42 Photoshop Tips for Layer - By Trevor Morris

Layers

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1. Hide / reveal all layers by Alt-clicking on the visibility icon ( Visibility Icon ) of the desired layer.

2. Unlink all layers from the current layer by Alt-clicking on the current layer's paintbrush icon ( Paint Icon ).

3. Change the opacity of the currently active tool or layer by using the number keys (on the keyboard or on the number pad). Press "1" for 10% opacity, "5" for 50%, and so on: use "0" for 100% opacity. Numbers pressed in succession, such as "85", will result in an opacity of 85%.

Note: The above hotkeys also affect the opacity of the currently active paint tool, so if you wish to change the opacity of the active layer, be sure to switch to the Move tool [V] or one of the selection tools first.

4. Alt-click on the Trash icon ( Delete Current Layer ), at the bottom of the Layers palette, to quickly delete layers (without confirmation): this also works with channels and paths.

Tip: This technique also works for layer masks and clipping paths: click on an appropriate thumbnail and then Alt-click on the Trash icon ( Delete Current Layer ) to delete the mask or path without confirmation.

5. New! Ctrl-click the Delete Layer icon ( Delete Layer ), at the bottom of the Layers palette, to simultaneously delete all linked layers.

Tip: Ctrl+Alt-click the Delete layer icon ( Delete Layer ), to delete all linked layers without confirmation.

Note: This tip will not work if all layers are linked together, because it is not possible to delete every layer in an image (i.e. at least one layer is required in any given image).

6. Updated! With the Move tool [V] as the current tool (or while holding down the Ctrl key), right-click anywhere on the canvas for a list of the layers under the mouse pointer (ordered from top-most to bottom-most): select a layer-name from the list to make it the active layer.

Naming Layers and Sets Tip: If you get into the habit of naming layers in lower case and sets in upper case (or vice versa), you'll be able to easily distinguish the two when selecting layers or sets via the right-context menu.

Tip: Add the Alt key (Alt-right-click) to automatically choose the top-most layer under the pointer. Alternatively, you may turn on the Auto Select Layer option in the Options palette (while the Move tool [V] is selected).

Tip: Add the Shift key (Alt+Shift-right-click) to link / unlink the top-most layer that intersects with the current layer.

7. Ctrl-click (or drag) with the Move tool [V] to automatically select (or move) the top-most layer under the mouse pointer. Ctrl+Shift-click (or drag) with Move tool [V] to link (or move) the top-most layer with the current active layer.

8. Updated! Ctrl-click on the New Layer button ( New Layer ) or New Set button ( New Layer Set ), at the bottom of the Layers palette, to have the new layer or set inserted below the current layer or set. Ctrl+Alt-click to reveal the dialog box for the new layer or set to be added.

9. Alt-double-click on a layer-name (in the Layers palette) to display the Layer Properties dialog box (i.e. to rename a layer).

Tip: Alt-double-click on a Background layer to turn it into a regular layer (named "Layer 0") without confirmation.

10. To lower the opacity for just a portion of a layer, make a selection, and press Shift+Backspace (or choose Edit » Fill from the menus) to access the Fill dialog box: set the blending mode to Clear, and set to the opacity as desired for the selected region.

Another approach is to clear [Backspace] (Edit » Clear) the selected region, establish the desired history state, and then restore the contents of the selected region using the Fill command [Shift+Backspace] (Edit » Fill) with the Contents set to History and the opacity set as desired.

11. By default, shapes are accompanied by a Color Fill layer. To change this, choose a new fill / adjustment layer from the Layer » Change Layer Contents submenu.

12. Use the following keyboard shortcuts for moving and navigating through layers:

HotKey Result
Alt+ [ / ] activate previous / next (visible) layer
Alt+Shift+ [ / ] activate bottom / top-most (visible) layer
Ctrl+ [ / ] move layer down (backward) / up (forward)
Ctrl+Shift+ [ / ] move layer to bottom (back) / top (front)

13. To drag multiple layers between documents, first link them together, then use the Move tool [V] to drag them from one document window into the other.

Note: You cannot drag multiple layers from the Layers palette into another document – even if they are linked together – this will only move the selected layer.
14. Duplicate a layer by dragging it onto the New Layer button ( New Snapshot ) at the bottom of the Layers palette; or choose Duplicate Layer from the Layers palette menu (Palette menu).

