Rename layers in the Layers panel. You'll be glad you did.
Published
Rename layers in the Layers panel. You’ll be glad you did.
Introduction
Did you know creativity is a habit?
Imagine if you took the time you spent looking for something and used it for making something.
My name is RC Concepcion.
I'm a Photographer, Director, Author, and Professor at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.
Let me show you how to name your layers.
This is a simple way to help keep you organized in Photoshop so that you have more time to focus on being creative.
I have this Photoshop file,
Why naming layers improves organization
and you can see it has quite a bit of layers.
New layers that are created are named Layer 1 and Layer 2, and we don't really know what's in them.
The more that we understand what is in the layer, the easier it is for us to be able to make changes and explore what we can do differently.
A simple way to know what's in a layer at a glance
Identifying layer contents quickly
is to give your layers meaningful names.
To do that, you'll have to locate and select the layer first.
One strategy to look for a layer is to turn layers off and on.
If you want to take a look at the contents of an individual layer, hold on the Option key on a Mac or Alt key on Windows, and click on the Eye icon to the left of that layer.
This will hide all of the other layers and show you the layer that you've selected.
To turn them back on, hold down the Alt or Option and click again and that will turn them back on.
Renaming layers efficiently
Go into the Layers panel and double-click on the name of the layer right on the text.
Once it's highlighted, type in the new name for the layer.
For a bonus tip, you can click on the Tab key on your keyboard, and it'll move you down to the next layer in your stack.
Continue naming your layers, so that you have everything identified.
And just like that, you know where everything is, you have everything identified, and you can use all that spare time to make your designs even better.
What you'll learn
Name your layers
Keep your layers organized by giving them names that are meaningful to you. It can save you time later when you’re looking for a particular layer.
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