Rectangular Marquee Tool
The Rectangular Marquee tool is the first choice listed in the Marquee pop-up menu in the Tool palette. It can select only rectangular shapes. With it, you create a rectangle by clicking and dragging across your document. The first click creates one corner, and the point at which you release the mouse button denotes the opposite corner (Figure 2.9). To start in the center and drag to an outer edge, instead of going corner to corner, press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows) after you have started to drag (Figure 2.10). If you want to create a square, just hold down the Shift key after you start to drag. You can even combine the Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and Shift keys to create a square selection by dragging from the center to an outer edge.
Figure 2.9. A corner-to-corner selection. (©2005 Stockbyte, www.stockbyte.com)
Figure 2.10. A center-to-edge selection.
 | If you press any combination of the Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and Shift keys before you begin a selection, they might not perform as you expect, because these keys are also used to manipulate existing selections. |
If you hold down the spacebar and drag around your screen while you're making a selection with the Marquee tool (but don't release the mouse button), you'll move the selection instead of changing its shape (Figures 2.11 and 2.12). This can be a real lifesaver. If you botch up the start of a selection, this enables you to reposition it without having to start over. After you have moved the selection into the correct position, just let go of the spacebar to continue editing the selection. After you've finished making the selection, you no longer need to hold the spacebar to move it. To move a selection after it's created, select the Marquee tool and then click and drag from within the selection outline.
Figure 2.11. Original selection is misaligned. (©2005 Stockbyte, www.stockbyte.com)
Figure 2.12. Use the spacebar to reposition a selection while creating it.
