Photoshop® Elements 8 All-in-One For Dummies®

Chapter 2. Managing Layers

In This Chapter

• Viewing, moving, and shuffling layers

• Transforming layers

• Simplifying layers

• Aligning and distributing layers

• Linking and locking layers

• Flattening and merging layers

Hopefully, you had the time and inclination to check out the first chapter of Book VI. That's where you get all the basic information on creating layers. In this chapter, you get all the details on how to manage the layers you've created. And, unlike some employees, clients, or children, layers are extremely agreeable to being managed — even micromanaged, for that matter. You can scale and rotate them, hide them, rearrange them, link and lock them, and even condense them into one loving, collective layer. Yes, Elements has a slew of ways to get your layers lined up in the orderly and organized fashion you deserve.

Viewing Layers

Often, hiding all layers in your image except for the layer you want to edit is useful. You can then focus on the element at hand without the distraction of seeing all the other elements of the image. You can hide layers with a single quick click of the mouse button, as we describe in the following list:

• Hide all the layers but one. Select the layer you want to display. Alt-click (Option-click on the Mac) the eye icon for that layer in the left column of the Layers panel and all other layers disappear from view. To redisplay all the layers, Alt-click (Option-click ...