Paint objects are rectangular. If a selection is not rectangular, Canvas
places the selection on a clear background. This is why creating a
paint object from a selection is like transferring the selection to a
clear overlay on the original image.
If you select Preserve Visibility in the Channels palette, a visibility
mask preserves the transparency of all pixels in the image. You can
paint or use filters without affecting clear areas.
If Preserve Visibility is not selected, you can erase to a clear back-
ground and affect all pixels by painting and editing.
Converting selections to paths
Canvas can trace a selection in an image to create a path (vector
object) from the selection border. The Selection to Path command
traces the active image selection border using the settings you spec-
ify. This is useful if you want to convert a selection border to a vector
object that can be used as a clipping path, for example.
The accuracy of a path made from a selection depends on the settings
you specify and the complexity of the selection border. A very com-
plex selection border can result in a path with hundreds of anchor
points, which can cause problems in printing and other operations.
Paths created from selections have no fill ink, black pen ink, and the
current stroke setting.
To convert a selection to a path
1
Make a selection in an image.
2
Choose Image > Selection to Path.
3
In the dialog box, choose the settings you want and click OK.
The dialog box options are described below.
4
The selection in the image is deselected and a new vector
object (or group of vector objects) appears in front of the paint
object.
Selection to Path options
A dialog box presents the following options when you use the Selec-
tion to Path command.