Photoshop : Understanding Photoshop's Tools
[ Contents ]
Daniel Garance

Layers

One of Photoshop's key elements! Layers allow you to create images made up of several levels (or layers). These layers are rather like sheets of acetate: they are transparent and, once placed on another layer, can be modified and moved around without affecting the rest of the image. For example, you can create a layer on which you place a coloured background and another layer with text that is then placed over the coloured background. You can then modify either of the two layers without affecting the other.

Layers can be created and modified by using either the Layers palette or by pulling down the Layer menu.



Figure 5: The Layers palette, which allows the user to create and modify layers in Photoshop.

Saving in the right format When you create layers, you can only save the image in the PSD format, the default format for Photoshop files. In order to save your image in a "Web-compatible" format, you have to "flatten" the image (Layer > Flatten image).

Save a copy of your image in PSD format if you want to be able to modify it at a later date.



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Image Adjustment and Mode Tools