I am trying Paintshop pro X and CS2 right now, and I can't find the kind of selection brush that Photoshop Elements has. All I see is the lasso tool and the magic wand. Am I missing something? (I know that there is also that magic selection thing, but that's not the straightforward selection brush I am looking for.)

I remember this when I switched from elements to CS2. The only thing that is similar is switching to Quick Mask Mode in CS2 (by pressing "Q") and then using the brush tool and default colours (b&w, press "D") and painting your selection that way. Remembering that white reveals and black conceals you should be able to make a pretty easy selection. Don't get freaked by the fact that even though you are painting in black or white the mask is in red. When you are done making your selection in quick mask mode just press "Q" to get out of it and the marching ants will show where your selection is. Continue from there doing what you were planning on doing with that selection.

CS2 will do just about anything you want and there are about a million ways to get from point A to point B. There is no right or wrong--only results. The one thing that always gets me in quick mask mode is the level of opacity of the brush that I am using. It may look like you're making a solid selection but if your brush is set to anything less than 100%, it's not solid. Just my words of advice based on many, many errors! Take it with a grain of salt.

Let us know how it works.

You won't find the same selection tools in Paint Shop Pro X and Adobe they're proprietary.

You should have 3 selection tools in PSPX they are;

Selection - provides custom selections like ovals, squares, stars and the like.

Freehand - provides point to point, edge seeker, smart edge, and free hand.

Magic Wand - Provides options to select by various methods like RGB, opacitiy, hue, saturation, and the like.

When you select any of the three options a Tools Option Bar opens above the picture (its default is the last tool bar). If you select Free Hand you'll find several options under the "Options Pull down Menu" same for the rest.

If you don't see the tool options bar after selecting your "Selection Type" you can hit the F4 key to get the "Tool Option Bar".

You can also locate the "Palettes Pull Down Menu" open it and select "Tool Options" this allows the "Tool Options Bar" to open when you select any tool including brushes. When a tool isn't selected you won't see the "Tool Options Bar".

If you're looking for the equivalent to Adobe's "Quick Mask" in Paint Shop Pro X do the following;

Open an image in PSPX
Duplicate the Image - (always work on a duplicate it saves your opriginal image) R/click the image in the layers palatte and select duplicate or go to LAYERS and select Duplicate.

In the Layers Palatte run your pointer over the symbols above the picture (layers) L/click Edit Selection.

Select the Brush Tool and set the tool options such as size opacity and brush style and begin painting. You should begin to see a Red Color that is the selection if you don't see it make sure that WHITE is the FOREGROUND Color. After you're done painting in the selection unselect the EDIT Button and you shoud see the marching ants. To remove from the selection hit the Edit Button again and make Black the foreground color to remove parts of the selection or white to add.

Hope this helps.

smily guy and geru --

Thanks for your replies, which confirm what I feared: Elements' selection brush doesn't exist in Paintshop or CS. That's really too bad, because it's the easiest and most precise way to select, as far as I am concerned. Thanks for your help.

Don't discount quick mask just yet. It is a very powerful way of making a selection. Press "q", brush away, gradient away, fill... anything, and then press "q" again and voila! Selection made. Very variable what with opacity and everything.

Try it a bit and let us know.