Photoshop

Move, hide, or invert a selection

You can move a selection border around an image, hide a selection border, and invert a selection so that the previously unselected part of the image is selected.

Note: To move the selection itself, not the selection border, use the Move tool. See Move a selection.

Move a selection border

  1. Using any selection tool, select New Selection  from the options bar, and position the pointer inside the selection border. The pointer changes  to indicate that you can move the selection.
  2. Drag the border to enclose a different area of the image. You can drag a selection border partly beyond the canvas boundaries. When you drag it back, the original border reappears intact. You can also drag the selection border to another image window.
    Original selection border (left), and selection border moved (right)

    You can apply geometric transformations to change the shape of a selection border.

Control the movement of a selection

  • To constrain the direction to multiples of 45°, begin dragging, and then hold down Shift as you continue to drag.
  • To move the selection in 1‑pixel increments, use an arrow key.
  • To move the selection in 10‑pixel increments, hold down Shift, and use an arrow key.

Hide or show selection edges

Do one of the following:

  • Choose View > Extras. This command shows or hides selection edges, grids, guides, target paths, slices, annotations, layer borders, count, and smart guide.
  • Choose View > Show > Selection Edges. This toggles the view of the selection edges and affects the current selection only. The selection edges reappear when you make a different selection.

Select the unselected parts of an image

  Choose Select > Inverse.
You can use this option to select an object placed against a solid-colored background. Select the background using the Magic Wand tool and then inverse the selection.