Select rectangle and delete surrounding areas

Question

I am new to Paint.Net. When I select a rectangle (Tools -> Rectangle Select), I would like to delete all the areas outside of the rectangle. How can I do this?

(Currently, I copy the selected rectangle, then to Edit->Paste in to New Image.)

Thanks.

Solution 1

If you simply want to blank out the area outside the selection press Ctrl + I (to invert the selection) and then Del.

However, since you're pasting the selection as a new image looks like what you really want to do is crop to selection, which you can accomplish by pressing Ctrl + Shift + X after selecting the area you want to retain.

Solution 2

Select the rectangular area you want to keep, then select Edit->Invert Selection. You can then act on that selection, including deleting it by Edit->Erase Selection.

Comments

[Sabuncu]

+1 and marked as answer. Thank you so much. (You read my mind in terms of my ultimate goal.)