Photoshop Elements 3 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide

Converting and

Duplicating Layers

You now know that you can create a new

layer using the Layer> New command; in

addition, Photoshop Elements creates layers

in all sorts of sneaky ways. For example,

whenever you copy and paste a selection into

an image, it’s automatically added to your

image on a brand-new layer.

When you start editing an image, you’ll often

find it convenient to create a selection and

convert it to a layer to keep it isolated and

editable within your photo. It’s also quite

easy to duplicate a layer, which is useful

when you want to copy an existing layer as

is, or use it as a starting point and then make

additional changes.

The background layer is unique and by

default can’t be moved, but sometimes you

will need to move it, change its opacity, or

apply a blending mode. To do any of those

things, you’ll need to convert it to a regular

layer. And sometimes you’ll want to convert

an existing layer to the background. While

these conversions are not necessary for

most simple photo projects, they are quite

common when you combine or make com-

posite images.

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Working with Layers

Converting and Duplicating Layers

To convert a selection to a layer:

1.

Make a selection using any of the selection

tools (Figure 5.29).

2.

From the Layer menu, choose New; then

choose one of the following commands:

▲

To copy the selection, choose Layer

via Copy (Ctrl+J/Command+J)

(Figure 5.30).

The selection is copied to a new layer,

leaving the original selection

unchanged (Figure 5.31).

▲

To cut the selection, choose Layer via

Cut (Shift+Ctrl+J/Shift+Command+J).

The selection is cut to a new layer,

leaving a gaping hole in the original

layer, with the current background

color showing through (Figure 5.32).

Figure 5.32 The Layer via Cut command cuts the

selection to a new layer.

Figure 5.30 Choose Layer > New > Layer via Copy to

copy the selection to a new layer.

Figure 5.29 Any selected area can be converted to its

own layer.

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Chapter 5

Converting and Duplicating Layers

Figure 5.31 Copying a selection to a new layer leaves

the original selection unchanged.

Figure 5.35 The new layer appears right above the

original layer on the Layers palette.

Figure 5.34 You can also duplicate a layer by dragging

any existing layer to the New Layer icon on the Layers

palette.

Figure 5.33 Use the Duplicate Layer dialog box to

rename your new duplicate layer.

To duplicate a layer:

1.

Select the layer on the Layers palette.

2.

Duplicate the layer using one of the follow-

ing methods:

▲

If you want to create a new name for

the layer, choose Layer > Duplicate

Layer.

The Duplicate Layer dialog box

appears, where you can rename the

layer (Figure 5.33). Note that you

can also get to this dialog box from

the Layers palette menu.

▲

If you’re not concerned with renaming

the layer right now, just drag the

selected layer to the New Layer icon

on the Layers palette (Figure 5.34).

The new layer appears right above the

previous layer with a “copy” designation

added to the layer name (Figure 5.35).

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Working with Layers

Converting and Duplicating Layers

To convert a background to a layer:

1.

From the Layer menu, choose New >

Layer from Background.

2.

If desired, type a new name for the layer

and click OK (Figure 5.36).

✔ Tip

■

You can also convert the background by

double-clicking the background on the

Layers palette, which brings up the same

New Layer dialog box.

To convert a layer to a background:

1.

Select a layer on the Layers palette.

2.

From the Layer menu, choose New >

Background From Layer (Figure 5.37).

3.

The new background appears at the bot-

tom of the Layers palette (Figure 5.38).

✔ Tips

■

The Type and Shape tools also each auto-

matically generate a new layer when you

use them, keeping those elements iso-

lated on their own unique layers.

■

This command won’t work if you already

have an existing background layer in your

Layers palette. Why? Because no image

can have two background layers at the

same time. To get around this, create a

duplicate of the current background layer

(you can rename it later). You can then

safely delete the background layer, then

follow steps 1–2 to convert a regular layer

into a background.

Figure 5.38 New background layers always appear at

the bottom of the Layers palette.

Figure 5.37 You can convert a layer to a background

by choosing Layer > New > Background From Layer.

Figure 5.36 You can convert the background to a layer

and rename it during the conversion.

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Chapter 5

Converting and Duplicating Layers