Adding, Subtracting, and Intersecting Selections

Once you create a selection using any of the selection tools, you can add to, subtract from, or obtain the intersection of any new selection you draw over the previous one.

To add to an existing selection:

Press Shift while drawing with any of the selection tools.

The new area is added to the previous selection.

To subtract from an existing selection:

Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) while drawing with any of the selection tools.

Any part of the new selection that overlaps the previous selection is removed from the selection.

To intersect two selections:

Press Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Command+Shift (Macintosh) while drawing a selection that overlaps the previous selection.

When the drawing is completed, the resulting selection is the overlapping area of the two original selections.

Note: In the Timeline and Workspace panel, added, subtracted, or intersected selections are differentiated from regular selections by a symbol after the name of the selection object. A (+) indicates an added selection, a (-) indicates a subtracted selection, and an (x) indicates an intersected selection.