Blocking Information on JPG Image

If you are getting the Edit>Fill Layer command, then, you don't have your selection activated (marching ants). That's why Elements is filling the entire image with color. If the selection has been activated, the command will say Edit>Fill Selection and Elements will fill with color ONLY the area within the boundaries established by the marching ants.

The only time I see this happen is when Ctrl-click is not being done right. If you click on the layer name (to the right of the layer thumbnail), it won't work. No marching ants! Ctrl-click has to be done on the layer thumbnail.

It may help if you post a screen shot of the layer stack. Maybe something else is going on.

You posted while I was making the screen shot for Sepiana.  As I told Sepiana, I am not clicking on the file name - I am inside the top layers box

Oh good, me too . A good night's sleep may do the trick.

Charles, try this. First, left click on the "Move" tool.





Then while the "Control" button is being pressed, left click on the Layer icon in the layers panel.

Then you should see the "marching ants" around your selected object. Once its selected, you will be able to fill it with colour using the paint bucket tool or the brush tool.


Actually, clicking on the move tool first is not a requirement for this to work. Even if other tools are selected it should work. However, it's worth a try. 

Kind regards
Chris

I like how Lillias has tackled your problem, I think it is the easiest solution. After you make your block of color with the shape tool, you can manipulate it (change the shape/size/move it) using the move tool

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Realize there just is no right or wrong way to accomplish tasks in PSE - we develop habits where we use the same methods all the time - they aren't better than others - they just are different than the way others do something


... if you still want to figure out how to do it using the marquee tool -

-- start all over again - Open a fresh project with just your jpg on it

-- and do only these steps:

Make sure your foreground color of choice is selected

*Grab the marquee tool and draw your box
*Open a new layer above the original jpg layer
*In the layers panel, make sure you are on the new layer - you should still be able to see the marching ants on your project
  but you will not see anything on the new layer in the layers panel - it will just look empty
*Grab the paint bucket and click within your selection on your project - the selection will fill with color
*Control/Command D will turn off the selection

Notice:  I did not use Control/Command J - instead I opened a new layer while in the layers panel

The square of color will be on its own layer and can be manipulated with the move tool - it can be enlarged/reduced in size and it can be moved around. It can even be changed from a rectangle to a square by pushing in on the side while the move tool is selected

I realize this is just another iteration of the same thing that has been discussed in all the above posts, but I find it best to start fresh when I hit a glitch. 

Proof to the saying that sometimes it takes a village.