ptg layer basics 8 e beauty of assigning various parts of a document to dierent layers is that they can be edited individually — maybe some text on one layer, a silhouetted shape on another layer, and a full image in the background. An image can contain only one Background (written with an initial cap “B”), but you can add multiple layers above it. Unlike the Background, which always remains fully opaque, a layer can contain partially or fully transparent areas. Onscreen, transparent areas of a layer are represented by a checkerboard pattern. A You’ll probably use the Layers panel more than any other panel in Photoshop. It is so indispensable for image editing, it’s either the star player or plays an important supporting role in many other chapters. In this chapter you’ll learn basic techniques, such as how to create, duplicate, select, restack, group, delete, hide, show, move, merge, and atten image layers. (Related topics, such as using layer masks, choosing layer blend- ing options, and creating adjustment, editable type, and Smart Object layers, are covered in later chapters.) Creating layers When creating a new document, if you choose Background Contents: White or Back ground Color in the File > New dialog, the bottommost tier of the image will be a Back ground; if you choose Background Contents: Transparent, the rst tier will be a layer, and the document won’t contain a Background. GET A SNEAK PREVIEW To view a fi le that contains layers, open image No. 11 of the download- able images. On the Layers panel, click any layer name, then click its visibility icon on and off. IN THIS CHAPTER Creating layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133 Duplicating layers . . . . . . . . . . . . .135 Converting the Background . . . . . . .136 Selecting layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 Restacking layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138 Working with layer groups . . . . . . . .138 Deleting individual layers . . . . . . . .140 Hiding and showing layers . . . . . . . .140 Moving layer content . . . . . . . . . . .141 Choosing Layers panel options . . . . .142 Merging layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144 Flattening layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146 A i s d o c u m e n t c o n t a i n s a t y p e layer and two image layers, which are listed above the Background. e Back ground, when present in a docu- ment, is always listed at the bottom. Continued on the following page ptg 134 Chapter 8 A new layer is created automatically when you per- form some kinds of edits, such as when you paste a selection or create type with the Horizontal or Vertical Type tool. In these instructions, you will learn how to create new, blank image layers. To those layers, you can apply brush strokes, clone imagery, etc. You may add as many layers to a le as you like, depending on your computer’s available memory and its storage capability. To create a layer: 1. Show the Layers panel. 2. Click a layer or the Background. e new layer is going to appear above the one you have clicked. A 3. Click the New Layer button at the bottom of the panel. e new layer will have Opacity and Fill percentages of 100% and a blending mode of Normal. B 4. Optional: To rename the layer, double-click the existing name, type the desired one, then press Enter/Return. ➤ To choose options for a layer as you create it, Alt-click/Option-click the New Layer button on the Layers panel or press Ctrl-Shift-N/Cmd- Shift-N. In the New Layer dialog, you can change the layer Name or choose a nonprinting Color for the area on the Layers panel behind the visibil- ity icon (see “To color-code a layer” on page 143). To learn about the layer blending mode and opacity controls, see page 142. A Click the layer above which you want the new one to appear. B e N e w L a y e r b u t t o n i s c l i c k e d , a n d a new layer appears on the panel. FLATTENING AND PRESERVING LAYERS ➤ Layers increase the fi le size considerably, so when you’re completely done editing your document, con- sider using a merge or fl a t t e n command to shrink it back down (see pages 144–146). ➤ If you need to preserve layers, when saving your fi l e v i a t h e F i l e > S a v e A s d i a l o g , c h e c k Layers, and as the fi le Format, choose Photoshop, Photoshop PDF, Large Document Format (see the sidebar on page 22), or TIFF. The formats that don’t preserve layers fl atten them automatically and convert any transparency in the bottommost layer to opaque white. ➤ When switching document color modes (e.g., from RGB to CMYK), if you want to preserve layers, click Don’t Flatten or Don’t Merge in the alert dialog. After adding layers to your le, from the Status bar menu, choose Document Sizes. e value on the left is the le size without layers; the value on the right is its approximate le size with layers. is document contains three image lay- ers in addition to the Background, which explains why the second