Clearing and copying a selection
You can replace the pixels in a selection with the current background
color by pressing the Delete key, or by choosing Cut in the Edit
menu. (The Cut command also transfers the selection to the Clip-
board.) Canvas replaces the selected pixels with the color currently
displayed in the background color icon. Keep in mind that deleting
a selection doesnt leave a hole or transparent area in the paint object,
unless the paint object has a visibility mask, as described later in this
chapter.
To place a copy of a selection on the Clipboard without clearing the
area in the original image, choose Edit > Copy. When a selection has
been placed on the Clipboard, you can paste it into another paint
object in edit mode, where it will become a floating selection, or
paste it into the document to create a new paint object.
Feathering the edges of a selection
You can feather (soften) the edges of a selection so that it blends
more naturally into the original image. You can use the Feather com-
mand to soften the hard edge of a selection and spread the selection
over a larger area.
1
With a paint object in edit mode, make a selection and choose
Image > Select > Feather.
2
In the Feather dialog box, enter the number of pixels to feather
the selection in the Radius text box. The larger the Radius value,
the more Canvas softens the selection edge.
3
Click OK to feather the selection.
Pasting into selections
The Paste Into command pastes the Clipboard contents into a selec-
tion in an image. This includes a selection in an image channel or a
channel mask attached to an object.
The Paste Into command pastes anything that you copy to the Clip-
board, including a vector, text, or paint object, an image selection, or
a segment of a vector object.
You can use Paste Into to composite images and create effects that
would otherwise be difficult to produce. For example, to simulate a
picture on a television screen in a photograph, you can select the
Tip
If you want Canvas to recall a
selection, be sure to save it
before leaving edit mode. See
Saving and loading selections
in channels on page 33.667.