alberto.bua@gmail.com

Summary

Introduction _________________________________________________________________ 3

Pre-requisites _______________________________________________________________ 4

Manual installation ___________________________________________________________ 5

Supported documents ________________________________________________________ 7

The interface ________________________________________________________________ 8

Known problems ____________________________________________________________ 12

Performances tips___________________________________________________________ 13

Examples _________________________________________________________________ 14

Page 03

Introduction

Introduction

What is it?

Selector NINJA is an Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 extension.

What does it do?

It allows to generate Selections and Layer Masks (Alpha) using the three base components of

an image: Colors, Saturation and Brightness.

How does it work?

Selections and masks are created by adding nodes and moving them:

1. build a Map;

2. drag and drop existing nodes ore create new ones;

3. a preview of the selection/mask will be shown.

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Pre-requisites

Pre-requisites HSB/HSL plug-in is needed. It is freely distributed by Adobe and can be downloaded here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/optional-file-format-plugins.html (available for both

Macintosh and Windows).

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Manual installation

Manual installation How to install on Windows:

• Navigate to this folder (c: is the standard drive letter, it could be different in your system):

32bit Systems:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\

64bit System and 32bit Adobe Photoshop CC2017:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\

64bit Systems and 64bit Adobe Photoshop CC 2017:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\

• Create a new folder named:

SelectorNINJA

(If it is already present, delete it)

• Unzip the content of SelectorNINJA.zxp inside the folder that you just created.

How to install on Macintosh:

• Navigate to this folder:

/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions/

• Create a new folder named:

SelectorNINJA

(If it is already present, delete it)

• Unzip the content of SelectorNINJA.zxp inside the folder that you just created.

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Manual installation

The extension will now be available in Photoshop under

Window > Estensions > Selector NINJA

You can place it inside (or dock side) of the sidebars:

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Supported documents

Supported documents Selector NINJA supports documents:

• in RGB color mode;

• in 8 or 16 bit;

Page 08

The interface

The interface

Page 09

The interface

Selection node: you can create new nodes by clicking the left/right button of the

mouse on the selection line. Upon releasing the mouse button a preview of the

selection or mask will be displayed.

0) Persistent: if checked the Extension will be persistent, you can open and close without

losing the selection nodes position. When unchecked by closing and reopening the Extension

the whole panel will be reinitialized.

1) Build Map: generates the mapping of Colors, Saturation and Brightness in HSB or HSL

format depending on the option chosen.

2) Map type: it allows the selection of the mapping type to create: HSB or HSL. For more details

visit https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/optional-file-format-plugins.html.

3) Red, Yellow, Green, … : quickly generate and position the nodes needed for the particular

color selected.

4) Snap: if active when you release the mouse button the node is automatically positioned at

the nearest highest/lower vertical position. If off allows you to determine the density of the

selected node by moving it from the top (maximum density of the node = 100%) to bottom

(minimum density of the node = 0%) without automatic coupling to the edges;

5) Reset: a single click reset the nodes of the selected component to the initial state. A double

click reset all the nodes for all the components. This behavior is valid for all three Reset buttons.

6) Low Saturation, High Saturation: quick selection of low and high saturation areas in the

image by automatically creating and placing the necessary nodes.

7) Shadows, Midtones, Highlights: quick selection of Shadows, Midtones and Highlights.

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The interface

Load new selection: load the selection created by the nodes. It does not add any new

layer (N.B.: any selection generated within Photoshop, even when working in 16 bit, is

8bit).

Create a new Curves Adjustment Layer applying the mask generated to the level

itself. The mask is applied using the Apply Image command thus ensuring that the

mask itself is in 16 bit.

Create a new Vibrance Adjustment Layer applying the mask generated to the level

itself. The mask is applied using the Apply Image command thus ensuring that the

mask itself is in 16 bit.

Create a new Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer applying the mask generated to the

level itself. The mask is applied using the Apply Image command thus ensuring that the

mask itself is in 16 bit.

Create a new Levels Adjustment Layer applying the mask generated to the level

itself. The mask is applied using the Apply Image command thus ensuring that the

mask itself is in 16 bit.

Create a new Photo Filter Adjustment Layer applying the mask generated to the

level itself. The mask is applied using the Apply Image command thus ensuring that the

mask itself is in 16 bit.

Apply the layer mask to the current layer, N.B.: if a layer mask is already present it

will be deleted. As before the layer mask is applied through the Apply Image command

thus ensuring that the mask itself is in 16 bit.

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The interface

9) Status bar: warnings and errors are reported here.

Warning shown when an HSB Map is not present (it wasn’t created by using the Build Map

button):

Error shown when the document does not meet the basic requirements:

Page 12

Known problems

Known problems Sometimes the preview display artifacts but these will not be present once the selection is

generated or the mask applied.

Solution: none, it is normal to have artifacts using layers and blending modes; the `problem` can

be mitigated by setting the zoom to 100%. It does not affect the resulting selection or mask (see

examples).

Page 13

Performances tips

Performances tips Close the Histogram Panel while using Selector NINJA for a performance boost. This will

avoid the refresh of the Histogram Panel thus gaining an increase in the speed of the Extension.

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Examples

Examples Generated map, no selection (no changes to the document):

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Examples

Red selection:

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Examples

Cyan selection:

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Examples

High saturation area selection:

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Examples

Midtones selection:

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Examples

Artifacts/aberration in preview example:

Magenta selection in preview mode:

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Examples

Actual layer mask generated: