Photostar help
Tool manual: how to use every tool
One short page for each tool in the editor's toolbar: what it does, where it is, its shortcut key, the steps for the usual job, what its settings mean and the mistakes to avoid.
Photostar is a free online Photoshop alternative that runs in your browser. Many tools work the way people who know other editors expect, and each page says exactly what this editor does.
Select and move
- How to use the Move toolThe Move tool drags a layer, or the pixels inside a selection, to a new place.
- How to use the Rectangular Marquee toolThe Rectangular Marquee tool selects a rectangle or a square.
- How to use the Elliptical Marquee toolThe Elliptical Marquee tool selects an oval or a circle, for a round crop, a vignette or a round frame around something.
- How to use the Lasso toolThe Lasso tool makes a freehand selection: you draw around something with the mouse, pen or finger, and the outline closes when you let go.
- How to use the Polygonal Lasso toolThe Polygonal Lasso tool selects shapes with straight sides.
- How to use the Magnetic Lasso toolThe Magnetic Lasso tool snaps its line to the nearest strong edge as you move along it, so you can select an object with a clear outline without tracing it exactly.
- How to use the Object Selection toolThe Object Selection tool selects the object inside a box you drag.
- How to use Magic Cut to select an objectMagic Cut selects an object from a click.
- How to use the Quick Selection toolThe Quick Selection tool selects by painting: brush over an area and the selection spreads out to the nearest edges.
- How to use the Magic Wand toolThe Magic Wand tool selects pixels of a similar colour with one click.
Crop, slice and measure
- How to use the Crop toolThe Crop tool trims the picture to a box you choose.
- How to use the Slice toolThe Slice tool cuts a picture into rectangles that export as separate images, for web graphics, banners or a grid of tiles.
- How to use the Slice Select toolThe Slice Select tool picks a slice you have already drawn so you can move it, resize it, rename it or delete it.
- How to use the Eyedropper toolThe Eyedropper tool picks a colour from the picture and makes it your foreground colour, ready for the Brush, the Paint Bucket or text.
- How to use the Color Sampler toolThe Color Sampler tool pins points on the picture and shows their colour values in the Info panel, so you can watch them change while you adjust colour.
- How to use the Ruler toolThe Ruler tool measures the distance and angle between two points.
Retouch and repair
- How to use the Spot Healing Brush toolThe Spot Healing Brush removes small spots, dust and blemishes.
- How to use the Remove toolThe Remove tool takes things out of a photo.
- How to use the Healing Brush toolThe Healing Brush copies texture from a place you choose and blends its colour and brightness into the spot you paint, so the repair does not show.
- How to use the Patch toolThe Patch tool repairs an area you draw round by filling it with texture from another part of the picture, blending the colour at the edges.
- How to use the Content-Aware Move toolThe Content-Aware Move tool moves something to a new spot in the photo and fills the place it left from the surroundings.
- How to use the Red Eye toolThe Red Eye tool turns red pupils from a camera flash back to dark with a click.
- How to use the Clone Stamp toolThe Clone Stamp tool paints an exact copy of one part of the picture onto another.
Paint, erase and fill
- How to use the Brush toolThe Brush tool paints with the foreground colour.
- How to use the Pencil toolThe Pencil tool draws with a hard edge and no soft fade.
- How to use the Mixer Brush toolThe Mixer Brush paints like real wet paint: the colour on the brush mixes with the colours already on the canvas as you drag.
- How to use the History Brush toolThe History Brush paints part of the picture back to how it looked earlier, for example before a filter or colour change, while the rest keeps the edit.
- How to use the Art History Brush toolThe Art History Brush repaints the picture with stylised strokes taken from an earlier state, for a hand-painted look.
- How to use the Eraser toolThe Eraser tool removes pixels from the current layer, leaving it transparent so whatever is below shows through.
- How to use the Magic Eraser toolThe Magic Eraser erases a whole area of similar colour with one click, such as a plain white background behind a product.
- How to use the Gradient toolThe Gradient tool fills a layer or selection with a smooth blend between colours.
- How to use the Paint Bucket toolThe Paint Bucket fills an area of similar colour with the foreground colour or a pattern, in one click.
Blur, sharpen and tone
- How to use the Blur toolThe Blur tool softens the picture only where you paint, for a busy background, a harsh edge or skin texture.
- How to use the Sharpen toolThe Sharpen tool adds crispness only where you paint, such as eyes, lettering or the edges of a product.
- How to use the Smudge toolThe Smudge tool drags colour along with the stroke, like a finger pulled through wet paint.
- How to use the Dodge toolThe Dodge tool lightens the areas you paint over, like the darkroom trick of holding back light from part of a print.
- How to use the Burn toolThe Burn tool darkens the areas you paint over.
- How to use the Sponge toolThe Sponge tool changes colour strength where you paint: it can make colours richer or wash them out towards grey.
Paths, type and shapes
- How to use the Pen toolThe Pen tool draws paths made of points and smooth curves.
- How to use the Direct Selection toolThe Direct Selection tool edits a path or shape after you draw it: move single points, bend curves with their handles, or remove points.
- How to use the Type tool to add textThe Type tool adds text to a picture as its own layer, so you can change the words, font and colour at any time.
- How to use the Shape toolThe Shape tool draws vector shapes that stay sharp at any size: rectangles, ellipses, polygons, lines and custom shapes such as arrows and hearts.
- How to use the Parametric Shape toolThe Parametric Shape tool draws shapes defined by numbers: rectangles with a different radius on each corner, rounded polygons and stars.
Move around the picture
- How to use the Hand toolThe Hand tool moves your view of the picture around when you are zoomed in.
- How to use the Rotate View toolThe Rotate View tool turns the canvas on your screen, the way you would turn a sheet of paper to draw.
- How to use the Zoom toolThe Zoom tool magnifies the part of the picture you click on, so you can check and work on fine detail.
For whole jobs from start to finish, see the free file tools, such as cropping an image or putting a photo on a white background.
Checked .