Filling paths with color
The Fill Path command lets you fill a path with pixels using a specified color, a state of the image, a pattern, or a fill layer.
Path selected (left), and filled (right)
Important: When you fill a path, the color values appear on the active layer. Make sure the layer you want is active before beginning. You cannot fill a path when a layer mask or text layer is active.
To fill a path using the current Fill Path settings:
- Select the path in the Paths palette.
- Click the Fill Path button
at the bottom of the Paths palette.
To fill a path and specify options:
- Select the path in the Paths palette.
- Fill the path:
- Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Fill Path button at the bottom of the Paths palette.
- Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the path to the Fill Path button.
- Choose Fill Path from the Paths palette menu. If the selected path is a path component, this command changes to Fill Subpath.
- For Use, choose the contents for the fill. (See Filling and stroking selections and layers.)
- Specify an opacity for the fill. To make the fill more transparent, use a low percentage. A setting of 100% makes the fill opaque.
- Choose a blending mode for the fill. (See Selecting a blending mode.)
- Choose Preserve Transparency to limit the fill to layer areas that contain pixels. (See Locking layers.)
- Select a Rendering option:
- Feather Radius to define how far inside and outside the selection border the feather edge extends. Enter a value in pixels.
- Anti-aliased to create a finer transition between the pixels in the selection and the surrounding pixels by partially filling the edge pixels of the selection.
- Click OK.
The Mode list includes a Clear mode that lets you erase to transparency. You must be working in a layer other than the background to use this option.
For more information on these options, see Softening the edges of a selection.