People who professionally work in the editing field will commonly use Photoshop. The platform doesn’t have an activity tab where you can track everything that’s going on. Instead, in Photoshop, there are things called layers.

There are some functions you can use with the layers, like hiding the, for example. But, there are also some other functionalities that you can also use.

Ways to Use Photoshop Layers

1. Creating a New Layer

Click the Create a new layer button in the layers palette (located below) to create another new layer. In addition, we can use a fast way, namely by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + N on the keyboard. A new layer will automatically be added above the Background layer.

If you want to make some changes, it’s better to create a new layer. That way, you can always edit the new layer instead of breaking the overall image.

2. Setting the Layer Order

The order of a layer indicates the position or location of the layer on another layer. The layer above will cover the layer below it. When working with Photoshop, the number of layers will usually be more than one or two.

The order of these layers determines the position of the image and the work we create.

We can use the following method to position the layer:

1. Select the layer to be moved or ordered.
2. Click the Layer menu > Arrange, and select an option to adjust the layer’s position.

Bring to Front moves the layer to the front or top position. Or you can also use the CTRL + SHIFT + ] command. Bring Forward is used to move the position of the layer one level above the layer above it. You can also use the CTRL + ] command.

Send Backward is used to move the layer position one level down from the layer below it. You can also use the CTRL + [ shortcut command. Send to Back is used to move the layer position to the back or bottom position in the layer arrangement and can use the CTRL + SHIFT + [ shortcut command.

In addition to using the above command, you can use the following manual method to move and sort a layer.

1. Activate the layer to be moved.
2. Click hold and drag the layer up or down as needed.

To get better features, users need to update their Photoshop version. If there’s a connection problem in the mid-process, VPN can be the answer. Freely check out features of Cyberghost VPN; one of them is to make the connection more stable. But again, make sure to be connected to the nearest servers to avoid high ping. Although ping won’t affect the performance of Photoshop, it can still affect your connection.

3. Selecting Layers

Selecting layers is used if you want to make changes to the shape or position according to the needs of the desired layer. We can choose several layers at once sequentially or randomly.

1. Selecting Multiple Layers with Sequential Position.

Use the following steps to select layers with sequential positions.

1. Click a layer name in the layers palette.
2. Then press the SHIFT key on the keyboard, then click on the name of the last layer you want to select.

2. Selecting Multiple Layers with Unordered Positions.

Use the following steps to select layers with non-consecutive positions.

1. Click one of the layers in the layers palette.
2. Press the CTRL key on the keyboard, then click the layers you want to select.

4. Grouping Layers

So that the layer arrangement does not look too much and the layers can be neatly arranged based on the group, you can use the following method:

1. Select several layers that you want to group into one group.
2. Select the Layer menu > select Group Layers. Or you can use the shortcut command CTRL + G.
3. To ungroup a layer, click the group name and then press CTRL + SHIFT + G or click the Layer menu > select Ungroup Layers

5. Adjusting the Blending of the Layer

Mode on a layer called Blending Mode adjusts the appearance of the layer. We can create object effects between layers by setting the layer’s Blending Mode.

By applying this blending mode effect, the image on one layer with another layer will appear more unified.

Here’s how to set the blending mode on a layer:

1. Activate the layer that will be given a blending mode.
2. Click one of the desired blending modes on the layers palette as needed. You can see an example in the image below:

We can adjust the layer’s position or copy the objects contained in a layer. And also, you can copy or move things in layers from one document to another.