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Layers Palette Menu

The Layers palette has a menu which can be accessed by clicking the small triangle on the right side of the palette. There are several commands which are available in this menu. For example, in our sample image, we can combine the "paint" an "palette" layers with "Merge Down".

13a. Click the paint layer to select it.

13b. Click the small triangle on the right side of the Layers palette to access the Layers Palette Menu. Then choose "Merge Down".

13c. The paint layer will be combined with the palette layer. The name of the layer underneath will be retained and the name of the layer on top will be discarded. In this case, the remaining name is "palette".

Renaming a Layer

14a. To rename a layer, double-click it in the Layers palette.

14b. Enter the new name in the dialog and click "OK" when done.

14c. The new name will appear in the Layers palette.

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Linking Layers

12. Layers can be linked so they can be repositioned as a unit. Click the column to the left of the layer (to the right of the layer's eye icon) to link it to the active layer (below left). In the example below, the "paint", "palette" and "shadow" layers have been linked together. When using the Move Tool and any of these layers is selected, all will move as a unit (below right).

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11b. Dissolve

11c. Overlay

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10. You can adjust a layer's opacity by dragging the Opacity slider (below left). Alternately, you can simply enter a value for the opacity. In the example below, the shadow layer is made to appear more transparent by setting its opacity to 75% (below right).

Layer Blending Modes

Each layer has a blending mode. A blending mode is the way layer pixels blend with the layers beneath it. The default blending mode is "Normal", but there are several to choose from. Below are just a few examples of using different blending modes on the shadow layer:

11a. Normal

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7. To create a new layer, click the New Layer button in the Layers palette (below left). The new layer will appear just above the active layer (below right).

8. To duplicate a layer, drag it to the New Layer button. In the example below, a new layer will be created named "photo copy".

9. To change the layer stacking order, click a layer and move it up or down in the Layers palette.