value is more than three times greater than the rst. ptg Layer Basics 135 A An area of the Background is selected on the right side of this document. B Via the Layer via Copy command, a copy of the selection was placed onto a new layer. Another method for creating a layer is to copy or cut imagery from an existing layer or the Background and put it on its own layer. is can be done easily with a simple command. To turn selected pixels into a layer: 1. On the Layers panel, click an image layer or the Background, then create a selection in the document. A 2. To create a new layer containing the selected pixels, do either of the following: To place a copy of the selected pixels on a new layer and leave the original layer intact, right- click in the document and choose Layer via Copy or press Ctrl-J/Cmd-J. B To place the selected pixels on a new layer and remove them from the original layer, right-click in the document and choose Layer via Cut or press Ctrl-Shift-J/Cmd-Shift-J. If you cut pixels from a layer, the exposed area on the original layer will be lled with transparency; if you cut pixels from the Background, the exposed area will be lled with the current Background color (see pages 185 and 233). Duplicating layers Follow these instructions to duplicate a layer or layer group, or to turn a copy of the Background into a layer. (To learn about layer groups, see pages 138–140.) To duplicate a layer or layer group: Do one of the following: Click a layer, then press Ctrl-J/Cmd-J. Drag a layer, layer group, or the Background over the New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers panel. e duplicate will appear above the one you dragged. To name the layer as you create it, right-click a layer, layer group, or the Background and choose Duplicate Layer or Duplicate Group. In the dialog, change the name in the “As” eld (ignore the Destination elds), then click OK. ➤ To control whether the word “copy” is added to a duplicate layer name automatically, choose Panel Options from the Layers panel menu, then check or uncheck the Add “Copy” to Copied Layers and Groups command. ★ ➤ When you duplicate a layer, any layer mask and/or eects on that layer are also duplicated. Similarly, when you duplicate a Smart Object layer, any Smart Filters contained on that layer are also duplicated (see pages 320–322). ptg 136 Chapter 8 Converting the Background ere are many things you can do to a layer that you can’t do to the Background. For example, you can’t move the Background upward in the layer stack; change its blending mode, Opacity percentage, or Fill percentage; attach a mask to it; or embellish it with layer eects. You can, however, convert the Background into a layer, at which time it will adopt all the functions of a normal layer. To convert the Background into a layer: Do either of the following: Alt-double-click/Option-double-click the Background on the Layers panel to turn it into a layer without choosing options. Double-click the Background on the Layers panel A to open the New Layer dialog. B Type a new Name. If desired, choose a Color for the area behind the visibility icon on the panel, a Mode, and an Opacity percentage. Click OK. C If you need to create a Background for a le that doesn’t have one, you can convert any existing layer into the Background — the reverse of the preceding instructions. To convert a layer into the Background: 1. Click a layer. 2. Choose Layer > New > Background from Layer. e new Background will appear at the bottom of the stack on the Layers panel (its usual position). A Double-click the Background. B Enter a Name and choose options for the layer-to-be. C e f o r m e r B a c k g r o u n d i s n o w a n o r m a l , f u l l - edged layer. ptg Layer Basics 137 Selecting layers Always remember to select the layer or layers you want to work on before editing your document! is signals to Photoshop which part of your document you want to change. When a layer or layer group is selected, it becomes highlighted A and the layer or group name is listed in the title bar of the document window. (To learn about layer groups, see pages 138–140.) To select layers via the Layers panel: Do one of the following: To select a layer or layer group, click either the layer thumbnail or the area to the right of the layer or group name. To select multiple layers, click a layer, then Shift-click the last in a series of consecutively listed layers, or Ctrl-click/Cmd-click individual layers (not the layer thumbnails). If you need to deselect individual layers, Ctrl-click/Cmd-click them. To select all the layers in your document (but not the Background), choose Select > All Layers or press Ctrl-Alt-A/Cmd-Option-A. To select all layers of a similar kind, such as all image layers, shape layers, or adjustment layers, right-click one of those layers and choose Select Similar Layers from the context menu. To select a layer or layer group by clicking in the document: 1. Choose the Move tool (V). 