How to Make a Layer Active Again Photoshop
Piece of work faster in Photoshop with Automobile-Select! Learn how to motorcar-select layers, including multiple layers at once and even layer groups! Y'all'll too larn the best means to use this great characteristic.
Photoshop's Move Tool includes an Auto-Select feature that lets you lot automatically select layers just past clicking on their contents in the document. Yous tin select an individual layer or multiple layers at once. And y'all can even select an unabridged layer group just by clicking on the contents of whatever layer in the group!
Auto-selecting layers is faster than switching between them in the Layers panel. Simply it also makes it easy to accidentally select the wrong layer. So in this tutorial, I'll walk you through how Photoshop's Auto-Select feature works, and I'll show you what I consider to be the best way to take advantage of it.
Auto-Select is available in all contempo versions of Photoshop, but it's turned on by default in the latest versions of Photoshop CC. Along with learning how it works, I'll prove you how to plow Auto-Select off, and how to turn it back on only when yous demand it. Let's become started!
How to auto-select a layer in Photoshop
To show how Auto-Select works, I've created this simple layout with a background image and the discussion "LAYERS" in front end of it:
My Photoshop certificate.
In the Layers console, we see how my document is set up. The epitome is on the Groundwork layer, and notice that I've split the word "LAYERS" into its private letters, with each letter on its own Type layer.
Auto-Select works with well-nigh kinds of layers in Photoshop, including pixel layers, Shape layers, Type layers, and even smart objects. I'm using Type layers here just to keep things simple:
The Layers panel showing the layers in the document.
Select the Move Tool
To auto-select layers, you get-go need to have the Move Tool selected. Y'all tin select the Move Tool from the top of the toolbar, or by pressing the letter "Five" on your keyboard:
Selecting the Move Tool.
How to turn Auto-Select on
With the Move Tool active, Auto-Select is found in the Options Bar. In the most recent versions of Photoshop CC, Auto-Select is turned on by default. In earlier versions, you lot can turn Auto-Select on by clicking inside the checkbox:
The Auto-Select option in the Options Bar.
How to switch Auto-Select between Layer and Group
Find that past default, Auto-Select is ready to automatically select layers. But you lot can also car-select entire layer groups. Just click in the box beside the words "Auto-Select" and choose either Layer or Group from the listing.
We'll look at layer groups in a moment. For now, I'll leave Auto-Select set to Layer:
Switching Auto-Select between Layer and Group.
Click on the contents of a layer to select information technology
To automatically select a layer, but click on the layer'due south contents in the certificate. I'll click on the letter "L", and find in the Layers panel that Photoshop automatically highlights that layer:
Clicking on the content selects the layer.
To motorcar-select a unlike layer, again click on its contents. If I click on the letter "A", Photoshop deselects the previous layer in the Layers panel and selects the "A" layer instead:
Clicking on a different item in the document to automobile-select its layer.
How to deselect all layers
The i layer yous can't auto-select is the Background layer. Instead, clicking on the background contents while Motorcar-Select is turned on volition deselect any previously-selected layers:
Desleecting all layers by clicking the groundwork contents.
How to auto-select multiple layers
And then far, we've seen how piece of cake it is to auto-select a unmarried layer in your Photoshop certificate. But you can motorcar-select multiple layers as well. And at that place'south a couple of means to do it.
Method 1: Elevate a selection around the layers with the Movement Tool
One manner to automobile-select two or more layers is to click and drag with the Move Tool to draw a selection outline around the contents of the layers you desire to select.
Hither I'yard dragging a selection around the first iii messages. And in the Layers panel, nosotros see that Photoshop has auto-selected all iii layers. At that place'southward no need to depict your selection around the entire contents of a layer. Every bit long equally any part of the content falls inside the selection outline, the layer will be selected:
Drawing a selection to machine-select layers.
With all 3 layers selected, I can click with the Motion Tool on the contents of any of the selected layers and elevate all 3 layers together to reposition them:
Moving all iii layers at once after auto-selecting them.
