Object Selection
The Select tool (V) is your primary way to interact with vector objects on the canvas. Click any object to select it, then move, resize, rotate, or edit its properties in the right sidebar.
| Action | How | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Select single object | Click with the Select tool (V) | Clicking empty canvas deselects all |
| Multi-select | Shift+click additional objects | Toggle individual objects in and out of the selection |
| Select all objects | Ctrl+A | Selects every visible, unlocked object on the active layer |
| Deselect all | Escape | Clears the current object selection |
| Invert object selection | Edit menu > Invert Object Selection | Selects all visible/unlocked objects NOT currently selected; skips hidden and locked layers |
| Select similar objects | Edit menu > Select Similar... | Opens a dialog to match by type, fill, stroke, strokeWidth, blendMode, or opacity with a live match count preview |
| Zoom to object | Double-click an object (in Select tool) | Zooms the viewport to fit the selected object; text objects enter editing mode instead |
| Duplicate and move | Alt+drag a selected object | Creates an in-place duplicate and immediately begins moving the clone |
| Select all objects on layer | Edit menu > Select All on Layer | Selects every visible, unlocked object on the active layer regardless of which layer is active in the panel |
You can also rubber-band select by dragging on empty canvas space. All objects that intersect the rectangle will be selected.
Object Transforms
When one or more objects are selected, interactive handles appear around the selection bounding box. Use these handles to move, resize, and rotate objects directly on the canvas.
Move, Resize & Rotate
| Transform | Interaction | Modifier Keys |
|---|---|---|
| Move | Drag the selection body | Shift constrains to the dominant axis (horizontal or vertical) |
| Resize | Drag any of the 8 handles | Shift = proportional; Alt = scale from center; Shift+Alt = both |
| Rotate | Drag the rotation handle above the selection | Shift snaps to 15-degree increments; live angle is displayed during drag |
| Flip | Image menu > Flip Horizontal / Flip Vertical | Flips the selected objects in place |
| Nudge | Arrow keys (← ↑ ↓ →) | 1px per press; Shift+Arrow = 10px |
Alignment & Distribution
Alignment and distribution controls are available in the Arrange section of the Properties panel, or via the Image menu.
Align to Selection
- Align Left / Center Horizontal / Right
- Align Top / Center Vertical / Bottom
Align to Canvas
Six modes that align one or more selected objects to the document bounds: left, right, center-horizontal, top, bottom, and center-vertical.
Distribute
Distribute horizontally or vertically. When no custom gap is specified, objects are spread with equal spacing within their current span. Provide a pixel gap value to space objects with an exact distance between them.
Key Object
Designate one selected object as the alignment and distribution reference by choosing "Set as Key Object" from the context menu or the Arrange toolbar. The key object is highlighted with a green 2px border. Alignment operations use its bounds as the fixed target, and distribution keeps the key object in place while spacing the others around it. Clear the key object to return to default behavior.
Grouping & Z-Order
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Group | Ctrl+G | Combines selected objects into a group |
| Ungroup | Ctrl+Shift+G | Breaks a group back into individual objects |
| Bring Forward | Ctrl+] | Moves the selection one step up in the stacking order |
| Bring to Front | Ctrl+Shift+] | Moves the selection to the top of the stacking order |
| Send Backward | Ctrl+[ | Moves the selection one step down in the stacking order |
| Send to Back | Ctrl+Shift+[ | Moves the selection to the bottom of the stacking order |
Lock, Copy Style & Swap
| Action | Shortcut / Access | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Lock / Unlock | Properties panel or context menu | Locked objects cannot be moved or edited; the selection border turns red with a padlock icon when all objects are locked, and amber when some are locked |
| Copy Style | Ctrl+Alt+C | Copies the visual style (fill, stroke, opacity, blendMode, effects) of the selected object |
| Paste Style | Ctrl+Alt+V | Applies a previously copied style to the current selection |
| Swap Fill & Stroke | Shift+X | Exchanges the fill and stroke colors of selected objects; sets strokeWidth to 2 if it was 0 |
Pixel Selection Tools
Pixel selection tools create selection masks on the raster layer. Selected pixels can be moved, deleted, copied, or used to constrain painting operations. A marching ants animation outlines the selected region.
| Tool | Shortcut | Usage | Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marquee | M | Drag to define a rectangular or elliptical selection area | Shape variant (rectangle / ellipse), feathering radius |
| Lasso | Toolbar | Freehand drag to draw a selection outline; auto-closes on pointer release | Feathering radius |
| Polygonal Lasso | Toolbar | Click to place vertices defining the selection boundary. Close by clicking near the first vertex, double-clicking, or pressing Enter. Press Backspace to undo the last vertex. | Feathering radius |
| Magic Wand | Toolbar | Click a pixel to select all similar colors within the tolerance range | Tolerance (0-255), contiguous or global mode |
All painting tools (brush, eraser, raster brush, spray paint, calligraphy, blur, sharpen, dodge/burn, smudge, liquify, clone stamp, healing brush, color replace) clip their strokes to the active pixel selection. This lets you paint precisely within a selected region without affecting the rest of the layer.
