From Sue Chastain,
Your Guide to Graphics Software.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

In the discussion forum, BonnieLeeC writes, "I am a big user of the Auto Select Layer, however when the layer I am trying to grab is in a group, the move tool selects the entire group. Is there a way to auto select just one layer within a group?"

Layer grouping and selection has changed somewhat in Photoshop CS2. If you're coming to Photoshop CS2 from an older version, these changes may catch you by surprise.

There are two ways to select one layer in a group in Photoshop CS2:

1. Uncheck "Auto select groups" in the options bar. It is separate from auto select layer.

2. Or you can leave it checked and use the layers palette when you need to select just one layer.

You can also use shift and ctrl (command on Mac) modifiers to select multiple layers in the layers palette now. It works just like in Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder.

Another tip: If you have overlapping objects, and you right click on a place where they overlap, you will get a menu showing all the layers that are under the mouse and you can click one to select it.

Questions? Comments? Post to the Forum!