Glossary
Arrange tool A tool that selects, moves, aligns, and distributes layers on the canvas. See also layer, Transform tool.
background removal The Remove Background feature detects and removes the background from an image, isolating the main subject.
bitmap mask A grayscale pixel mask that controls the visibility of a layer (white areas reveal the layer, and black areas hide it). See also mask, vector mask.
blend mode A setting that controls how the pixels of one layer interact with the layers beneath it.
blur A type of effect that softens details in an image or layer. See also Bokeh blur, Box blur, Focus blur, Gaussian blur, Motion blur, Spin blur, Tilt-Shift blur, Zoom blur.
Bokeh blur A blur effect that simulates the out-of-focus areas produced by a camera lens. See also blur, effect ropes.
boolean operations Operations that combine shapes by uniting, subtracting, intersecting, or excluding them. See also Shape tool, vector layer.
Box blur A blur effect that produces a harder blur and preserves square corners. See also blur.
brightness An adjustment control that makes an image lighter or darker. See also color adjustment, exposure.
brush A tool for painting strokes onto a layer. See also Eraser tool, Pixel Paint tool.
canvas The workspace area that defines the boundaries of your document.
clipping mask A mask that reshapes the content of one layer to the shape of the layer below it. See also mask.
Clone tool A retouching tool that copies pixels from one area of an image and paints them onto another area. See also Repair tool.
color adjustment A change to the colors or tones of an image. Common color adjustments include Brightness, Contrast, Curves, White Balance, and many others.
color adjustments layer A nondestructive layer that applies color corrections to all the layers below it. A color adjustments layer lets you modify the appearance of an image without permanently changing the original pixels. See also layer, nondestructive editing.
color depth The number of bits used to represent each color channel in an image. Higher color depths can express more tonal detail.
color grading An adjustment that applies stylistic color shifts to the shadows, midtones, and highlights of an image independently. See also LUT.
color matching A feature that transfers the color look from one image onto another.
color profile A file you assign in the Color Profile dialog to change the color space of an image, such as sRGB or Display P3.
contrast The difference between the lightest and darkest areas of an image. See also Selective Clarity, color adjustment.
Crop tool A tool that trims the canvas to remove unwanted edges. See also resize, straighten.
Curves A color adjustment control that maps input tones to output tones using a graph with control points. See also color adjustment, Levels.
Denoise A feature that reduces random pixel-level grain while preserving edges.
drop shadow An adjustment control that places a shadow behind a layer, making it appear to float above the layers below. See also Inner Shadow, Style tool.
effect ropes Onscreen handles that let you reposition the focal points of effects like Bokeh blur and Tilt-Shift blur directly on the canvas.
Eraser tool A tool that removes parts of a layer. See also brush.
exposure An adjustment control that brightens or darkens the entire tonal range of an image. See also brightness, color adjustment.
Focus blur A blur effect that keeps a circular area of an image in focus and blurs the surrounding area. See also blur, Tilt-Shift blur.
Freeform Pen tool A tool that draws freehand vector paths with automatic curve fitting. See also Pen tool, Shape tool.
Gaussian blur A smooth, even blur effect that uses a bell-curve distribution. See also blur.
gradient A smooth transition between two or more colors.
Grain An effect that adds an analog film-grain texture to an image.
HEIC A compressed image format developed by Apple, which provides better quality than JPEG at the same file size.
histogram A graph that shows the distribution of tonal values in an image. See also Levels.
hue An adjustment control that shifts all colors along the color spectrum. See also color adjustment, saturation.
Inner Shadow An adjustment control that places a shadow inside the edges of a layer to give it a recessed look. See also drop shadow, Style tool.
JPEG A compressed image format commonly used for photos. JPEG files don’t support transparency. See also HEIC, PNG.
layer A separate, stackable piece of a composition that you can edit independently from the rest of the image. See also color adjustments layer, raster layer, text layer, vector layer, video layer.
Levels A color adjustment control that sets the black point, white point, and midtones of an image using a histogram. See also Curves, histogram.
LUT Short for lookup table. A preconfigured color transformation often used for cinematic color grading. See also color grading.
