The Object Remover Tool can be found in PSP X and XI.
The general idea, and some
Removing objects really means replacing them. As with the Clone Tool, there is an area to be replaced and an area to be sampled for the replacement. Both tools can sample using all layers, have adjustable opacity, and allow soft edges (hardness in the Clone Tool, feather in the Object Remover Tool). But from there, their ways part. The Object Remover Tool:
-will sample just once from a source area in the shape of an adjustable rectangle
-cannot replace areas in one layer with areas in another like the Clone Tool can
-lets you select one or more areas to replace with its own lasso or any selection shape in the Selection Tool
-from the source rectangle, creates a random pattern in the selected area(s)
That latter property is an important key to the Object Remover Tool: it acts rather like a pattern or texture fill, and thus lends itself best for asymmectric areas.
The image underneath is another example showing that the Object Remover Tool acts very different from the Clone Tool. The lion ornament and part of the wall which act as the source (sample) area are hardly recognizable in the destination selection on the roof.
Furthermore, this image shows two other things:
You don't have to use the freehand selection that comes with Object Remover Tool. Before you even activate the tool, you can make any (multiple) selection(s) you need - in this case, a single point to point selection.
The source rectangle can be rotated.
It may take using the Object Selection Tool several times, with different selections and maybe source areas, to get a convincing result. I have used a very simple photo cut to roughly show this: the bit of filled-in path may look too much like an elevated plaque, so I used the Object Selector Tool again on part of it.
What, in all, would be the Object Remover Tool's advantage over the Clone Tool? When would you pick this tool over the other? To be honest, I cannot answer those questions. I think the Object Remover Tool can be used with areas that have a lot of small asymmetric detail, like leaves, grass, or water. But the Clone Tool does this as well, and with little trial and error.
Well, I don't mind if the use(fulness) of a tool is not apparent to me or my particular use of PSP. In my view, there is always something to it. So, on the next pages I will do what I always do with (new) tools: try and use them in ways they were not intended for.
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