my patch http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=304814
| off, click the Toggle Guides radio button in the right-click | View menu. |
With a selection tool, drag the guide down from the top ruler or across from the left ruler. Use the Move tool to change the position of the guides (notice how the move symbol changes into a pointing hand when it touches a guide). Snap to guides is set by default in the View menu. If this option is checked, moving any kind of selection close to the guides causes it to "stick" or snap to it. You can also use the guides to specify exactly where you want your square or ellipse selection to start. If you use the Ctrl key and start dragging close enough to the point where the guides cross, that will be the center of the new selection. With- out Ctrl, the selection will start from the cross and continue in the direction you drag.
button. If you want to create circles or squares or make your selection spread from the center, you must use the Ctrl and Shift keys:
· The Shift key constricts the selections to perfect squares and circles. The selection starts from the corner and continues in the drag direction. · The Ctrl key draws normal rectangle and ellipse selections, but with this key, selections will emanate radially from the point where you start dragging. This point is now the center of your selection. · Using both Shift and Ctrl results in circles or squares (as with Shift), but they grow from the center and out (as with Ctrl).
If you want to make many selections, or add to an existing selection, use Shift. If you want to subtract a selection from another selection, use Ctrl. If you want to make an intersection of two selections use Shift and Ctrl.
When you have decided, hold that key and then press the mouse button. Then, release the key but not the mouse button. Then, press Shift, Ctrl or Shift+Ctrl and drag. This time the key determines what shape or starting point you want for your selection (as delineated above). Table 7.1 on page 116 charts the different key stroke options.
This procedure makes it easy to add a rectangle to a selection, or make subtrac- tions with squares or circles. It is, however, rather tricky and if you want to do seri- ous work using these commands, you need to plan ahead, and always use the guides and rulers to place new selections correctly. You can, of course, always use Channels to perform such operations. By making white circles in a channel and putting black ones on top of them, you'll subtract a circle without having to remember what key to use, except Shift for circle. Read more about making selections in "Channels And Duotones" starting on page 351.