Making round corner rectangles in Photoshop

Marvin from Silverston, Florida, using Photoshop 7.01 with XP Home, writes in with:
[Quote:] I would like to be able to round the corners of pictures. All of my pictures are either oval or square. Is there a way to use the Marquee tool and get a rounded corner. Your help would be appreciated.

Round corners are as easy as clicking and dragging...

Marvin, Get ready for rounded corners:

Tap the letter "U"

Observe this selects the "Vector Shape Tool"

Behind the square box, in the pull out, you'll find a round corner rectangle tool.

Depending on what you want to do with it, there it is.

For simply selecting and forming a border for your pictures, observe in the Options bar, and click the second button from the left. Hover the cursor to confirm that it is the "Create Work Path" tool.

Now draw your shape to fit the photo you wish to crop.

The Space Bar while dragging the shape will allow you to reposition the shape. Alt/Click/drag begins the shape from the CENTER of the shape at the location you click. (Mac: Opt)

Once you've drawn the shape, open the Windows > Paths palette and observe you now have a work path for the rectangle.

Double click the path name to save it. (if you want it saved.)

Click the "Make Selection" button (Left of the "New Path" button)

Click in the blank area below the path in the Path Palette (turns off "view" path)

Return to Layers and you should have an active selection where the path was.

Choose menu: Select > Inverse

and delete, fill with a color or what have you. Now it is a selection just like any other.

:-) That's all there is to it.

TIP: In the Options Bar, where the different Vector Shape Tools shapes are displayed as buttons, select the "Round Corner Rectangle" then click the "down arrow" at the end of the row of shapes.

This opens the "Geometry Palette" where you can configure your corner radius, and actual size and shape of the path in case you are working with specific sizes, etc.

Please keep us informed of progress.
Best regards,
THE PHOTOSHOP 911 RAPID RESPONSE TEAM
http://www.photoshop911.com/emergency.html

Comments

[Scott]

I've been all over the net looking for a simple solution for rounding corners to photos in PhotoShop and this was the best that I found.

I'm still trying to get a feel for using PS and it seems that some complicated tasks are easy and some easy tasks are complicated.

Thanks for the easy-to-use, works-like-a-charm instructions.

[George]

I want to know how to cut out a "circle" in the middle of rectangular picture, but then keeping the cut out piece while discarding the rest of it.

Can you help?

[yatendra]

How do I create BW to colour photographs maintining originality.

[yatendra]

I want to have a rosolution of pixalate and getting printout without spots. Why shoul I enlarge jpeg image without any scratch or pixalate