Use a selection tool to make a selection.
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Expand or contract a selection
Last updated on
Oct 27, 2025
Expand or contract selections by pixel values or include areas with similar colors in Adobe Photoshop.
Expand or contract a selection by a specific number of pixels
Choose Select > Modify > Expand or Contract.
For Expand By or Contract By, enter a pixel value between 1 and 100.
Select OK.
The border is increased or decreased by the specified number of pixels. Any portion of the selection border running along the canvas edge is unaffected by the Expand.
Expand a selection to include areas with a similar color
Choose Select > Grow to include all adjacent pixels within the tolerance range set in the Magic Wand options.
Choose Select > Similar to include pixels throughout the image, not just adjacent ones, that fall within the tolerance range.
Note
You cannot use the Grow and Similar on Bitmap mode images or 32-bits-per-channel images.
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