Unlike some coworkers, clients, or family members, layers are downright agreeable to being managed, even micromanaged for that matter. The beauty of layers is that they’re so darn easy to get along with. You can hide them, shuffle them around, link and lock them, herd them into sets, and even smush them together into one loving, collective layer. Yes, Photoshop has a whole slew of ways to get your layers in the orderly and organized fashion you deserve.
Viewing and Hiding Layers
Often, it’s useful to hide all the layers in your image except for the one you want to edit. You can focus on the element at hand without the distraction of all the other components of the image. You can do this with a single quick click of the mouse button, as described in the following list:
- Hide all the layers but one: Select the layer you want to display. Alt+click (Option+click on the Mac) on the eye icon for that layer, in the far-left column of the Layers palette. To redisplay all the layers, Alt+click (Option+click on the Mac) on the eye icon again.
- Hide an individual layer: Click the eye icon for that layer. To redisplay the layer, click the blank space in the eye column. You can also hide layer styles or entire layer sets by using the same method as with layers.
Only layers that are visible will print. This can be useful if you want to have several versions (each on a separate layer) of an image for a project within the same document. You can view selective layers, print them, get approval from the powers that be, and then delete the layers with the scrapped versions. Only one file to manage — even I can handle that. If clicking is just too strenuous for you, try this neat trick. Drag through the eye column to hide or display multiple layers in one fell swoop. Now that’s technology.
Rearranging Layers
Comparing layers to sheets of acetate used with overhead projectors, it will make sense to you when I say that you can shuffle the order of layers like, well, sheets of acetate. The stacking order of the layers in the Layers palette corresponds to the order of the layers in the document. If you want to move a layer to another position in the stacking order, drag the layer (or layer set) up or down in the Layers palette. As you drag, you will see a fist icon. Release your mouse button when a highlighted line appears where you want to insert the layer.
Alternatively, you can change the order by selecting the layer (or layer set) and then choosing Layer-->Arrange. Then select one of the following commands from the submenu:
- Bring to Front and Send to Back send the layer to the very top or very bottom of the stacking order.
- Bring Forward and Send Backward move the layer one level up or down.
If your image has a background, it always remains the bottommost layer. If you need to move the background, first convert it to a layer by double-clicking the name in the Layers palette. Enter a name for the layer and click OK.
Moving Layer Elements
Rearranging layers is different from moving the content on the layer. Because the elements on a layer are free floating on a bed of transparency, it’s a piece of cake to move the element whenever necessary. Moving the element has no effect on any of the other layers, and it doesn’t harm the image one iota.
To move an image on a layer, just drag it with the Move tool, the four-headed arrow tool located in the Toolbox (more formally known as the Tools palette); it doesn’t get any simpler than that. Here are a few more handy tips when moving an image and using the Move tool:
- Move the layer in 1-pixel increments: Press an arrow key with the Move tool selected.
To move the layer in 10-pixel increments, press Shift as you press the arrow key.
- Find out what layer holds the element you want to move (or edit in some other way):
Select the Move tool and Ctrl+click (Ô+click on the Mac) on the element. Photoshop automatically activates the layer the element resides on. Or you can right-click (Control+click on the Mac) on the element. A context menu appears, telling you what layer the element resides on, and then enables you to select that layer from the context menu. This technique works only on pixels that have an opacity of 50% or more. If you click pixels with opacities of 50% or less, Photoshop burrows down into successive layers and selects the first layer below on which it encounters a pixel with an opacity of 50% or more.
- Switch to a layer when you click with the Move tool on any part of a layer: Select the Auto Select Layer option on the Options bar. But be careful if you use this option; you may inadvertently select a layer when you don’t want to.
- Display a bounding box around the elements on your layer: Select the Show Bounding Box check box in the Options bar. This can be useful if all your elements are melting into one another in an indistinguishable conglomeration.
To temporarily access the Move tool, Ctrl+drag (Ô+drag on the Mac) with any other tool except the Pen tools, the Hand tool, the Slice and Slice Select tools, the Path Selection tool, the Direct Selection tool, and any of the Shape tools. Release the Ctrl (Ô) key to return to your original tool.
