At the top of the layers palette there is a row of four buttons - these are commands responsible for protecting the layer from movement and various types of editing actions. In Photoshop this is called - Lock layer. Each button is responsible for its own type of protection. In this article we will look at the principle of operation of each command.
When one or another protection is applied to a layer, a lock icon appears on the right side. This icon is the same for all pinning types (exception: Saves everything, the icon there is darker than the others). To understand exactly what restrictions are imposed, you need to click on this layer and look at which icon at the top of the palette is marked pressed (displayed by a frame around the icon with a shadow, as if it was pressed in).
The first element in the row is the command Preserves pixel transparency(Lock Transparent Pixels).
This type of pinning is used to restrict editing of transparent pixels. Let me remind you that it is displayed in the form of a chess square.
In the example below, the yellow circle is protected from editing transparent pixels. If I take a brush and try to start drawing with it, then the pixels will not appear anywhere except on the circle itself (because the circle is surrounded by transparent pixels, and I forbade drawing on them).
Note
Please keep in mind that transparent pixels mean 100% opacity. If the transparency of the layer is lowered by any other percentage, then such pixels will not be protected from editing.
Saving Pixel Colors
The second item in the pin list is Preserves pixel colors(Lock Image Pixels).
This restriction prohibits performing any actions aimed at editing existing pixels. That is, you will not be able to use tools such as: Brush, Eraser, Fill, Gradient, Blur, Stamp, Healing Brush and others - those that in any way affect the pixels of the layer.
At the same time, it is possible to perform other actions, be it moving, transforming, cropping, etc.
If you try to perform a forbidden action, for example with a brush, you will see the error: “ Can't use the Brush tool because the layer is pinned.«
Lock a layer's position
The third element, an icon in the form of the intersection of two double-sided arrows, is Secures the position(Lock Position).
This restriction allows you to set a ban on moving the layer and its . In other words, the layer will be rooted to the spot and will remain in its place, no matter what happens. You can't even turn it.
When you try to move it, you will see an error:
In this case, you can continue to change the layer: draw on something, add/remove pixels, or even change it beyond recognition.
Prevent any changes to the layer
The last element in the docking group is the button Saves everything(Lock All).
This command prohibits us from doing everything. With such a layer, as if with our hands tied, we cannot do anything. You can’t even remove it from the palette, let alone move it or edit it in any way.
You have already noticed that if you select two or more layers on the palette, the pin buttons will immediately become inactive. It turns out that you need to work with each layer separately? No. There is a workaround.
Now let's move on to the menu command Layers - Lock Layers(Lock All Layers in Group). A dialog box will appear in which you need to select the required fastening method.
This way the team can work on multiple layers simultaneously. But it’s not clear why this can only be done from the palette...
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Many people choose such graphic editors, which combine a clear interface and many necessary functions. These programs are in greatest demand compared to complex professional or extremely simple (with a small set of features) applications. The leader among graphic editors for both ordinary people and specialists is Adobe Photoshop. Of course, there will always be room for misunderstanding and other problematic situations. For example, some beginners cannot understand how to unlock layers in Photoshop and other complexities of the program. Luckily, this article will cover the most common problems associated with layer locking and how to resolve it.
How to unlock layers in Photoshop?
If you encounter this problem, there may be several reasons for its occurrence. The most common option is to simply lock the layer, which prevents changes to it. Sometimes a layer does not open due to the document mode. Another problem that raises the question: "How to unlock layers in Photoshop CS6?" - incorrect previous save. Let's take a closer look at the last situation.
Let's say the user started working in Photoshop - began editing images, creating graphic objects, or retouching photographs. After a certain period of time, it creates a certain number of layers. When saving the work, the user decides that it is worth saving the work in a format other than PSD (a file with Photoshop settings that stores all the options applied to the image). Let's say the file was saved in PNG format. After exiting the program after a while, he opens the PNG file using Photoshop and sees that all the layers have been combined into one. Unfortunately, if the user of the program has not previously saved the work in PSD format, then it is not possible to unlock a group of layers.
Therefore, it is necessary to save all work in PSD format, since only this format provides a full set of saved functions. Other formats simply do not support saved settings in Photoshop.
The most common case
Initially, the zero layer called “Background” is locked. If the user is thinking about how to unlock a pinned layer in Photoshop and use it to its fullest, then it is necessary to get rid of the icon in the form of a closed lock. You can double-click the left mouse button or drag the icon to the trash to unlock it. The user can lock layers, then the procedure for opening a layer remains unchanged.