Magnetic Selection tool A selection tool that automatically snaps the selection boundary to the edges of an object. See also Quick Selection, selection.
mask A special kind of layer that hides areas of another layer without permanently deleting them. See also bitmap mask, clipping mask, vector mask.
Motion blur A directional blur effect that simulates movement. See also blur.
nondestructive editing An approach to editing in which changes never permanently alter the original image data. See also color adjustments layer, sidecar file.
opacity The transparency level of a layer, from 0 to 100 percent.
Pen tool A tool that draws precise vector paths by placing anchor points manually. See also Freeform Pen tool, Shape tool.
Pixel Paint tool A painting tool that paints individual pixels, useful for creating pixel art. See also brush.
Pixelmator Pro file format (.pxd) The native file format of Pixelmator Pro. PXD files store all layers, masks, and edit history in a single document.
Posterize An effect that reduces the number of color levels in an image to produce a flat, graphic look.
presets Saved settings—for adjustments, effects, styles, or crops—that you can apply in a single step. See also color adjustment.
Quick Selection A selection tool that selects regions of similar color and texture as you brush across them. See also Magnetic Selection tool, selection.
raster layer A layer made of pixels. You use raster layers for painting, photo editing, and other pixel-based work. See also layer, rasterization, vector layer.
rasterization The process of converting a vector or text layer into pixels. See also raster layer, text layer, vector layer.
RAW file An unprocessed image file, straight from a camera sensor, that retains the maximum amount of captured data.
Repair tool A retouching tool that automatically removes imperfections by sampling the surrounding content. See also Clone tool.
Reshape tool A tool that pushes or pulls pixels in a specific area to warp parts of an image. See also Warp tool.
resize A change to the dimensions of an image or canvas. See also Crop tool.
rotate A transform option of the Crop tool that turns a layer by a specified angle. See also straighten, Transform tool.
saturation The intensity of color in an image. See also color adjustment, hue, Vibrance.
selection A defined region of an image that you can work on independently of the rest. See also Magnetic Selection tool, Quick Selection, selection refinement.
selection refinement A feature that improves selection accuracy around fine details such as hair. See also selection.
Selective Clarity An adjustment control that increases midtone contrast to enhance texture and detail. See also color adjustment, contrast.
Shape tool A tool that creates vector shapes. See also Pen tool, vector layer.
Sharpen An effect that increases edge contrast to improve perceived detail.
sidecar file A companion file that stores nondestructive edits alongside the original image. See also nondestructive editing.
Spin blur A blur effect that rotates around a center point to simulate spinning motion. See also blur, Motion blur.
straighten A transform control in the Crop tool that rotates and crops an image to correct a skewed horizon. See also Crop tool, rotate.
stroke A colored border around the edge of a layer. See also Style tool.
Style tool A set of visual effects—such as shadows, outlines, and fills—that you can apply to a layer. See also drop shadow, Inner Shadow, stroke.
Super Resolution An AI feature that upscales an image and adds synthesized detail to preserve sharpness when enlarging.
template A ready-made document layout or mockup that you can use as a starting point for a new document.
TIFF A high-quality, lossless image format commonly used in print workflows.
Tilt-Shift blur A blur effect that keeps a band of the image in focus and blurs the rest. See also blur, Focus blur.
Transform tool A tool that moves, resizes, rotates, or flips a layer. See also rotate.
Type tool A tool that adds and edits text. See also text layer.
vector layer A vector-based layer that contains geometric or freeform shapes. Vector layers are resolution-independent, so you can scale them without losing quality. See also boolean operations, layer, Shape tool.
vector mask A mask defined by a vector path. Vector masks scale without losing quality. See also mask.
Vibrance A color adjustment control that boosts muted colors while protecting skin tones from oversaturation. See also saturation.
video layer A layer that contains video content. See also layer.
Vignette An effect that darkens the edges of an image to draw focus to the center.
Warp tool A tool that distorts a layer with freeform deformation. See also Reshape tool.
White Balance An adjustment control that removes unwanted color casts by adjusting the temperature and tint of an image. See also color adjustment.