PDF (adobe.com)

Select layers



You can select one or more layers to work on them. For some activities, such as painting or making color and tonal adjustments, you can work on only one layer at a time. A single selected layer is called the active layer. The name of the active layer appears in the title bar of the document window.

For other activities, such as moving, aligning, transforming, or applying styles from the Styles panel, you can select and work on multiple layers at a time. You can select layers in the Layers panel or with the Move tool .

You can also link layers. Unlike multiple layers selected at the same time, linked layers stay linked when you change the selection in the Layers panel. See Link and unlink layers.

If you don’t see the desired results when using a tool or applying a command, you may not have the correct layer selected. Check the Layers panel to make sure that you’re working on the correct layer.

Select layers in the Layers panel

 Do one of the following:

  • Click a layer in the Layers panel.

  • To select multiple contiguous layers, click the first layer and then Shift-click the last layer.

  • To select multiple noncontiguous layers, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) them in the Layers panel.

    Note: When selecting, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the area outside the layer thumbnail. Ctrl-clicking or Command-clicking the layer thumbnail selects the nontransparent areas of the layer.

  • To select all layers, choose Select > All Layers.

  • To select all layers of a similar type (for example all type layers), select one of the layers and choose Select > Select Similar Layers.

  • To deselect a layer, Ctrl-click the layer.

  • To have no layer selected, click in the Layers panel below the background or bottom layer, or choose Select > Deselect Layers.

Select layers in the document window

  1. Select the Move tool .
  2. Do one of the following:

    • In the options bar, select Auto Select, then choose Layer from the drop-down menu, and click in the document on the layer you want to select. The top layer containing pixels under the cursor is selected.

    • In the options bar, select Auto Select, then choose Group from the drop-down menu, and click in the document on the content you want to select. The top group containing pixels under the cursor is selected. If you click an ungrouped layer, it becomes selected.

    • Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) in the image, and choose a layer from the context menu. The context menu lists all the layers that contain pixels under the current pointer location.

Select a layer in a group

  1. Click the group in the Layers panel.
  2. Click the triangle to the left of the folder icon .
  3. Click the individual layer in the group.