You can also add to a selection using the Add Mode on the Tool options palette. In this mode, there is no need to hold down SHIFT while adding - each selection you make is added to the previous selection.

You can also subtract from a selection using the Subtract Mode on the Tool options palette. In this mode, there is no need to hold down CTRL while subtracting - each selection you make is subtracted from the previous selection.

Note: The selection remains active even when the marquee is hidden.

To show all layers of an image, right-click on any Layer Name button 1n the Layers palette, and choose View...All from the pop-up menu.

To hide a single layer, click on its Visibility Toggle button. To hide all layers, right-click on any Layer Name button and choose View...None from the pop-up menu.

To view only the current layer and hide all the rest of the layers, right-click on the Layer Name button of the layer you wish to view and choose View...Current Only from the pop-up menu. Choosing View...Invert hides the layers that were visible, and makes visible all layers that were hidden.

When you are working with several layers and want to merge only a few of them, it is sometimes easier to hide the layers you want to merge, right-click on one of the remaining layers, and choose View...Invert from the pop-up menu. This leaves the layers you want to merge visible, and hides all the other layers.

To get a "muted" seamless tile, just add a white layer above your seamless tile and lower the opacity until you get the effect you want. Then merge the two layers and save in any format supported by PSP. To make this seamless tile available for all future images, save it in the Patterns folder of My PSP Files - and in whichever format you want, as PSP patterns are now supported in .jpg and .gif formats, as well as .bmp, .psp, and .pspimage formats.

Here are some additional tips:

• Don’t increase an image’s size more than 25 percent. Increasing the size of an image causes a loss of detail and sharpness.
• Only resize an image once. If your first resize is not correct, undo it and try again (unless, of course, you are using stair step interpolation, which involves resizing repeatedly in small increments).
• Correct and retouch images before resizing.

• Choose Selections...Select All (CTRL + A).
• Contract the selection by the same number of pixels as the border you just added by choosing Selections...Modify...Contract.
• Invert the selection by choosing Selections...Invert Selection (CTRL + SHIFT + I).

Here's another way to select an added symmetric border:

• Choose Selections...Select All (CTRL + A).
• Choose Selections...Modify...Set Selection Borders. Enable the Inside option, set Border Width to the size of the borders you added, and UNcheck Anti-alias.

Either way will always select ONLY the symmetric border you added, with no additional pixels or "mousebites".

Note: In PSP XI, the layer types are found in the layer type drop-list at the top left corner of the Layers palette. This drop-list will aways display the last used layer type. This information is retained from image to image, and even from PSP session to PSP session.

• Drag the Layer Name button to the Delete Layer icon at the top of the Layers palette.
• Right-click on the Layer Name button and choose Delete from the pop-up context menu.
• Highlight the layer you wish to delete and click on the Delete Layer icon.

• Right-click on the Layer Name button and choose Duplicate from the pop-up menu - the duplicate layer is positioned directly on top of the original image.
• Activate the layer, choose Edit...Copy to copy the layer, and then choose Edit...Paste...As New Layer - the new image will be centered on the screen.

In PSP 8, the Duplicate Layer button was located at the top of the Layers palette, but is not there in the default PSP 9, X, or XI configuration. However, you can use Customize to place that button on the Layers palette if you wish, which gives you two additional ways to duplicate layers:

• Drag the Layer Name button to the Duplicate Layer button at the top of the Layers palette.
• Activate the layer and then click on the Duplicate Layer button.

• Click on the Preset drop-list .
• Click on the Save Preset button .
• Give the preset a name in the Save Preset dialog box.

In PSP XI, a crop rectangle is automatically displayed at the top of the image when you choose the Crop tool. The size and location of this crop rectangle is saved, and the next time you use the Crop tool, you will get the same size and location for the automatically displayed crop rectangle. Of course, if your image is smaller than the saved crop rectangle, a smaller crop rectangle will be used. Users can turn this automatic crop rectangle off using File...Preferences, clicking Transparency and Shading, and UNchecking the "Automatically display crop rectangle" checkbox.

One of the new facilities in PSP XI is the floating crop toolbar. When you select an area of an image with the Crop tool, a floating toolbar appears below the selected area, allowing you to choose a predefined crop size or to rotate the selected crop area 90 degrees. The floating crop toolbar can be turned off using using File...Preferences, clicking Transparency and Shading, and UNchecking the "Enable floating crop toolbar" checkbox.

Note: If the original crop rectangle will not fit into the image when rotated, it will be resized to fit the image. The aspect ratio should be maintained when the crop rectangle is rotated, but that has not always been my experience. Therefore, watch closely when using this facility.

Another thing to note - crop rectangle rotation is a non-scriptable, non-undoable command. This means that once you've rotate a crop rectangle, you cannot "change your mind" and rotate it back to what/where it was. Because the crop rectangle changes size to fit the image, the original size may be lost on rotation.

Final note - rotation is for the crop rectangle only, not the image, and is in increments of 90 degrees only. If you want the image rotated before it is cropped, use the Pick tool, or the Rotate command (Image...Rotate) before cropping.

• With the current selection tool, place the cursor inside the marquee, hold down the right mouse button, and drag the marquee.
• Choose the Move tool , place the cursor inside the marquee, hold down the right mouse button and drag the marquee.

Note: To use the guides, the rulers must be displayed. Choose View...Rulers or press CTRL + ALT + R to display the rulers.

To display the guides, choose View...Guides.

To create individual guides, click on the rulers and drag onto the image. Click the top ruler and drag to create horizontal guides; click the left ruler and drag to create vertical guides.

To move a guide, click the guide handle on the ruler and drag. In the following image, I've colored the guide handle red so you can see it - in reality, that handle is the same color as the ruler:

Also, note that the position of the guide is reflected on the status bar as it is being dragged (see green arrow above). In the above image, the guide is being dragged from its initial position of (0,20) (red arrow above) to its new position of (0,100) (blue arrow above).

To delete a guide, drag its handle off the image window.

You can change the color or position and delete individual guides using the Guide Properties dialog box. To display this dialog, right-click or double-click the guide handle. Using the Guide Position option, you can place guides precisely where you want them.

You can delete all guides or change the color of them using the Grid, Guide, and Snap Properties dialog. To open this dialog box, double-click the ruler or choose View...Change Grid, Guide, and Snap Properties.