15. Here is a neat trick: use Ctrl+J (Layer » New » Layer via Copy) to duplicate the current layer (when there is no active selection).

16. New! Alt-drag a layer onto the New Layer icon ( Create a new layer ) at the bottom of the Layers palette to duplicate the layer into a new document.


Layer Sets

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17. Changing the blending mode and / or opacity of a layer set affects all layers within the set (effectively treating all layers inside as a single layer).

18. To simultaneously place multiple layers into a Layer Set, first link the layers and then choose New Set From Linked from the Layer palette menu (Palette Menu); or choose Layer » New » Layer Set From Linked from the menus.

Tip: Hold down the Alt key while choosing New Set From Linked to skip the dialog box (and use the Layer Set's default name and properties).

19. Updated! To lock the transparency ( Transparency ), image / pixels ( Pixels ), position ( Position ), or all of these ( Lock All ), for all layers within a set, choose Layer » Lock All Layers in Set.

Tip: Press the foward slash key ( / ) to toggle the current lock settings on or off.

20. To release all layers from a set (i.e. delete the set without deleting the layers inside), activate the layer set and Ctrl+Alt-click on the trash icon ( Delete Current Layer ) or Ctrl-drag the layer set onto the trash icon ( Delete Current Layer ). Alternatively, click the trash icon ( Delete Current Layer ) and choose Set Only from the resulting confirmation dialog box.

21. Duplicate a layer set (including all the layers inside) by dragging it onto the New Layer Set button ( New Layer Set ) at the bottom of the Layers palette; or choose Duplicate Layer Set from the Layers palette menu (Palette menu).

22. To create a new document from a layer set, Alt-drag the set onto the New Layer Set icon ( New Layer Set ) at the bottom of the Layers palette; then, in the dialog box that appears, choose New from the Document drop-down menu.

23. New! To remove the bottom-most layer(s) from a layer set, drag the layer thumbnail (in the Layers palette) to the left.

Remove Layer from Set
24. New! To duplicate multiple sets (and / or groups), first link the desired sets together. Then, duplicate the document and use the Move tool [V] to drag the desired sets back into the original document. You may then discard the duplicate document.

25. New! You can add clipping paths (vector masks) and / or traditional layer masks to a layer set. Set masks affect all layers within the set. This allows you to have up to four masks affecting any given layer: a layer mask and a clipping path applied via both the layer and the set.


(Clipping) Groups

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26. A fast way to combine several layers into a group is to first link them together, then select Group Linked [Ctrl+G] (Layer » Group Linked). You may then unlink the layers if you wish.

Note: You can also Merge [Ctrl+E] (Layer » Merge Down) multiple visible layers using the same technique (because, the Merge Down command becomes Merge Linked when the current layer is linked to other layers).

Group Layers
27. Alt-click between layers (in the Layers palette) to group them together. This is handy when several layers are linked together, and you only want to group specific layers together (since the Group with Previous command changes to Group Linked when the current layer is linked to other layers).

28. Here is a slick way to rearrange / reorder multiple layers, simultaneously (within the Layers palette): Group [Ctrl+G] (Layer » Group with Previous) the desired layers together, drag the group (up or down) into its new position within the Layers palette, and then Ungroup [Ctrl+Shift+G] (Layer » Ungroup) them again.

Tip: Alternatively, you could combine the desired layers into a layer set and then move the entire set (up or down) within the Layers palette.


Masks & Channels

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29. Click the Add Mask button ( Add Mask ), at the bottom of the Layers palette, to add a mask that reveals the current selection (Layer » Add Layer Mask » Reveal All). Alt-click on the Add Mask button ( Add Mask ) to add a mask that hides the current selection (Layer » Add Layer Mask » Hide All).

30. To create a mask for the current layer that represents the contents of the current layer, drag-and-drop the layer onto the Add Mask button ( Add Layer Mask ) at the bottom of Layers palette. Alt-drag-and-drop the layer onto the Add Mask button ( Add Layer Mask ) to add a mask that hides the contents of the current layer (i.e. the mask is the inverse of the current layer).

