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Move, stack, and lock layers

Last updated on Nov 15, 2022 05:08:36 PM GMT

Photoshop User Guide
Introduction to Photoshop
1. Dream it. Make it.
2. What's new in Photoshop
3. Edit your first photo
4. Create documents
5. Photoshop | Common Questions
6. Photoshop system requirements
7. Migrate presets, actions, and settings
8. Get to know Photoshop
Photoshop and other Adobe products and services
1. Work with Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
2. Work with Photoshop files in InDesign
3. Substance 3D Materials for Photoshop
4. Photoshop and Adobe Stock
5. Use the Capture in-app extension in Photoshop
6. Creative Cloud Libraries
7. Creative Cloud Libraries in Photoshop
8. Use the Touch Bar with Photoshop
9. Grid and guides
10. Creating actions
11. Undo and history
Photoshop on the iPad
1. Photoshop on the iPad | Common questions
2. Get to know the workspace
3. System requirements | Photoshop on the iPad
4. Create, open, and export documents
5. Add photos
6. Work with layers
7. Draw and paint with brushes
8. Make selections and add masks
9. Retouch your composites
10. Work with adjustment layers
11. Adjust the tonality of your composite with Curves
12. Apply transform operations
13. Crop and rotate your composites
14. Rotate, pan, zoom, and reset the canvas
15. Work with Type layers
16. Work with Photoshop and Lightroom
17. Get missing fonts in Photoshop on the iPad
18. Japanese Text in Photoshop on the iPad
19. Manage app settings
20. Touch shortcuts and gestures
21. Keyboard shortcuts
22. Edit your image size
23. Livestream as you create in Photoshop on the iPad
24. Correct imperfections with the Healing Brush
25. Create brushes in Capture and use them in Photoshop
26. Work with Camera Raw files
27. Create and work with Smart Objects
28. Adjust exposure in your images with Dodge and Burn
Photoshop on the web beta
1. Common questions | Photoshop on the web beta
2. Introduction to the workspace
3. System requirements | Photoshop on the web beta
4. Keyboard shortcuts | Photoshop on the web beta
5. Supported file types | Photoshop on the web beta
6. Open and work with cloud documents
7. Collaborate with stakeholders
8. Apply limited edits to your cloud documents
Cloud documents
1. Photoshop cloud documents | Common questions
2. Photoshop cloud documents | Workflow questions
3. Manage and work with cloud documents in Photoshop
4. Upgrade cloud storage for Photoshop
5. Unable to create or save a cloud document
6. Solve Photoshop cloud document errors
7. Collect cloud document sync logs
8. Share access and edit your cloud documents
9. Share files and comment in-app
Workspace
1. Workspace basics
2. Learn faster with the Photoshop Discover Panel
3. Create documents
4. Use the Touch Bar with Photoshop
5. Tool galleries
6. Performance preferences
7. Use tools
8. Touch gestures
9. Touch capabilities and customizable workspaces
10. Technology previews
11. Metadata and notes
12. Default keyboard shortcuts
13. Touch capabilities and customizable workspaces
14. Place Photoshop images in other applications
15. Preferences
16. Default keyboard shortcuts
17. Rulers
18. Show or hide non-printing Extras
19. Specify columns for an image
20. Undo and history
21. Panels and menus
22. Place files
23. Position elements with snapping
24. Position with the Ruler tool
25. Presets
26. Customize keyboard shortcuts
27. Grid and guides
Web, screen, and app design
1. Photoshop for design
2. Artboards
3. Device Preview
4. Copy CSS from layers
5. Slice web pages
6. HTML options for slices
7. Modify slice layout
8. Work with web graphics
9. Create web photo galleries
Image and color basics
1. How to resize images
2. Work with raster and vector images
3. Image size and resolution
4. Acquire images from cameras and scanners
5. Create, open, and import images
6. View images
7. Invalid JPEG Marker error | Opening images
8. Viewing multiple images
9. Customize color pickers and swatches
10. High dynamic range images
11. Match colors in your image
12. Convert between color modes
13. Color modes
14. Erase parts of an image
15. Blending modes
16. Choose colors
17. Customize indexed color tables
18. Image information
19. Distort filters are unavailable
20. About color
21. Color and monochrome adjustments using channels
22. Choose colors in the Color and Swatches panels
23. Sample
24. Color mode or Image mode
25. Color cast
26. Add a conditional mode change to an action
27. Add swatches from HTML CSS and SVG
28. Bit depth and preferences
Layers
1. Layer basics
2. Nondestructive editing
3. Create and manage layers and groups
4. Select, group, and link layers
5. Place images into frames
6. Layer opacity and blending
7. Mask layers
8. Apply Smart Filters
9. Layer comps
10. Move, stack, and lock layers
11. Mask layers with vector masks
12. Manage layers and groups
13. Layer effects and styles
14. Edit layer masks
15. Extract assets
16. Reveal layers with clipping masks
17. Generate image assets from layers
18. Work with Smart Objects
19. Blending modes
20. Combine multiple images into a group portrait
21. Combine images with Auto-Blend Layers
22. Align and distribute layers
23. Copy CSS from layers
24. Load selections from a layer or layer mask's boundaries
25. Knockout to reveal content from other layers
26. Layer
27. Flattening
28. Composite
29. Background
Selections
1. Select and Mask workspace
2. Make quick selections
3. Get started with selections
4. Select with the marquee tools
5. Select with the lasso tools
6. Select a color range in an image
7. Adjust pixel selections
8. Convert between paths and selection borders
9. Channel basics
10. Move, copy, and delete selected pixels
11. Create a temporary quick mask
12. Save selections and alpha channel masks
13. Select the image areas in focus
14. Duplicate, split, and merge channels
15. Channel calculations
16. Selection
17. Bounding box
Image adjustments