Selection Modes
Hold modifier keys while using any pixel selection tool to combine selections.
| Mode | Modifier | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| New | None (default) | Replaces the existing pixel selection entirely |
| Add | Hold Shift | Adds the new region to the existing selection |
| Subtract | Hold Alt | Removes the new region from the existing selection |
| Intersect | Hold Shift+Alt | Keeps only the area where the new and existing selections overlap |
These modifier keys work with all four pixel selection tools: Marquee, Lasso, Polygonal Lasso, and Magic Wand.
Selection Operations
These operations modify the current pixel selection. Most are available from the Edit > Selection submenu and the Command Palette (Ctrl+K).
| Operation | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Invert Selection | Ctrl+Shift+I | Swaps selected and unselected pixels across the entire document |
| Select All Pixels | Ctrl+Shift+A | Selects every pixel on the active layer |
| Clear Selection | Ctrl+Shift+D or Escape | Removes the pixel selection entirely |
| Grow Selection | Edit > Selection > Grow... | Expands the selection boundary outward by a specified number of pixels |
| Shrink Selection | Edit > Selection > Shrink... | Contracts the selection boundary inward by a specified number of pixels |
| Border Selection | Edit > Selection > Border... | Creates an N-pixel-wide border strip along the edges of the current selection |
| Feather Selection | Edit > Selection > Feather... | Softens selection edges with a Gaussian blur at a configurable radius, producing gradual transitions |
| Smooth Selection | Edit > Selection > Smooth... | Applies a Gaussian blur then thresholds at 128 to round jagged or uneven selection edges |
| Select by Color Range | Edit > Selection > Color Range... | Opens a dialog to create a selection from all pixels matching a target color within a tolerance across the entire layer |
| Select Layer Pixels | Ctrl+click a layer thumbnail, or Ctrl+Shift+L | Creates a pixel selection from all non-transparent pixels on the clicked layer (composites raster and visible vector objects) |
| Save Selection | Edit > Selection > Save Selection | Exports the current pixel selection mask as a grayscale PNG file (white = selected, black = unselected) |
| Load Selection | Edit > Selection > Load Selection | Imports a grayscale PNG as a selection mask; the image is scaled to fit the document size |
Quick Mask Mode
Quick Mask mode lets you paint a selection using the brush and eraser instead of the dedicated selection tools. This is especially useful for creating complex or organic selection boundaries.
- Press Q to toggle Quick Mask mode on and off.
- A temporary canvas is created. Paint with white to add to the selection, or black to remove from it.
- The masked area is shown as a semi-transparent red overlay on the canvas.
- When you exit Quick Mask mode, the painted canvas is converted back into a pixel selection mask.
- Only painting tools work in Quick Mask mode: brush, eraser, raster brush, and spray paint.
- The Status Bar displays a "Quick Mask" indicator while the mode is active.
- Switching to a non-painting tool automatically exits Quick Mask mode.
If you already have a pixel selection when entering Quick Mask mode, it is rendered as white-on-black onto the temporary canvas so you can refine it with paint strokes.
Advanced Selection Operations
These features convert selections into other data types or combine selection data with layer compositing for powerful workflows.
| Operation | Access | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Selection to Path | Edit > Selection > Selection to Path | Converts the pixel selection boundary into a vector PathObject via marching squares contour tracing and Visvalingam-Whyatt simplification. The resulting path is added to the active layer. |
| Copy Merged Selection | Ctrl+Shift+C | Composites all visible layers, crops to the active selection bounds, applies the selection mask as alpha, and copies the result as a PNG image to the clipboard. Falls back to the full canvas if no selection is active. |
| Guides from Selection | Edit menu > Guides from Selection | Creates six guides positioned at the selection bounding box edges (left, right, top, bottom) and centers (horizontal, vertical). Deduplicates against existing guides within 0.5px. |
Selection to Path is useful for turning a rough pixel selection into a precise vector outline you can further edit with the Edit Path tool.