2. Do either of the following: To select the rst layer that contains nontrans- parent pixels below the pointer, right-click in the document window and choose a layer or layer group name from the context menu. B (Or Ctrl- right-click/Cmd-Control-click with any other tool selected.) Check Auto-Select on the Options bar, choose Group or Layer, then click a visible pixel area in the document. e Background can’t be selected with this method. ➤ If the Move tool is selected and Show Transform Controls is checked on the Options bar, the bounding box for the currently selected layer displays onscreen. Uncheck this option if you nd the box to be distracting. To transform a layer via its bounding box, see pages 312–313. A Simply click a layer to select it. B On the context menu, choose the name of the layer you want to select. ptg 138 Chapter 8 Restacking layers When you restack a layer upward or downward, the content of that layer shifts forward or backward in the document. To restack layers: Drag a layer or group name upward or down- ward on the panel, and release the mouse when a double horizontal line appears in the desired location. A–B ➤ To move the Background upward on the list, you must convert it to a layer rst (see page 136). Layers can’t be stacked below the Background. ➤ You can also restack a selected layer via the commands (or via the shortcuts listed) on the Layer > Arrange submenu. Working with layer groups e layers in a document can be gathered into groups and labeled by kind. In addition to helping to organize and streamline your Layers panel (so you won’t need to scroll up and down as much), by putting layers into groups, you will be able to move, rotate, scale, duplicate, restack, lock, unlock, change the blending mode or opacity for, or hide or show multiple layers simultaneously. When you add a layer mask to a layer group, the mask applies to all the layers in the group (see page 168). Groups can be nested inside other groups.* To create a layer group: Method 1 (from existing layers) 1. Click a layer, then Shift-click or Ctrl-click/ Cmd-click one or more other layers (they can be nonconsecutive). 2. Do either of the following: Press Ctrl-G/Cmd-G. C From the Layers panel menu, choose New Group from Layers. In the dialog, change the Name, if desired, then click OK. 3. Optional: To add more layers to the group, drag them over the group listing, and release the mouse when the dark drop zone border appears. Or click the arrowhead to expand the group list, then drag layers into the group, releasing where you want them to be stacked. ➤ e default blending mode for a group is Pass r o u g h , a n d w e s u g g e s t y o u d o n ’ t c h a n g e i t . B Now the “left side” layer is in front of the “cheese” layer. A e “ l e f t s i d e ” layer is moved upward in the stack. *In Photoshop CS5, unlike in older versions of the program, you can nest layer groups more than ve levels deep. ★ C e “ l e f t s i d e ” and “right side” layers are now members of a group. ptg Layer Basics 139 MOVING LAYERS OUT OF A GROUP ➤ To move a layer out of a group, drag the layer outside the group stack. ➤ To move a layer from one group to another, drag it over the group name or icon, or over an existing layer in the group. Method 2 (create a group, then add layers) 1. Do either of the following: To create a group without choosing settings for it, click the layer above which you want the group to appear, then click the New Group button at the bottom of the panel. To choose settings for a group as you create it, Alt-click/Option-click the New Group button or choose New Group from the panel menu. In the dialog, change the Name, Color, or Opacity setting for the group, if desired, then click OK. 2. Do either of the following: Drag layers into the new group listing, releasing the mouse when the dark drop zone border appears around it. Click the arrowhead to expand the group list, then drag layers into the group, releasing the mouse where you want them to be stacked. A ➤ To expand or collapse a group and all the groups within it, Alt-click/Option-click the arrowhead. ➤ To rename a layer or layer group, double-click a layer or layer group name on the Layers panel. Type a new name, then press Enter/Return or click outside the name eld. USING CONTEXT MENUS WITH THE LAYERS PANEL Options on the context menu change depend- ing on where you right-click on the panel. A A layer is moved into a group. . l e > S a v e A s d i a l o g , c h e c k Layers, and as the fi le Format, choose Photoshop, Photoshop PDF, Large Document Format (see the sidebar on page 22), or TIFF. The formats that. the layer or layers you want to work on before editing your document! is signals to Photoshop which part of your document you want to change. When a layer or layer group is selected, it. the “cheese” layer. A e “ l e f t s i d e ” layer is moved upward in the stack. *In Photoshop CS5, unlike in older versions of the program, you can nest layer groups more than ve levels