Lasso Tool - Any way to "Undo" the last click?

ARRGH! -

I am working on a composite that requires a good deal of Lasso Tool selections. Is there any way to undo the last click?

As I am selecting away, the "delete" key will undo clicks (anchor points) as I go - so far, so good. The problem is that sometimes I will be following a curve, and be click, click, clicking as I set down anchor points then all of the sudden, PS thinks I have "double clicked" and it prematurely completes the selection - putting in a straight selection line from there back to the start point. This usually cuts my selection in half or worse, depending on how complex it is.

Anyways, when this happens, the "delete" key no longer works the way it should, by deleting the previous anchor point, no, instead it deletes the whole selection along the wrong lines.

Is there any way to undo that final "completing" click and go back to a "selection in progress"? The history is useless because it does not store individual anchor points.

Alternatively, is there any way to disable the "auto complete" of selections?

CS-3 on Vista 32.

Thanks.

Rad

If you've got a half-completed selection, just hold down Shift to begin adding to it.

Use the pen tool instead of the lasso tool. Once you have the path laid out, right click and make selection. Much more flexible than the polygonal lasso tool.

Dennis is right, in part. The lasso tool should never be used for this kind of work. Use it to make a very rough selection, then turn that selection into a mask, then use your brush to fine-tune the mask.

Of course, there are lots of ways to select something, and it all depends on the image.

Damo77 wrote in post #13046373
If you've got a half-completed selection, just hold down Shift to begin adding to it.

What do you do when it "completes" like this, where the selection now consists of three fingertips of various sizes and two triangles of background?

Any help with this one. (Because this is EXACTLY what prompted me to post.)

Thanks,

Rad

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Damo77 wrote in post #13046408
Dennis is right, in part. The lasso tool should never be used for this kind of work. Use it to make a very rough selection, then turn that selection into a mask, then use your brush to fine-tune the mask.

Of course, there are lots of ways to select something, and it all depends on the image.

Hey, I'll take being part right! Agree, several ways to do selections and probably the only thing the lasso is good for is rough selections.

Radtech1 wrote in post #13046410
Any help with this one. (Because this is EXACTLY what prompted me to post.)

Thanks,

Rad

I hate to say it, but I think you're sol and will probably have to start over.

D Thompson wrote in post #13046397
Use the pen tool instead of the lasso tool. Once you have the path laid out, right click and make selection. Much more flexible than the polygonal lasso tool.

I tried the Pen Tool, and can't make heads or tails of it. Instead of making a line, it creates angles and loops that remind me of a spirograph!

I also tried the Free-Form Pen Tool which does allow me follow a desired shape, but when I complete it, it "rounds it off" unacceptably. And even then, once I do get an area selected, I am unable to delete the selection as with the lasso tool. In this case, the delete key simply removes the selected area?!?

I don't even want to ask "What am I doing wrong with this tool?" because I am sure the answer is everything.

Rad, may I say something without causing offense? I've seen you around here for a long time, and you've always struck me as a very skilled operator. So I'm GOBSMACKED that you're using the lasso tool like this. In Photoshop terms, it's a kindergarten method.

Radtech1 wrote in post #13046369
I am working on a composite that requires a good deal of Lasso Tool selections.

http://damiensymonds.b​logspot.com …vs-copy-then-extract.html

Damo77 wrote in post #13046455
Rad, may I say something without causing offense? I've seen you around here for a long time, and you've always struck me as a very skilled operator. So I'm GOBSMACKED that you're using the lasso tool like this. In Photoshop terms, it's a kindergarten method.

Absolutely no offense taken.

There was an old Star Trek Next Generation where the whole crew disappeared one at a time leaving just Crusher - who was aware of the disappearances, and Picard who was not. At one point, in exasperation, she asks him, "How can the two of us run an entire Starship without a crew?" He simply shrugged and said, "We never needed one before."

And likewise, I never needed any other tool before. Lasso has always served my purposes - albeit, with annoyances, but served them none-the-less.

So I guess, without having to climb a new learning curve in the middle of a project, does anyone know how to turn off the "autocomplete"?

Rad

Radtech1 wrote in post #13046449
I tried the Pen Tool, and can't make heads or tails of it. Instead of making a line, it creates angles and loops that remind me of a spirograph!

I also tried the Free-Form Pen Tool which does allow me follow a desired shape, but when I complete it, it "rounds it off" unacceptably. And even then, once I do get an area selected, I am unable to delete the selection as with the lasso tool. In this case, the delete key simply removes the selected area?!?

I don't even want to ask "What am I doing wrong with this tool?" because I am sure the answer is everything.

The pen tool can be very, very frustrating at first especially, but it is pretty powerful. Just click to lay down an anchor point, when you click and drag is when you get the spirograph. However, the click and drag can make some nice curves. The good thing is you can use shf, alt, & ctl to modify another anchor point. I never use the Free-Form pen tool. Once you have your selection and want to delete it use press and hold {ctrl} and then press d. That will delete the selection only.

Hope this helps a little.

Radtech1 wrote in post #13046487
So I guess, without having to climb a new learning curve in the middle of a project, does anyone know how to turn off the "autocomplete"?

Rad

Not off the top of my head. Only thing I can think of would be maybe change your mouse double click speed setting to see if that helps.

D Thompson wrote in post #13046569
Not off the top of my head. Only thing I can think of would be maybe change your mouse double click speed setting to see if that helps.

Hmmmmm....

Never thought of going outside of PS. I think you just solved the (immediate) problem. Going forward, I will try to take a look at that pen tool.

Thanks

Rad

Y'know how I said Dennis was "part" right?

Well, the part he was wrong about was the pen tool. It's a stupid tool

Stick to masking.

Damo77 wrote in post #13046636
Y'know how I said Dennis was "part" right?

Well, the part he was wrong about was the pen tool. It's a stupid tool

Stick to masking.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand I'll take a look at masking, too.