Grouping Selections

[PegoMan]

I do colorizing on many black and white photos, many of which are old family portraits and I need to make many selections in the process.
My question is:
Can selections be organized by groups?
Can individual selections be moved in their order?
Is there a limit on selections?

Any insights will be very appreciated!

John
CC2018
CC2019
Mac desktop High Sierra

 

[Ross]

I'm not sure I'm fully comprehending your question, but for what its worth, you can go to the "Select" Menu and then to "Save Selection" and to my knowledge, you can save as many selections that you want. Then if you open your channels window, all your selections should be saved there and look like layer masks that you can then ctrl/cmd-click to re-activate.

 

[PegoMan]

Thanks Ross for your input. Apparently there is a limit of selections that can be saved. My normal procedure is the use cmd/S and cmd/l for saving and loading selections. I just reached the point that when I want to quick mask a selection that I'm in the process of completing it said: "Could not use quick mask because there are no channels available." So then I try and save it anyway (cmd/S) it then creates a new untitled image and has none of my current selections available to "add to", "subtract from", etc, etc. So it appears there is a limited number of selection channels available per image. Unless there's a way to increase this number I'll just have to resort to doing my project in two steps. I suppose I could delete channels that I could possibly do without. Oh well, that's life! Thanks for helping.
John

 

[IamSam]

I'm not at all sure as to what your asking..................but I save selections as layers and group them with the area or section the selection is related to like arms, eyes, shirt, pants, etc. That way, I have no limitations. I can have 10 thousand selections if I need them.

Again..............since I'm not certain what your asking about, I don't know if that's helpful.

 

[PegoMan]

I apologize for not conveying my question very clearly Sam, but I do not know how to save selections as layers. When I "cmd/S" it only gives me the options to save as a "new" selection or save as an existing selection in which case I can then "Replace, Add To, Subtract From or Intersect With" the selection to be overwritten. In my current project I've reached the point that when I try and save a new selection it creates a new untitled image because there are no channels left for the new selection.
No available selections:

When I save as a new channel:

 

[IamSam]

No channels and no save selection.

Let's say I make the selection of a shirt, on a new layer I fill that selection with a color...........doesn't matter what color since I'm only saving for the selection. I turn that layer off. I can group this "selection template" (if you will) with any and all edits I make to that shirt.

Later if I need that selection, all I do is Cmd/Cntrl + click the "selection template" layers thumbnail and I instantly have the selection. Adds one layer to the group and saves tons of time when I need to edit the shirt later. I always know where it is.

 

[PegoMan]

That sounds great, but when I make a new layer and a new selection and turn layer off, the marching ants stay on screen. I can turn off the ants (Cmd/D), but when I Cmd/click the thumbnail the entire image is selected. I can do a quick mask and the selection is not inverted, but it still selects the image.

 

[IamSam]

That sounds great, but when I make a new layer and a new selection and turn layer off, the marching ants stay on screen. I can turn off the ants (Cmd/D)

Good, that's what your supposed to do. Turn the layer off after you fill in the selection.

but when I Cmd/click the thumbnail the entire image is selected.

(edit: Are you filling in the selection with a color before you deselect (Cmd + D) the selection?)
That means that your initial selection was inverted. You need to learn how to recognize the difference.


This is correct. Note that the marching ants are only around the glove.


When I fill this selection on a new layer, this is what it looks like.
(Note: I have turned the layer off only after I finished!)





This is incorrect (inverted). Note that the marching ants are around the glove and the outer edges of the image.


When I fill this selection on a new layer, this is what it looks like, which is wrong.
(Note: I have turned the layer off only after I finished!)

 

[hawkeye]

Selecting and filling with color is not the most efficient method to colorize. You'd be better off using solid color adjustment layers and using the layer mask to reveal the color (paint with white). This also gives you a way to quickly alter the color if you wish. If you need to make a selection from the mask for use elsewhere, ctrl+click the mask.

 

[PegoMan]

Good, that's what your supposed to do. Turn the layer off after you fill in the selection.


(edit: Are you filling in the selection with a color before you deselect (Cmd + D) the selection?)
That means that your initial selection was inverted. You need to learn how to recognize the difference.


This is correct. Note that the marching ants are only around the glove.
View attachment 96269

When I fill this selection on a new layer, this is what it looks like.
(Note: I have turned the layer off only after I finished!)
View attachment 96270




This is incorrect (inverted). Note that the marching ants are around the glove and the outer edges of the image.
View attachment 96271

When I fill this selection on a new layer, this is what it looks like, which is wrong.
(Note: I have turned the layer off only after I finished!)
View attachment 96272

OK! I got it. I was making the selections correctly, but didn't quite understand the procedure of turning the layer off again to remove the color after
reestablishing the selection (ants). I also see that the layers can be merged to combine selections. Grouping to consolidate the desired selections works very well.

Thanks very much Sam for your patience. It gets tougher when you get old!

 

[PegoMan]

Selecting and filling with color is not the most efficient method to colorize. You'd be better off using solid color adjustment layers and using the layer mask to reveal the color (paint with white). This also gives you a way to quickly alter the color if you wish. If you need to make a selection from the mask for use elsewhere, ctrl+click the mask.

Yes Hawkeye, I do it that way also, but needed a way to avoid being limited on the number of selections I could have saved. I won't be using the fill color for coloring, but just use the selections for a solid color layer and then the additional adjustments as necessary for a finished picture.

Thanks much!
John