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Create a temporary quick mask

  1. Photoshop User Guide
  2. Introduction to Photoshop
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    2. What's new in Photoshop
    3. Edit your first photo
    4. Create documents
    5. Photoshop | Common Questions
    6. Photoshop system requirements
    7. Get to know Photoshop
    8. Keep Photoshop up to date
  3. Photoshop and other Adobe products and services
    1. Work with Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
    2. Work with Photoshop files in InDesign
    3. Substance 3D Materials for Photoshop
    4. Use the Capture in-app extension in Photoshop
  4. Photoshop on the iPad (not available in mainland China)
    1. Photoshop on the iPad | Common questions
    2. Get to know the workspace
    3. System requirements | Photoshop on the iPad
    4. Create, open, and export documents
    5. Add photos
    6. Work with layers
    7. Draw and paint with brushes
    8. Make selections and add masks
    9. Retouch your composites
    10. Work with adjustment layers
    11. Adjust the tonality of your composite with Curves
    12. Apply transform operations
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    15. Work with Type layers
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    18. Japanese Text in Photoshop on the iPad
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    22. Edit your image size
    23. Livestream as you create in Photoshop on the iPad
    24. Correct imperfections with the Healing Brush
    25. Create brushes in Capture and use them in Photoshop on the iPad
    26. Work with Camera Raw files
    27. Create and work with Smart Objects
    28. Adjust exposure in your images with Dodge and Burn
    29. Auto adjustment commands in Photoshop on the iPad
    30. Smudge areas in your images with Photoshop on the iPad
    31. Saturate or desaturate your images using Sponge tool
    32. Content aware fill for iPad
  5. Photoshop on the web (not available in mainland China)
    1. Common questions
    2. System requirements
    3. Keyboard shortcuts
    4. Supported file types
    5. Introduction to the workspace
    6. Open and work with cloud documents
    7. Generative AI features
    8. Basic concepts of editing
    9. Quick Actions
    10. Work with layers
    11. Retouch images and remove imperfections
    12. Make quick selections
    13. Image improvements with Adjustment Layers
    14. Add a fill layer
    15. Move, transform, and crop images
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    1. Common questions on generative AI in Photoshop
    2. Generative Fill in Photoshop on the desktop
    3. Generate Image with descriptive text prompts
    4. Generative Expand in Photoshop on the desktop
    5. Replace background with Generate background
    6. Get new variations with Generate Similar
    7. Generative Fill in Photoshop on the iPad
    8. Generative Expand in Photoshop on the iPad
    9. Generative AI features in Photoshop on the web
  8. Content authenticity (not available in mainland China)
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  9. Cloud documents (not available in mainland China)
    1. Photoshop cloud documents | Common questions
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  14. Selections
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    2. Make selections in your composite
    3. Select and Mask workspace
    4. Select with the marquee tools
    5. Select with the lasso tools
    6. Adjust pixel selections
    7. Move, copy, and delete selected pixels
    8. Create a temporary quick mask
    9. Select a color range in an image
    10. Convert between paths and selection borders
    11. Channel basics
    12. Save selections and alpha channel masks
    13. Select the image areas in focus
    14. Duplicate, split, and merge channels
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    4. Healing brush examples
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    14. Make quick tonal adjustments
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    26. Adjust color and tone with Levels and Curves eyedroppers
    27. Adjust HDR exposure and toning
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    29. Make selective color adjustments
  16. Adobe Camera Raw
    1. Camera Raw system requirements
    2. What's new in Camera Raw
    3. Introduction to Camera Raw
    4. Create panoramas
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    9. Radial Filter in Camera Raw
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    11. Open, process, and save images in Camera Raw
    12. Repair images with the Enhanced Spot Removal tool in Camera Raw
    13. Rotate, crop, and adjust images
    14. Adjust color rendering in Camera Raw
    15. Process versions in Camera Raw
    16. Make local adjustments in Camera Raw
  17. Image repair and restoration
    1. Remove Tool
    2. Remove objects from your photos with Content-Aware Fill
    3. Content-Aware Patch and Move
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    5. Correct image distortion and noise
    6. Basic troubleshooting steps to fix most issues
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    7. Vanishing Point
    8. Content-aware scaling
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  22. Saving and exporting
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  23. Color Management
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    4. Duotones
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    8. Color-managing imported images
    9. Proofing colors
  24. Web, screen, and app design
    1. Photoshop for design
    2. Artboards
    3. Device Preview
    4. Copy CSS from layers
    5. Slice web pages
    6. HTML options for slices
    7. Modify slice layout
    8. Work with web graphics
    9. Create web photo galleries
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    9. Troubleshoot printing problems | Photoshop
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  28. Troubleshooting
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    10. Photoshop 3D | Common questions around discontinued features

