How do I set selection tool presets

[Henry5280]

Greetings all

I'm making headers for pages on a web site, and most of them are the same size vertically. Basically I start with a 600 px X 200 px background tile, and use the custom selection option on the selection tool to select an area from the center vertically.

Or in other words, I start with a 600 x 200 px tile, and use the selection tool's custom selection option to select an area 600 x 100 px in the center of the tile, starting 50 px from the top, and ending 50 px from the bottom. The 600 px width remains the same

I use this size quite often, and it would be helpful to create a preset where I could make this selection with two or three clicks using a preset.

How do I create a selection tool preset?

[JoeB]

While I can make presets for other tools I can't figure out how to it with the rectangle selection tool. To achieve the same thing you want I started with the rectangle selection tool then hit the script recording button. Then I drew a selection rectangle 600px wide and 50px from the top and ending 50px from the bottom. Then I saved the script as Selection_600x100. Now if I create a 600 x 200 image and just run the script it places the selection in the proper place on the image. Until someone comes along with the correct way to make the preset that would work. You could bind the script to an icon and place it on a toolbar.

[trueblue]

I would make a script like Joe suggested. Each time you wish to create that selection, it's with the click of a button.

[Cassel]

Maybe i am missing something, but once you have your selection the way you want, can't you just save it as a preset?
It is available on the left side of the tool bar, where you can pull down with the little arrow, and click the disk icon for "Save preset".

[JoeB]

Maybe i am missing something, but once you have your selection the way you want, can't you just save it as a preset?
It is available on the left side of the tool bar, where you can pull down with the little arrow, and click the disk icon for "Save preset".

I tried that method. But I couldn't figure out how to get the selection back. After saving and naming the preset, created another image and went to Presets and clicked on the saved preset, but no selection appeared on my image. The preset dialogue just closed and the image remained with no selection. So maybe I'm missing something also.

[Cassel]

Is it possible that you had another tool active that didn't let the "marching ants" show up? I notice that if the vector tool is active, the selection seems to be absent, but just activating another tool makes it reappear.

[JoeB]

Is it possible that you had another tool active that didn't let the "marching ants" show up? I notice that if the vector tool is active, the selection seems to be absent, but just activating another tool makes it reappear.

Nope. I create my image. I make the rectangle selection tool active. I click the down arrow on Presets and click on my saved preset. The Presets window closed and my rectangle selection tool is still active and there is no selection on my image. Does doing this method give you a selection from the Preset?

EDIT: Also, I know there is no selection on the image and it's not just a matter of not seeing the marching ants because if I do Copy then Paste As New Image I get a duplicate of the original image, not a new image that is the size of what should have been the selected part of the image.

[hartpaul]

Cassel Maybe i am missing something, but once you have your selection the way you want, can't you just save it as a preset?

I thought that as well Cassel, but for some reason Selections cannot be saved as presets. I checked as far back as PSP 8 and also PSP X7 (did not take the time to check the others). Using the method mentioned by Joe you can save the preset but it is unusable - (What is this about Corel??? Why have the preset there?)

However as well as doing a script there are other ways.
1. Custom Selection - once you have set the custom selection values, the Custom Selection dialog box retains those values until changed.
So it is then a matter of hit the custom selection button and then the Enter key to accept.

2. Save Selection to Alpha Channels and Save selection to disk will also save a selection and then it operates like a preset, except that if you are going to use an Alpha channel you must keep the first image containing the saved selection perhaps minimised to retain that choice to use on other images. Saving to disk you can clear all images and that saved selection will be available for the next session / next image.

[Cassel]

I thought that as well Cassel, but for some reason Selections cannot be saved as presets.

Oh, you are right, it does save the SETTINGS for the tool and not the area selected. Sorry. I had not tried it, but surely would have thought it was saving the settings AND the selection. I learned something (not something fun though).

[JoeB]

Cassel Maybe i am missing something, but once you have your selection the way you want, can't you just save it as a preset?

However as well as doing a script there are other ways.

Yes, the other methods also work. The OP, however, said he/she uses the exact dimensions quite often, and the problem with the Custom Selection method is that if, in the interim, a different custom selection is made then the original dimensions used quite often are lost. And the Save to Disc has the disadvantage of more than one click to regain the selection, whereas a bound script is one-step and might be the most convenient solution if one is using the same dimensions a lot. Just a thought.