Using the magic wand tool

The magic wand tool lets you select an area of similar colors (for example, a blue sky) without having to trace its outline. You specify the color range, or tolerance, for the magic wand tool's selection.

To use the magic wand tool:

1. Select the magic wand tool .
2. In the options bar, specify whether to create a new selection , add to an existing selection , subtract from a selection , or select an area intersected by other selections .
3. For Tolerance, enter a value between 0 to 255. Enter a low value to select colors very similar to the pixel you click, or enter a higher value to select a broader range of colors.
4. To define a smooth selection edge, select Anti-aliased. (See Softening the edges of a selection.)
5. To select only adjacent areas using the same colors, select Contiguous. When this option is deselected, pixels using the same colors are selected throughout the entire image.
6. To select colors using data from all the visible layers, select Use All Layers. When this option is deselected, the magic wand tool selects colors from only the active layer.
7. In the image, click the color you want to select. If Contiguous is selected, all adjacent pixels within the tolerance range are selected.

To add to the selected area, you can Shift+click unselected areas, or choose Select > Grow.