In Photoshop CS, you can cut, copy, and paste selections in a way that is very similar to cutting, copying and pasting in any other application. This technique allows you to combine image elements by copying parts of one image, and adding them to another, different image.

 

To cut a selection from an image, use one of the selection tools to make a selection, and then choose Edit ->Cut from the menu bar. You will see the selected part of the image disappear from your image canvas. You can now paste the image region that you cut by drawing a selection (with the rectangular marquee for example) on the area that you want to paste to. This area can be on the same image that you cut from, or on a different image that is opened at the same time. Now simply choose Edit->Paste from the menu bar and the image region that was cut will be centred and pasted over the area you selected and pasted.

 

To copy a part of an image, select the region you want to copy, and choose Edit ->Copy from the menu bar. This time, the selected region will not disappear from the image canvas. You can now paste the copied part of the image by making a selection and choosing Edit -> Paste as before.

 

If you want to paste the copied part of an image into a specific area, create a selection as the target area for the copied region, and choose Edit ->Paste Into from the menu bar. When it is pasted, the copied part will be clipped so that it fits neatly into the target selection.

 

 

In the image above, you can see the selection that was copied; and in the image on the right, you can see the result of the Edit->Paste Into feature. Notice that the copied selection has assumed the greyscale colour mode of the image on the right.

 

If you prefer, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts to cut, copy, and paste selections.