Background Color swatch, choose a new color in the Color Picker, and then click OK.

8. Click Preview to see the current selection.
9. To specify preview settings, do any of the following:

   - To change what is displayed in the preview area, choose either Selection Area or Original Photo from the Display menu. Or press the X key on your keyboard to switch between the two views.

   - To specify a different background, choose an option from the Background menu.

10. Do any of the following to fine-tune the selection, and then preview the results again:
    - To add to or subtract from the selection, draw more dots or lines using either the Foreground or Brush tool.
      Note: When you change the foreground or background color, the related brush tool becomes active.

    - To erase foreground or background dots, select the Point Eraser tool and click or drag over the marks you want to remove.

    - To add areas to a selection, select the Add To Selection tool , and click or drag over the area you want to add.

    - To remove areas from the selection, select the Remove From Selection tool and drag over the areas you want to remove.

    - To smooth the edges of your foreground selection, select the Smoothing Brush tool and drag over the areas you want to smooth.

    - To soften the edges of your selection, specify a higher value in the Feather box.

    - To fill remaining holes in the main selection, click Fill Holes.

    - To separate and remove an area from the main selection, select the Remove From Selection Tool and drag a line between the main selection and the area you want to remove. Then click Fill Holes.

    - To remove fringe colors left between the foreground and background, click Defringe. To increase or decrease the amount of fringe removed, specify a value from the Defringe Width menu.

11. Click OK to extract the selected areas. If you want to start over, click Reset to remove all marks.

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