Non-standard operating mode
In practice, it sometimes happens that before you unlock layers in Photoshop, you need to change the operating mode, which differs from the standard and familiar RGB mode. Then unlocking the layers in the standard way cannot be done. It is necessary to completely switch the operating mode to the color palette. To do this, go to the “Image” tab, then find the “Mode” item and select “RGB” in the list that appears. After this operation, all layers that were previously blocked will become open.
In this tutorial I will tell you how to unlock a layer in Photoshop. We will consider two moments: when the image is in normal mode and “Indexed colors” mode.
The first one is when we have a regular photo and we just need to remove the lock from the background layer.
You can simply double-click on the layer name with the left mouse button, then click “OK” in the new window and the layer will be unlocked.
An interesting way is to hold down the lock icon with the left mouse button and drag it to the trash.
The longest way is through the menu “Layer -> New -> Layer from background...” (Layer -> New -> Layer From Background).
A similar method is when we right-click on the layer and select “Layer from Background” from the drop-down menu. But this method also requires an additional action in a new window.
If you don't like the pop-up window, then you can use the easiest way. To do this, hold down the Alt key on your keyboard and double-click on the layer name with the left mouse button. The layer becomes unlocked without additional actions.
If you need to lock the background layer back, then go to the menu item “Layer -> New -> Background from Layer” (Layer -> New -> Background from Layer). The lock icon will appear on the layer again.
Now let's move on to the second point. Let's look at what to do when the image is in the "Indexed Colors" mode. It's not so easy to remove the lock here.
To switch the image to Photoshop mode, go to “Image -> Mode” and change “Indexed colors” to “RGB” mode.
Let's talk about how to quickly and easily unlock a layer in the program Adobe Photoshop any version. To do this, we need to open one of the images and go to the Photoshop layers panel.
First we need to understand that when the lock icon of a layer is turned on, you cannot touch it, edit it or change it in any way, so we need to remove it or make a new layer similar to the background.
To do this, go to the desired layer and click on it 2 times with the mouse - in this case, the lock icon will disappear, and we will get a layer that can be changed. In this case, a dialog box appears with the settings of the new layer - here you can specify the name of the layer, color and blending mode with the degree of opacity.
There are a number of other actions that will help us unlock the layer. To do this, let's go to the Photoshop menu - Layer-New-Layer from Background . With this operation we will create a new layer from our background.
Well, and finally, the simplest action is to press the keys - CTRL+J or create a duplicate layer. But in this case, you will have to either remove the visibility of the bottom layer (the default background) or delete it.
First of all, we need to open the required photo in Photoshop. This tutorial uses a photo of a model that will be placed on a bright striped background.
To learn how to remove unnecessary background, read
In this tutorial we will only have two layers, but in reality their number is unlimited.
Step 1
Select the layers that need to be fixed. In the Layers panel, select the layer you want to pin. Pin an individual layer or group.
To completely lock a layer, click on the pin button, which is located above the layers (it is made in the form of a lock). If you need to pin several layers, select all the necessary layers, and then click on the pin button.
You will then see a tiny padlock icon next to each pinned layer. To unpin a layer, just select it and click on the same button. The lock icon will disappear.
Step 2
Partially fix the layer.
If you don't want to lock the entire layer, you can always lock only part of it (for example, just the transparent pixels). How to do this will be discussed in the following steps.
We fix transparent pixels.
To freeze the transparent pixels of a layer (and this allows you to edit only the image without affecting its transparent background), click on the button Preserves pixel transparency(Lock Transparent Pixels).
Step 3
We fix the pixels of the image
To freeze the pixels of the image (this will allow you to edit only the transparent background), click on the button Preserves pixel colors(Lock Image Pixels), which looks like a paint brush.
Step 4
Locking the Layer Position
If you want the layer pixels to be impossible to move, click the button Secures the position(Lock Position), which looks like four arrows pointing in different directions.
If you've partially locked a layer, the lock icon in the Layers panel will be semi-transparent.
Step 5
Alternatively, you can pin the layer via the menu Layers> Pinlayers(Layer > Lock Layers). Then in the window that opens, you can check the boxes next to the required parameters.
Translator: Shapoval Alexey
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