Selection Tool - Connecting Points / and Printing DPI

[caliviper]

It's been years since I used Photoshop, but using their lasso tool, there was a way using CTRL or ALT (I cant recall the actual hot key) that allowed you to click on the image at different spots, and as you did this, the lasso tool would connect the last point to the new point. This made it very effective for creating perfectly straight lines to trace around objects.

So for example, I could select the lasso tool, hold down the hot key, click in one spot, then click in the other, and a line would be drawn between the two spots. Clicking a third spot would then connect the last point to the new one, and so on. When you let go of the hot key, the last point would connect to the very first point, creating your enclosed lasso area.

I can't seem to find this same effect in Paint.net. I read the HELP file and it doesn't talk about it.

I tried working around it using the line tool, but that doesn't work. I need a real lasso tool.

Free hand tracing is not accurate enough for detailed jobs, unless you go back and use the add and subtract method which takes forever.

Am I missing something or is this not a feature?

One other question I have on a not so related note... when it comes to printing out an image, is there any difference in the print quality when you change it from 96 DPI to say 300 DPI, but the image dimension in inches (or cm) changes along with it?

For example, on a 4000X3000 image, at 96 DPI, the print dimensions show 41.67 W X 31.25 H. If I change it to 300DPI, the print size automatically changes to 13.33H X 10W. If I print in either of those two modes, would the results be the same?

I've always printed to "FIT TO PAGE" so i was wondering if printing either way comes out with the same result.

Thanks.

[david.atwell]

1. You're asking about a Polygonal Lasso. There's nothing of the sort in Paint.NET (yet). You can, however, add to and subtract from a selection by using the Selection modes drop-down on the toolbar. I've found that helps me be more precise with selections.

2. DPI is sort of a scam, really. :-) Traditional print DPI is 300 or so, while screen DPI is typically considered to be 96 dpi. When Paint.NET goes to print out an image, it multiplies the image size (in pixels) by the DPI, and uses that as the printed size (in inches). A lower DPI number results in a lower-quality, but larger image. A higher DPI results in a higher-quality, but larger image.

[david.atwell]

I've put together a tutorial that may help. viewtopic.php?f=34&t=32569

[Sarkut]

You could try using the Polygon Tool plugin on a separate layer,

then activating the selection with the Magic Wand.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Sarkut

[caliviper]

None of that is as accurate as I need.

I downloaded the newest version of GIMP and their lasso tool's default function does this. I.e., you click and it sets a point, then wherever you move the mouse to, it is drawing a line to it and you set the next point by clicking and so on. I was shocked to see that right out of the box the default lasso tool worked like this without any hot keys. Very nice functionality that hopefully Paint gets in the next version.

So for now, I can use GIMP for what I need when it comes to super detailed work. The one drawback to this is that I already know there will be PAINT plugins I will want to run on my selections, so using GIMP wont work in that situation.

Thanks for the answers. Up unitl a week ago I didn't even know there were plugins for Paint, so I have been having a field day the last few days playing with all the new ones I have installed. Good stuff.

Cheers.

[david.atwell]

Well, there aren't any plugins for Paint. There are some for Paint.NET, though, which is what you're using. :-)