1. Perspective warp
2. Reduce camera shake blurring
3. Healing brush examples
4. Export color lookup tables
5. Adjust image sharpness and blur
6. Understand color adjustments
7. Apply a Brightness/Contrast adjustment
8. Adjust shadow and highlight detail
9. Levels adjustment
10. Adjust hue and saturation
11. Adjust vibrance
12. Adjust color saturation in image areas
13. Make quick tonal adjustments
14. Apply special color effects to images
15. Enhance your image with color balance adjustments
16. High dynamic range images
17. View histograms and pixel values
18. Match colors in your image
19. How to crop and straighten photos
20. Convert a color image to black and white
21. Adjustment and fill layers
22. Curves adjustment
23. Blending modes
24. Target images for press
25. Adjust color and tone with Levels and Curves eyedroppers
26. Adjust HDR exposure and toning
27. Filter
28. Blur
29. Dodge or burn image areas
30. Make selective color adjustments
31. Replace object colors
Adobe Camera Raw
1. Camera Raw system requirements
2. What's new in Camera Raw
3. Introduction to Camera Raw
4. Create panoramas
5. Supported lenses
6. Vignette, grain, and dehaze effects in Camera Raw
7. Default keyboard shortcuts
8. Automatic perspective correction in Camera Raw
9. How to make non-destructive edits in Camera Raw
10. Radial Filter in Camera Raw
11. Manage Camera Raw settings
12. Open, process, and save images in Camera Raw
13. Repair images with the Enhanced Spot Removal tool in Camera Raw
14. Rotate, crop, and adjust images
15. Adjust color rendering in Camera Raw
16. Feature summary | Adobe Camera Raw | 2018 releases
17. New features summary
18. Process versions in Camera Raw
19. Make local adjustments in Camera Raw
Image repair and restoration
1. Remove objects from your photos with Content-Aware Fill
2. Content-Aware Patch and Move
3. Retouch and repair photos
4. Correct image distortion and noise
5. Basic troubleshooting steps to fix most issues
Image transformations
1. Transform objects
2. Adjust crop, rotation, and canvas size
3. How to crop and straighten photos
4. Create and edit panoramic images
5. Warp images, shapes, and paths
6. Vanishing Point
7. Use the Liquify filter
8. Content-aware scaling
9. Transform images, shapes, and paths
10. Warp
11. Transform
12. Panorama
Drawing and painting
1. Paint symmetrical patterns
2. Draw rectangles and modify stroke options
3. About drawing
4. Draw and edit shapes
5. Painting tools
6. Create and modify brushes
7. Blending modes
8. Add color to paths
9. Edit paths
10. Paint with the Mixer Brush
11. Brush presets
12. Gradients
13. Gradient interpolation
14. Fill and stroke selections, layers, and paths
15. Draw with the Pen tools
16. Create patterns
17. Generate a pattern using the Pattern Maker
18. Manage paths
19. Manage pattern libraries and presets
20. Draw or paint with a graphics tablet
21. Create textured brushes
22. Add dynamic elements to brushes
23. Gradient
24. Paint stylized strokes with the Art History Brush
25. Paint with a pattern
26. Sync presets on multiple devices
Text
1. Add and edit the text
2. Unified Text Engine
3. Work with OpenType SVG fonts
4. Format characters
5. Format paragraphs
6. How to create type effects
7. Edit text
8. Line and character spacing
9. Arabic and Hebrew type
10. Fonts
11. Troubleshoot fonts
12. Asian type
13. Create type
14. Text Engine error using Type tool in Photoshop | Windows 8
Video and animation
1. Video editing in Photoshop
2. Edit video and animation layers
3. Video and animation overview
4. Preview video and animations
5. Paint frames in video layers
6. Import video files and image sequences
7. Create frame animations
8. Creative Cloud 3D Animation (Preview)
9. Create timeline animations
10. Create images for video
Filters and effects
1. Use the Liquify filter
2. Use the Blur Gallery
3. Filter basics
4. Filter effects reference
5. Add Lighting Effects
6. Use the Adaptive Wide Angle filter
7. Use the Oil Paint filter
8. Layer effects and styles
9. Apply specific filters
10. Smudge image areas
Saving and exporting
1. Save your files in Photoshop
2. Export your files in Photoshop
3. Supported file formats
4. Save files in graphics formats
5. Move designs between Photoshop and Illustrator
6. Save and export video and animations
7. Save PDF files
8. Digimarc copyright protection
Printing
1. Print 3D objects
2. Print from Photoshop
3. Print with color management
4. Contact Sheets and PDF Presentations
5. Print photos in a picture package layout
6. Print spot colors
7. Duotones
8. Print images to a commercial printing press
9. Improve color prints from Photoshop
10. Troubleshoot printing problems | Photoshop
Automation
1. Creating actions
2. Create data-driven graphics
3. Scripting
4. Process a batch of files
5. Play and manage actions
6. Add conditional actions
7. About actions and the Actions panel
8. Record tools in actions
9. Add a conditional mode change to an action
10. Photoshop UI toolkit for plug-ins and scripts
Color Management
1. Understanding color management
2. Keeping colors consistent
3. Color settings
4. Work with color profiles
5. Color-managing documents for online viewing
6. Color-managing documents when printing
7. Color-managing imported images
8. Proofing colors
Content authenticity
1. Learn about content credentials
2. Identity and provenance for NFTs
3. Connect accounts for creative attribution
3D and technical imaging
1. Photoshop 3D | Common questions around discontinued 3D features
2. Creative Cloud 3D Animation (Preview)
3. Print 3D objects
4. 3D painting
5. 3D panel enhancements | Photoshop
6. Essential 3D concepts and tools
7. 3D rendering and saving
8. Create 3D objects and animations
9. Image stacks
10. 3D workflow
11. Measurement
12. DICOM files
13. Photoshop and MATLAB
14. Count objects in an image
15. Combine and convert 3D objects
16. 3D texture editing
17. Adjust HDR exposure and toning
18. 3D panel settings

