If you select just one layer, it’s often called the active layer. When you select a layer, its background goes a darker colour.
You’re no doubt aware that you can select a single layer for editing by clicking it in the Layers palette:Ĭlick a layer in the Layers palette to select it For a thorough look at selecting pixels within layers, check out the Selecting stuff tutorial. This tutorial focuses on selecting layers themselves. We won’t be talking about selecting pixels on a layer here.
This tutorial walks you through all these techniques, and more, and explores the myriad ways of selecting layers in Photoshop. And sometimes, if your document has lots of layers, you want to select a layer quickly by clicking it in the document window. Sometimes you want to select more than one layer at once. Of course, to edit and manipulate a layer, you need to select it. (If you’re new to layers in Photoshop, take a look at our Introduction to layers tutorial.) They’re a great way to compose a design, because they let you edit and move design elements independently of each other. If you’ve used Photoshop for any length of time, you no doubt use layers fairly extensively.
