Work with layers
Layer kinds, stacking order, hiding, locking, renaming, duplicating, merging, colour labels and finding layers in a busy design.
Beginner5 min readUpdated 25 September 2026Editor · Layers
On this page
Every photo, word and shape in a design is its own layer, stacked on top of each other. Working in layers means you can move, change or delete one thing without touching the rest. This article covers the Layers panel and everything you can do with a layer.
Kinds of layer
| Kind | What it is | Stays editable |
|---|---|---|
| Image (pixels) | A photo, a pasted image, or a blank layer you paint on | Pixels can be painted and erased |
| Text | Type you can retype, restyle and resize | Yes, until you rasterize or merge it |
| Shape | Rectangle, ellipse, polygon or star, line, or a pen path, with fill and outline | Yes, until you rasterize or merge it |
| Adjustment | Curves, levels, hue and saturation and the rest, or a filter. Changes every layer beneath it | Yes, always |
Groups and boards also appear in the panel, as headers with the layers they hold listed under them. See Groups, align and guides and Artboards.
To add a layer, use the Add button in the menu bar (Photo, Text, Shape, Blank layer), the New layer button at the bottom of the Layers panel (Ctrl+Shift+N), or drop or paste an image onto the canvas.
Stacking order
The top of the list is the front of the design. Drag a layer up or down the list to change its place. Dropping a layer between two members of a group puts it in that group; dragging it away from its group takes it out.
- Ctrl+Shift+]
- Bring to front
- Ctrl+]
- Bring forward
- Ctrl+[
- Send backward
- Ctrl+Shift+[
- Send to back
- [ or ]
- Send back or bring forward one step (when a brush tool is not in your hand)
The same commands are in Layer, Arrange.
Selecting layers
- Click a row to select that layer. Shift-click selects every layer between the current one and the one you click. Ctrl-click adds or removes one layer.
- On the canvas, with the Move tool (V), click something to select it. Shift-click adds another. Drag across empty canvas to select every layer the box touches.
- If Auto-select is off (in the options bar under Move settings), Ctrl-click on the canvas still picks the layer under the pointer.
Hide, show and solo
Click the eye on a row to hide or show the layer. Alt-click the eye to show only that layer and hide the rest; Alt-click it again to bring everything back. Hidden layers are left out of exports.
Rename, duplicate and delete
- Rename: double-click the name, or right-click and choose Rename. Press Enter to finish.
- Duplicate: Ctrl+J, Layer, Duplicate layer, or the floating action bar. The copy is named with "copy" on the end and sits 16 pixels down and to the right, so you can see it.
- Delete: press Delete, click the bin on the row or at the bottom of the panel, or drag a layer, group or board onto the bin.
Blend, opacity and locks
The top of the Layers panel has a folding section called Blend, opacity and locks. It stays folded until something is set, so a simple design shows just the list. Open it for the blend mode, Opacity, Fill and four locks. Blend modes and fill have their own article: Blend modes and opacity.
| Lock | What it stops |
|---|---|
| Lock transparent pixels | Painting outside what is already there. Good for recolouring a shape or a cut-out without spilling over its edges. |
| Lock image pixels | Any painting on the layer |
| Lock position | Moving the layer |
| Lock all | Moving and painting |
A locked layer shows a padlock on its row. Click the padlock to unlock everything on that layer. Hover an unlocked row and click its open padlock to lock it completely. Align and distribute leave layers with Lock all where they are. A layer with Lock all cannot be picked by clicking the canvas: select it in the Layers panel instead.
Merge, rasterize and flatten
- Merge down joins the selected layer with the one below into a single image layer, named after the lower one.
- Merge visible (Ctrl+Shift+E) joins everything visible.
- Stamp visible to new layer (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E) makes a new image layer of everything you can see and leaves the originals alone. Handy before retouching.
- Rasterize layer turns a text or shape layer into pixels.
- Flatten image joins every layer into one.
Colour labels
Right-click a layer and pick one of the colour dots at the bottom of the menu: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet or grey. A stripe in that colour appears on the left of the row. Labels are just for you: use them to mark finished parts, layers for a client's review, or everything that belongs to one idea. The crossed dot removes the label.
Find a layer
In a busy design, click Find layers (the magnifier at the bottom left of the panel). A search row appears in the panel header, under Blend, opacity and locks; open that section if it is folded. Pick a kind (All, Pixels, Text, Shapes or Adjustments) and type part of a name. For text layers the search also looks at the words themselves.
More from the row and the right-click menu
- Ctrl-click a thumbnail to select that layer's pixels. Add Shift to add to the selection, or Alt to subtract.
- An fx badge means the layer has layer styles. Click it to edit them. See Layer styles.
- A chain icon means the layer is linked to others (Layer, Link layers). Linked layers move together.
- Right-click any row for Blending options, Duplicate, Delete, Rename, clipping masks, masks, Select layer pixels, Group, Link, copy and paste layer style, Rasterize, the merges and Flatten image.
The buttons along the bottom of the panel are, from left to right: Find layers, Link layers, Layer style, Add mask, New adjustment layer, New group (Ctrl+G), New layer and Delete layer.
On a phone
Tap the Layers button at the top right of the canvas (it shows how many layers there are) to open the Layers panel as a sheet. Tapping a layer on the canvas opens the Select sheet, which has Bring forward and Send back under Order, plus Duplicate, Delete and an Opacity slider.