Tool manual

How to use the Magic Eraser tool

The Magic Eraser erases a whole area of similar colour with one click, such as a plain white background behind a product.

Where to find it

It is in the toolbar, in one slot with Eraser. Right-click the slot, or press and hold it, to choose between them. Press Shift+E until it is selected (E on its own picks Eraser).

How to use it

1. Choose the tool. Press Shift+E until it is selected, or right-click the eraser slot and pick Magic Eraser.
2. Set Tolerance. Start around 32 for a plain background.
3. Click the colour to remove. Click on the background. Matching pixels become transparent.
4. Click again for leftovers. Click any patches it missed, or undo and raise Tolerance.

Options bar settings

• Tolerance: How different a colour may be and still be erased, from 0 to 255.
• Opacity: Below 100%, matching pixels are only partly erased.
• Contiguous: On: only the area joined to your click. Off: the colour everywhere in the layer.
• Sample all layers: Decide what matches by looking at the whole picture, while still erasing only the current layer.

Tips and common mistakes

• For a background that is not one flat colour, Layer → Remove Background or Magic Cut does a cleaner job.
• Export as PNG to keep the transparent areas.

Related

• How to use the Eraser tool
• How to use the Magic Wand tool
• How to use Magic Cut to select an object
• Add a white background to a photo
• Make a transparent PNG

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Checked 13 November 2026 in the current editor.

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