Show and hide layers and groups

Last updated on Oct 6, 2026

Use visibility controls to show or hide specific layers, groups, or effects in your document, focusing on particular parts of your composition.

You can show or hide individual layers, entire groups, and layer effects without deleting or moving content. Visibility controls affect only what appears in your document window and the Layers panel—they don't modify the layer content itself.

Use these controls when working with complex documents or when you need to quickly compare design variations.

Note

Hidden layers aren't included when you print your document.

Toggle visibility for individual layers or groups

In the Layers panel, locate the eye icon column on the left side of each layer or group.

Select the eye icon next to any layer or group to hide it.

Select the empty space in the eye column again to restore visibility.

Tip

Drag your cursor through the eye icon column to toggle visibility for multiple layers at once.

Show or hide layer effects

Layer effects like Drop Shadow or Stroke appear beneath their parent layer when expanded in the Layers panel.

Select the Reveal Effects In Panel icon (small triangle) next to a layer that has effects applied.

Select the eye icon next to an individual effect to hide it or select it again to show it.

Learn how to apply layer effects and styles, and understand how to work with layer effects.

Display only one layer or group (solo mode)

Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (macOS) the eye icon next to the layer or group you want to isolate. All other layers and groups become hidden.

Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (macOS) the same eye icon again to restore the original visibility settings.

Note

If you manually change the visibility of other layers while a layer is isolated, Alt-clicking or Option-clicking won't restore the original states.

Expand or collapse layer groups

Layer groups display a triangle icon that controls whether nested layers are visible in the Layers panel.

Select the triangle to the left of the group folder icon to expand the group and show its contents.

Select the triangle again to collapse the group.

To expand or collapse a group and all nested groups within it, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (macOS) the triangle.

Expanding or collapsing groups changes only the organization of the Layers panel—it doesn't change which layers appear in your document.

Use menu commands to control visibility

Select one or more layers in the Layers panel.

From the Layers panel menu, select Show Layers to make selected layers visible or Hide Layers to hide them.

Note

Only visible layers are included when you print your document. To print a specific layer, make sure its eye icon is visible in the Layers panel.

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