31. To copy a layer mask from one layer to another, first select the layer that you want to apply the mask to (and ensure that it does not already have a layer mask); then drag the layer mask thumbnail from another layer onto the Layer Mask icon ( Add Layer Mask ) at the bottom of the Layers palette.

Tip: The above technique also works for copying a layer clipping path for one layer to another.

32. Below is a table of hotkeys for working with layer masks:

HotKey Result
Alt-click layer mask thumbnail edit / reveal layer mask
Shift-click layer mask thumnail toggle layer mask on / off
Ctrl-click mask (or press Ctrl+Alt+ \ ) load layer mask as selection
Ctrl+Shift-click layer mask thumbnail add to current selection
Ctrl+Alt-click layer mask thumbnail subtract from current selection
Ctrl+Alt+Shift-click thumbnail intersect with current selection
Alt+Shift-click (or press Backslash [ \ ] ) view layer mask in rubylith mode (color)
Ctrl+Backslash ( \ ) switch focus from layer to layer mask
Ctrl+Tilde ( ~ ) switch focus to layer

33. By default, (the first nine) channels have hotkeys associated with them. You may use these hotkeys (see the table below) to load the selection of a channel. Here are the hotkeys corresponding to some common color modes:

RGB Mode: CYMK Mode: Index Mode:
Ctrl+Tilde ( ~ ) = RGB
Ctrl+1 = Red
Ctrl+2 = Green
Ctrl+3 = Blue
Ctrl+4 = Other Channel

Ctrl+9 = Other Channel Ctrl+Tilde ( ~ ) = CYMK
Ctrl+1 = Cyan
Ctrl+2 = Yellow
Ctrl+3 = Magenta
Ctrl+4 = Black
Ctrl+5 = Other Channel

Ctrl+9 = Other Channel Ctrl+1 = Index
Ctrl+2 = Other Channel

Ctrl+9 = Other Channel

34. New! While in Quick Mask mode [Q] ( Edit in Quick Mask Mode ), use the Tilde key (~) to toggle the view between rubylith and channel mode (grayscale).

35. New! Alt+Ctrl-click the New Channel button ( New Channel ), at the bottom of the Channels palette (Window » Show Channels), to add a new Spot Color channel (based on the current selection).

36. New! To save a copy of the Quick Mask as an alpha channel, duplicate the Quick Mask layer by dragging it onto the New Channel button ( Create new channel ) at the bottom of the Channels palette (Window » Show Channels).


Paths

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37. Turn off all paths easily by clicking on the empty area of the Paths palette (under the path layers).

Tip: Toggle paths on / off by pressing Ctrl+Shift+H (View » Show » Target Path).

38. Alt-click on the Fill Path ( Fill Path ), Stroke Path ( Stroke Path ), Load Path as Selection ( Load Path as Selection ) and Make Path from Selection ( Make Path from Selection ) icons (bottom of the Paths palette) to see a list of available tools and / or options.

39. To convert the active path into a layer clipping path, Ctrl-click the Layer Mask icon ( Add Layer Mask ) at the bottom of the Layers palette; or choose Layer » Add Layer Clipping Path » Current Path.

Ctrl+Alt-click the Layer Mask icon ( Add Layer Mask ) to add a layer clipping path which hides the contents of the active path; or choose Layer » Add Layer Clipping Path » Hide All.

Note: If the current layer already contains a layer mask, the Ctrl key is not required to add a layer clipping path.

40. Here are several hotkeys associated with layer clipping paths:

HotKey Result
Click layer clipping path thumbnail edit / reveal layer clipping path
Shift-click layer clipping path thumbnail toggle layer clipping path on / off
Ctrl-click layer clipping path thumbnail load layer clipping path as selection
Ctrl+Shift-click clipping layer thumbnail add to current selection
Ctrl+Alt-click clipping layer thumbnail subtract from current selection
Ctrl+Alt+Shift-click thumbnail intersect with current selection

41. To add a shape as a clipping path for an existing layer, Ctrl-click on the Add Mask icon ( Add Mask ), at the bottom of the Layers palette, and then draw the desired shape using the Shape tool [U].

42. New! Hover over the thumbnail for a layer clipping path (in the Layers palette) to temporarily display the associated path in the document window. The path will disappear again after you move your mouse off the thumbnail.