Viewing and Hiding Layers
Often, it’s useful to hide all the layers in your image except for the one you want to edit. You can focus on the element at hand without the distraction of all the other components of the image. You can do this with a single quick click of the mouse button, as described in the following list:
- Hide all the layers but one: Select the layer you want to display. Alt+click (Option+click on the Mac) on the eye icon for that layer, in the far-left column of the Layers palette. To redisplay all the layers, Alt+click (Option+click on the Mac) on the eye icon again.
- Hide an individual layer: Click the eye icon for that layer. To redisplay the layer, click the blank space in the eye column. You can also hide layer styles or entire layer sets by using the same method as with layers.
Only layers that are visible will print. This can be useful if you want to have several versions (each on a separate layer) of an image for a project within the same document. You can view selective layers, print them, get approval from the powers that be, and then delete the layers with the scrapped versions. Only one file to manage — even I can handle that. If clicking is just too strenuous for you, try this neat trick. Drag through the eye column to hide or display multiple layers in one fell swoop. Now that’s technology.
Rearranging Layers
Comparing layers to sheets of acetate used with overhead projectors, it will make sense to you when I say that you can shuffle the order of layers like, well, sheets of acetate. The stacking order of the layers in the Layers palette corresponds to the order of the layers in the document. If you want to move a layer to another position in the stacking order, drag the layer (or layer set) up or down in the Layers palette. As you drag, you will see a fist icon. Release your mouse button when a highlighted line appears where you want to insert the layer.
Alternatively, you can change the order by selecting the layer (or layer set) and then choosing Layer-->Arrange. Then select one of the following commands from the submenu:
- Bring to Front and Send to Back send the layer to the very top or very bottom of the stacking order.
- Bring Forward and Send Backward move the layer one level up or down.
If your image has a background, it always remains the bottommost layer. If you need to move the background, first convert it to a layer by double-clicking the name in the Layers palette. Enter a name for the layer and click OK.
Moving Layer Elements
Rearranging layers is different from moving the content on the layer. Because the elements on a layer are free floating on a bed of transparency, it’s a piece of cake to move the element whenever necessary. Moving the element has no effect on any of the other layers, and it doesn’t harm the image one iota.
To move an image on a layer, just drag it with the Move tool, the four-headed arrow tool located in the Toolbox (more formally known as the Tools palette); it doesn’t get any simpler than that. Here are a few more handy tips when moving an image and using the Move tool:
- Move the layer in 1-pixel increments: Press an arrow key with the Move tool selected.
To move the layer in 10-pixel increments, press Shift as you press the arrow key.
- Find out what layer holds the element you want to move (or edit in some other way):
Select the Move tool and Ctrl+click (Ô+click on the Mac) on the element. Photoshop automatically activates the layer the element resides on. Or you can right-click (Control+click on the Mac) on the element. A context menu appears, telling you what layer the element resides on, and then enables you to select that layer from the context menu. This technique works only on pixels that have an opacity of 50% or more. If you click pixels with opacities of 50% or less, Photoshop burrows down into successive layers and selects the first layer below on which it encounters a pixel with an opacity of 50% or more.
- Switch to a layer when you click with the Move tool on any part of a layer: Select the Auto Select Layer option on the Options bar. But be careful if you use this option; you may inadvertently select a layer when you don’t want to.
- Display a bounding box around the elements on your layer: Select the Show Bounding Box check box in the Options bar. This can be useful if all your elements are melting into one another in an indistinguishable conglomeration.
To temporarily access the Move tool, Ctrl+drag (Ô+drag on the Mac) with any other tool except the Pen tools, the Hand tool, the Slice and Slice Select tools, the Path Selection tool, the Direct Selection tool, and any of the Shape tools. Release the Ctrl (Ô) key to return to your original tool.
Managing Layers in Photoshop
![Managing Layers in Photoshop]()
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