Creating and editing a quick mask

To use Quick Mask mode to create and edit selections quickly, start with a selection and then add to or subtract from it to make the mask. You can also create the mask entirely in Quick Mask mode. Color differentiates the protected and unprotected areas. When you leave Quick Mask mode, the unprotected areas become a selection.

Note:

A temporary Quick Mask channel appears in the Channels panel while you work in Quick Mask mode. However, you do all mask editing in the image window.

  1. Using any selection tool, select the part of the image you want to change.
  2. Click the Quick Mask mode button  in the toolbox.

    A color overlay (similar to a rubylith) covers and protects the area outside the selection. Selected areas are left unprotected by this mask. By default, Quick Mask mode colors the protected area using a red, 50% opaque overlay.

    Photoshop Standard mode and Quick Mask mode
    Selecting in Standard mode and Quick Mask mode

    A. Standard mode B. Quick Mask mode C. Selected pixels appear as white in channel thumbnail D. Rubylith overlay protects area outside selection, and unselected pixels appear as black in channel thumbnail 

  3. To edit the mask, select a painting tool from the toolbox. The swatches in the toolbox automatically become black and white.
  4. Paint with white to select more of an image (the color overlay is removed from areas painted with white). To deselect areas, paint over them with black (the color overlay covers areas painted with black). Painting with gray or another color creates a semitransparent area, useful for feathering or anti-aliased effects. (Semitransparent areas may not appear to be selected when you exit Quick Mask mode, but they are.)

    Photoshop Painting in Quick Mask mode
    Painting in Quick Mask mode

    A. Original selection and Quick Mask mode with green chosen as mask color B. Painting with white in Quick Mask mode adds to the selection C. Painting with black in Quick Mask mode subtracts from the selection 

  5. Click the Standard Mode button  in the toolbox to turn off the quick mask and return to your original image. A selection border now surrounds the unprotected area of the quick mask.

    If a feathered mask is converted to a selection, the boundary line runs halfway between the black pixels and the white pixels of the mask gradient. The selection boundary indicates the transition between pixels that are less than 50% selected and those that are more than 50% selected.

  6. Apply the desired changes to the image. Changes affect only the selected area.
  7. Choose Select > Deselect to deselect the selection.

    Note:

    You can convert this temporary mask to a permanent alpha channel by switching to standard mode and choosing Select > Save Selection.

Change Quick Mask options

  1. Double-click the Quick Mask Mode button  in the toolbox.
  2. Choose from the following display options:

    Masked Areas

    Sets masked areas to black (opaque) and selected areas to white (transparent). Painting with black increases the masked area; painting with white increases the selected area. When this option is selected, the Quick Mask button in the toolbox becomes a white circle on a gray background .

    Selected Areas

    Sets masked areas to white (transparent) and selected areas to black (opaque). Painting with white increases the masked area; painting with black increases the selected area. When this option is selected, the Quick Mask button in the toolbox becomes a gray circle on a white background .

    Note:

    To toggle between the Masked Areas and Selected Areas options for quick masks, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Quick Mask Mode button.

  3. To choose a new mask color, click the color box, and choose a new color.
  4. To change the opacity, enter a value between 0% and 100%.

    Both the color and opacity settings affect only the appearance of the mask and have no effect on how underlying areas are protected. Changing these settings may make the mask more easily visible against the colors in the image.

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