Learn how to easily rearrange and stack layers in an image. Also, learn to lock layers to protect them.

You can create complex composites that are multiple layers deep. In Photoshop, you can easily move around your layers and group multiple layers into a stack to help you perform actions on them as a single entity. Lock a layer to avoid making unintended changes to your work.

Change the order of layers and layer groups

To change the order of layers and layer groups, do any of the following:

Drag the layer or group up or down in the Layers panel. Release the mouse button when you see a highlighted line at the position where you want to place the selected layer or group.
To move a layer into a group, drag a layer to the group folder . If the group is closed, the layer is placed at the bottom of the group.
Select a layer or group, choose Layer > Arrange, and choose a command from the submenu. If your selected item is in a group, the command applies to the stacking order within the group. If the selected item is not in a group, the command applies to the stacking order within the Layers panel.
To reverse the order of selected layers, choose Layer > Arrange > Reverse. These options appear dimmed if you do not have at least two layers selected.

By definition, the background layer is always at the bottom of the stacking order. Therefore, the Send To Back command places the selected item directly above the background layer.

Drag a layer or layer group up or down in the Layers panel to move it.

Move the content of layers

In the Layers panel, click to select the layers containing the objects you want to move.
Select the Move tool .

You can select the layers that you want to move directly in the document window. In the Move tool’s options bar, select Auto Select and then choose Layer from the menu options that show up. Shift-click to select multiple layers. Select Auto Select, then choose Group to select the entire group when you select one layer in the group.
Do one of the following:
- In the document window, drag any object onto one of the selected layers. (All objects on the layer will move together.)
- Press an arrow key on the keyboard to nudge the objects by 1 pixel.
- Hold down Shift and press an arrow key on the keyboard to nudge the objects by 10 pixels.

Rotate a layer

From the Layers panel, select the layer you want to rotate.
If anything is currently selected in the image, choose Select > Deselect.
Choose Edit > Transform > Rotate. A box defining the boundaries of the layer (called a bounding box) appears.
Move the pointer outside of the bounding box (the pointer becomes a curved, two-sided arrow), and then drag. Press Shift to constrain the rotation to 15° increments.
When you’re satisfied with the results, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS), or click the check mark in the options bar. To cancel the rotation, press Esc, or click the Cancel Transform icon on the options bar.

Lock a layer

You can lock layers fully or partially to protect their contents. For example, you may want to lock a layer fully when you finish with it. You can lock a layer partially if it has the correct transparency and styles but you are still deciding on positioning. When a layer is locked, a lock icon appears to the right of the layer name. The lock icon appears solid when the layer is fully locked and hollow when the layer is partially locked.

Lock all properties of a layer or group

Select a layer or group.
Click the Lock All option in the Layers panel. Layers in a locked group display a grayed out lock icon .

Partially lock a layer

Select a layer.
Click one or more lock options in the Layers panel:
- Lock Transparent Pixels: Confines editing to the opaque portions of the layer. This option is equivalent to the Preserve Transparency option in earlier versions of Photoshop.
- Lock Image Pixels: Prevents modification of the layer’s pixels using the painting tools.
- Lock Position: Prevents the layer’s pixels from being moved.
For type and shape layers, Lock Transparency and Lock Image are selected by default and cannot be deselected.

Apply lock options to selected layers or a group

Select multiple layers or a group.
Choose Lock Layers or Lock All Layers In Group from the Layers menu or the Layers panel menu.
Select lock options, and click OK.