Photoshop CS5: Specifying Selection Dimensions?

[s992]

I'm running through some design tutorials that are based in Photoshop and one thing that is common among all of them is instructions such as, "Create a rectangular selection 200px by 100px."

I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to specify the dimensions of my selection without setting a guide and then snapping my selection to the guide. Is there an easier way?

[SpiLoT]

While you're on rectangle's layer, go to Edit -> Free Transform, or just right-click on the rectangle and click Free Transform.

Up the bar, you'll find W: [number %] . H: [number %]. Right click on W & H, and select Pixels. You'll have the ability to exactly set up the width and height's area pixels.



Cheers.

[magnew]

New to this forum, but note that there was some minimal recent discussion of the problem that has me currently stymied...I am a 20+ year pshop user, and I can't find the bar referenced in the previous post that allows one to type in specific dimensions. Did the previous questioner figure it out, or does the responder have any suggestions for finding that top bar? Many thanks.

[SabirAhmed]

magnew & jiel97 - which versions of photoshop are u using? Perhaps its an old version?

Basically I have used CS3 and above and they all have this bar. It is part of the Options Bar on my CS3

Window > Options ...

Then when you press Control T to Transform, the X And Y panel should appear as they do in the diagram above

[pickle]

Another option is to have the "Info" palette open & watch the dimensions as you make the selection.