Layers and the Layers Palette

Layer Controls

Main Section

• eyeball turns layer on and off
• the brush shows if you are in normal or mask mode
• selected layer is the active one
• icon shows a thumbnail of that layer or other info (type, path, etc.)
• you can change the names of layers
  • make layer active and select "Layer Properties" from wing menu
• padlock indicates if a layer is locked or not
• Layers can be moved by clicking and dragging it to another level

Bottom Section

• press to create a new layer above the selected layer
• dragging and releasing a layer from the main section to this button duplicates the layer

• press to remove the selected layer
• you can also drag and release the layer over the icon

• press to create a blank layer mask
• If there is a selection, the mask will be created to show the selected material, the rest will be transparent

• more on these later

• Gives access to controls for drop shadows, bevels, etc.
• can also gain access to layer effects by double clicking on the layer in the main section

• If you have a lot of layers, they can be grouped together so they can be managed easier