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USING PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 8
Using layers
Last updated 7/26/2011
More Help topics
“Understanding layers” on page 49
“About blending modes” on page 205
Select all opaque areas in a layer
You can quickly select all the opaque areas in a layer. This procedure is useful when you want to exclude transparent
areas from a selection.
1 In the Layers panel, Command-click the layer thumbnail.
2 To add the pixels to an existing selection, press Command+Shift and click the layer thumbnail in the Layers panel.
3 To remove the pixels from an existing selection, press Command+Option and click the layer thumbnail in the
Layers panel.
4 To load the intersection of the pixels and an existing selection, press Command+Option+Shift and click the layer
thumbnail in the Layers panel.
More Help topics
“Understanding layers” on page 49
“About selections” on page 80
Customize the transparency grid
The checkerboard grid identifies transparency in a layer. You can change the appearance of this grid; however, do not
change it to solid white because you’ll eliminate the visual distinction between opaque (white) and transparent
(checkerboard).
1 Choose Photoshop Elements > Preferences > Transparency.
2 Choose a pattern size from the Grid Size menu.
3 Choose a pattern color from the Grid Colors menu. To choose a custom color instead, click one of the two boxes
below the Grid Colors menu and select a color from the Color Picker.
More Help topics
“About the Layers panel” on page 50
“Use the Adobe Color Picker” on page 211
Adjustment and fill layers
About adjustment and fill layers
Adjustment layers let you experiment with color and make tonal adjustments without permanently modifying the
pixels in an image. You can think of an adjustment layer as a veil coloring the underlying layers. By default, an
adjustment layer affects all layers below it, although you can change this behavior. When you create an adjustment
layer, the Layers panel displays a white box representing the adjustment for that layer.
Fill layers let you fill a layer with a solid color, gradient, or pattern. Unlike adjustment layers, fill layers do not affect
the layers below them. To paint on a fill layer, you must first convert it (simplify it) into a regular layer.
