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- Illustrator User Guide
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- Introduction to Illustrator on the iPad
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- Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips
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Lock or unlock objects or layers
Locking objects prevents you from selecting and editing them. You can quickly lock multiple paths, groups, and sublayers by locking their parent layer.
To lock objects, click the edit column button (to the right of the eye icon) in the Layers panel for the object or layer you want to lock. Drag across multiple edit column buttons to lock multiple items. Alternatively, select the objects you want to lock, and then choose Object > Lock > Selection.
To unlock objects, click the lock icon
in the Layers panel for the object or layer you want to unlock.
You can also use the following commands to lock and unlock objects:
To lock all objects that overlap the area of the selected object and that are in the same layer, select the object, and then choose Object > Lock > All Artwork Above.
To lock all layers other than the layer that contains a selected item or group, choose Object > Lock > Other Layers or choose Lock Others from the Layers panel menu.
To lock all the layers, select all the layers in the Layers panel, and then choose Lock All Layers from the panel menu.
To unlock all objects in the document, choose Object > Unlock All.
To unlock all objects within a group, select an unlocked and visible object within the group. Hold down Shift+Alt (Windows) or Shift+Option (Mac OS) and choose Object > Unlock All.
If you locked all layers, choose Unlock All Layers from the Layers panel menu to unlock them.
The Lock menus are disabled when you’re in isolation mode.
Unlock objects on canvas
You can unlock objects directly from the canvas using the lock icon without the need to go to the Layers panel. Do one of the following:
- Using the lock icon: To enable this feature, set Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display > Select and Unlock Objects on Canvas. A lock icon is displayed on the canvas for the lock objects. Click this icon to unlock objects.
- Right-click the locked object and choose Unlock > object-name.
Note: Layers can be unlocked only from the Layers Panel. The lock icon is not displayed for objects that are on a locked layer.

Choose from the following methods:
In the Layers panel, click the eye icon
next to the item you want to hide. Click again to redisplay the item. If you hide a layer or group, all items in the layer or group are hidden.
Drag across multiple eye icons to hide multiple items.
Select an object you want to hide, and choose Object > Hide > Selection.
To hide all objects above an object in a layer, select the object and choose Object > Hide > All Artwork Above.
To hide all unselected layers, choose Hide Others from the Layers panel menu, or Alt‑click (Windows) or Option‑click (Mac OS) the eye icon for the layer you want to show. Alternatively, to hide all other layers other than the layer that contains the selected object or group, choose Object > Hide > Other Layers.
- To show all objects, choose Object > Show All. All previously hidden objects are shown. Any previously selected objects are selected.
To show all layers and sublayers, select Show All Layers from the Layers panel menu. Hidden objects aren’t displayed by this command, only hidden layers.
To show all objects within a group, select an unlocked and visible object in the group. Hold down Shift+Alt (Windows) or Shift+Option (Mac OS) and choose Object > Show All.
The Show All and Hide menus are disabled when you’re in isolation mode.
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Select the objects and then press Backspace (Windows) or Delete.
Select the objects and then choose Edit > Clear or Edit > Cut.
- Select the items you want to delete in the Layers panel, and then click the Delete icon
. Alternatively, drag the item name in the Layers panel to the Delete icon in the panel, or choose Delete “Layer name” from the Layers panel menu.
- Select Delete Hidden layers from the Layers panel menu to delete all the layers and sublayers that are marked hidden.
Deleting a layer also deletes all artwork that is in the layer. For example, if you delete a layer that contains sublayers, groups, paths, and clipping sets, all those elements will be deleted along with the layer.
Note:A document must have a least one layer. If a document has only one layer, the Delete icon and Delete command are not available.
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