Adobe PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS Manual page 186

CHAPTER 8
178
Using Layers
Locking layers
You can fully or partially lock layers to protect
their contents. When a layer is locked, a lock
displays to the right of the layer name. The lock is
solid when the layer is fully locked so that no
editing is possible; it is hollow when only the
layer's transparency is locked. Locked layers can be
moved to a different location within the stacking
order of the Layers palette, but they cannot be
deleted. When a layer is fully locked, you cannot
edit the pixels, move the image, or change the
opacity, blending mode, or layer style applied to
that layer. When a layer's transparency is locked,
painting and editing are confined to those areas of
a layer already containing pixels. For example, you
can lock a layer's transparency if you want to edit
an object (adding special effects, changing color)
without adding pixels to the transparent area
outside the object.
To lock all layer properties:
Select the layer in the Layers palette.
1
Click the Lock All icon ( ) at the top of the
2
Layers palette.
To confine editing to the opaque portions of a layer:
Select the layer in the Layers palette.
1
2 Click the Lock Transparency icon ( ) at the top
of the Layers palette.
Note: For type and shape layers, transparency is
locked by default and cannot be unlocked.
Painting with transparency locked
Sampling from all layers
By default, when working with the magic wand,
smudge, blur, sharpen, or clone stamp tool, you
are applying color sampled only from pixels on the
active layer. This means you can smudge or sample
in a single layer even when other layers are visible,
and you can sample from one layer and paint in
another one.
Alternatively, you can choose to paint using
sampled data from all the visible layers. For
example, you can use the clone stamp tool to clone
an area containing pixels from all the visible layers.
To sample from all visible layers:
1 Select the magic wand tool ( ), smudge tool
( ), blur tool ( ), sharpen tool ( ), or clone
stamp tool ( ).