Layer Groups

The more layers you add to your file, the harder it becomes to manage them in the Layers palette. To keep them organized, you can place layers into folders known as groups (referred to as layer sets in pre- CS2 versions of Photoshop). To create a group, select the layers in the Layers palette and do one of the following:

1. Choose New Group From Layers from the Layers palette flyout menu. This option displays a dialog box that allows you to name the folder and apply a color to it. The dialog also allows you to apply an opacity value and blend mode to the entire group, which affects every layer placed in the folder.

2. Choose Layer --> Group to place the layers in a folder. This grouping method does not give you the option to name or color the folder, or to apply any blend mode or opacity settings to the group. Instead, Photoshop places the layers into a numbered folder depending on how many groups you’ve added to the file (for example, Group 1, Group 2, and so forth).

3. Shift+click the Create A New Group button at the bottom of the Layers palette. This method is the same as choosing Layer --> Group in that it doesn’t offer you any options. The layers are simply placed into a numbered folder.

If you prefer, you can also create the folder first by applying the New Group command and then place layers into it afterward by dragging. To do so, choose New Group from the Layers palette flyout menu, or click the Create A New Group button at the bottom of the palette. Clicking the group button does not offer any additional options when creating the group, but choosing New Group does.