Method two: Shift-clicking on the layer contents
Another way to motorcar-select multiple layers is to press and concord your Shift primal as you click on the contents of the layers you lot want to select.
Here I'one thousand holding Shift while clicking the letters L, Y and R. And in the Layers panel, all 3 layers are now highlighted:
Shift-clicking to auto-select multiple layers at once.
Again, I can click on the contents of whatsoever of the selected layers to move all of them at the aforementioned time:
Dragging the selected layers upward.
How to automobile-select a layer grouping
Forth with automatically selecting layers, Photoshop besides lets us machine-select layer groups. Clicking on the contents of whatsoever layer in the group volition motorcar-select the unabridged grouping.
In the Layers panel, we see that I've gone ahead and placed all six of my Type layers into a layer grouping ("Group 1"). And I've twirled the group open so we can meet the layers within information technology:
All vi Blazon layers are now inside a layer group.
With Auto-Select still fix to Layer, clicking on the contents of whatever layer in the group selects just that one layer:
Car-selecting a single layer in the layer group.
To auto-select layer groups, go to the Options Bar and change Auto-Select from Layer to Group:
Changing the Auto-Select choice to Group.
And now, if I click on the same contents again, this time I select the layer group itself:
Car-selecting the layer grouping.
The problem with machine-selecting layers
So we've seen that Photoshop'south Auto-Select characteristic is a fast and easy way to select a layer. But it likewise makes information technology easy to accidentally select the wrong layer.
To show you what I mean, I've ungrouped my layers, and I've fix Motorcar-Select dorsum to Layer:
Setting Car-Select from Grouping back to Layer.
In the Layers panel, I'll select the "L" layer by clicking on it, the way you would normally select a layer without using Auto-Select:
Selecting a layer in the Layers console.
And and then with the "50" layer active, if I click directly on the letter Fifty in the document, and I elevate with the Move Tool, I move the content I expected:
Moving the correct layer in the document.
But here'due south the trouble. If I click on a dissimilar office of the document by mistake, like the alphabetic character A, and I elevate with the Move Tool, I end up moving the incorrect content. And that's because Photoshop auto-selected the new layer I clicked on, even though I didn't mean to do that:
Motorcar-selecting and moving the wrong content past mistake.
Or, if I accidentally click and drag on the background contents, then instead of moving the letter L, or anything at all, I first drawing a pick outline, car-selecting any layers that fall inside the selection:
Clicking and dragging on the background draws a selection outline instead of moving the layer.
The best way to use Auto-Select in Photoshop
Then how nosotros can use Photoshop's Motorcar-Select feature but avert selecting the wrong layers by mistake? The best fashion is to turn Machine-Select on only when you need it. And you lot tin can do that using a simple keyboard flim-flam.
How to turn off Auto-Select in Photoshop
With the Move Tool active, uncheck Auto-Select in the Options Bar to turn it off. It volition remain off until you turn it dorsum on once more, so y'all just need to exercise this once:
Turning Motorcar-Select off.
How to temporarily plough Automobile-Select back on
Then, any time yous desire to temporarily turn Auto-Select back on, printing and hold the Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) key on your keyboard. Click on the contents of the layer you want to motorcar-select, and then release the Ctrl / Command central to plough Auto-Select dorsum off.
To auto-select multiple layers, printing and hold Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) to temporarily turn Auto-Select on, and then add the Shift cardinal. Click in the certificate to select the layers you need, and then release the keys to plough Auto-Select back off. Note that y'all'll need to have the Move Tool active for these shortcuts to work.
You'll know that Auto-Select is on because the checkmark will reappear in the Options Bar. When you release the Ctrl / Command key, the checkmark volition over again disappear:
The checkmark appears and disappears as yous toggle Auto-Select on and off.
And there we accept it! That'southward how to use the Auto-Select feature to quickly select unmarried layers, multiple layers and layer groups in Photoshop!
Bank check out our Photoshop Nuts section for more tutorials! And don't forget, all of our tutorials are now available to download as PDFs!
Source: https://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/auto-select-layers-photoshop/
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