CS2 Question regarding layers:

This past weekend I upgraded to CS2! YAY! So far I am a very happy camper, but I do have one issue I need help with:

When I do textures I create different layers, often with a different blending mode/opacity for each one. In PS7 I would link the layers then click merge linked and all would be fine....

I'm looking around CS2 and I dont even see a way to link the layers much less merge them in order....I know that they couldn't have taken that feature out, so what am I missing? What is the new technique?

Thanks!

Hi!

You don't have to link layers, because you can shift-click to select as many of them as you want. (Or Command/ctrl click to select non-contiguous layers.)

So the extra step of linking before merging has been eliminated.

Just select all the ones you want to merge, and tap Command/ctrl E or choose Merge Layers from the menu.

If you do want to link layers, for instance, if you're using clipping layers, and you want to move them all, but don't want to make them into a Set, you will find the linking icon at the bottom left corner of the palette. Just select all the layers you want linked, and click it to link them.

CS2 is great! If you need any other help with it, just ask!

Link sets are truly wonderful.
One think that they mean, is that you no should longer need to merge layers ever.

In fact - if Adobe removed merge and flatten - with 99% of my files I wouldn't notice.
Too often, I see designers having to recreate something because they need to change one element of it, but have already merged or flattened.

Hmm. If I have made something over a number of layers and then needed to create an alpha channel from a selection. Then I have needed to merge the layers to do this. I have usually done this by selecting the relavant layers and merging them into a new layer. So is there a way to do this without merging to a new layer in CS2?

To answer your question directly: Yes - You are probably using Ctrl-Click on the layer thumbnail to make the selection, yes? With multiple layers, you Ctrl-Click the first thumbnail, and then Ctrl-Shift-Click each other layer that you would like to add to the selection. You can even Ctrl-Alt-Click a thumbnail to remove that layer's mask from the selection.

Aside from the question though - I prefer not creating alpha channels from layer selections - I always want my layer to bleed out of my alpha channel to prevent haloing or seams. This only applies to the layers holding the actual texture, though.

In reality, I usually do create a layer or five in which to design my alpha. These layers are usually shape-layers, or hand painted, solid-colour layers, displayed with low opacity above the other layers. I usually create them before even starting on the textures. (My personal preference is to get the shape of an item down before I start on the texturing)

While painting the texture layers, I make sure that I always "paint outside the lines", and I use the shape layer(s) to create the alpha channel once I'm done. I usually only have 2 or three shape layers (depending on complexity), while there may be tens of texture layers, adjustment layers, effects layers, etc etc.

clear the selection (ctrl/cmd-D)
ctrl/cmd-click the first layer thumbnail for the new selection
ctrl/cmd-shift-click additional layers to add to selection
on the channel palette press the "create channel from selection" button at the bottom
write "thank you" note to Adobe

Robin and Ben, you have both been extremely helpful! It all makes sense now, and how easy! yes Introvert, a thank you note to Adobe is in the works!

Ben, one thing: I am a little confused on your technique. Are you making more than one Alpha channel for your textures? I didn't think that was possible......

No, as you thought, it's not possible. What I mean is that in my design I may sometimes have 2 or 3 elements (shirt & tie, or window frame & pot-plant, for example) going into the same texture. I'll often have a seperate mask for each element saved as a shape layer, or a layer mask, or just a solid-colour stand-in layer. I often end using these masks for more than just creating alpha channels - and they're useful to keep around for re-using elements in other compositions.

But... before uploading I ctrl-click and ctrl-shift-click them, and then create only one alpha channel. The advantage to these mask layers, as far as the original question is concerned, is that I only have 1 mask for the shirt and 1 for the tie - making 2 layers that need combining to form the alpha channel. The actual shirt and tie layers, on the other hand, may have 10 or more layers (sometimes, usually not, just illustrating the point), but you don't need to ctrl-shift-click each one individually.

Thank you Ben, that really makes good sense!

Wow, you have no idea how much confusion you cleared up for me. I never realized you had to command-click on the thumbnail as opposed to the layer name to make a selection in CS2. Thanks!

I agree that it's a good idea not to ever merge or flatten layered documents, unless you are working on a copy.

Personally, when I have a texture ready to go (or think I do, at any rate,) I make a copy using the "Create New Document from Current State" button (the leftmost button at the bottom of the History palette.)

Then I flatten that document, resize it, and save it as a .tga file. That way, I can have the whole "flatten, resize, sharpen" bit as an Action, and I never forget to do any part of it. (The Flatten is necessary if you want to run Sharpen, and I find that it makes things that little bit crisper to run it, even if I do wind up Fading it on occasion. But that's a Personal Preference kind of thing.)

Also, when I'm doing a lot of files this way, Photoshop will remember that I'm saving .tga files, and will have that automatically set in the "Save As" field, which saves another tiny slice of time, and rather larger slice of "remember to do this step".

The real advantage of this workflow, for me, is that it makes it impossible to accidentally overwrite the layered file, or to Save it as a .tag and close it without saving those last few steps in the .psd file, no matter how tired I am. (I have been known to do both of these things, I'm afraid.)

When it comes to Alpha channels, I do a combination technique. I can go into more detail if anyone is interested; but it's command/ctrl clicking on various layers to make a "top Mask" and a bottom "bleed layer" and then combining those for the Alpha. Like Ben's technique, I don't have to click on every layer of the garment, since most of those selections would be contained within the other two anyway. (And the parts that aren't, I don't want in the Alpha! )

However, there is a caveat when using the Command/ctrl clicking. If you have reduced the Layer Fill or the Layer Opacity, that won't be taken into account when you command/ctrl click. Neither will any kind of layer mask. So a stocking layer, for instance, that's made into a fishnet by using a layer mask, and then has the opacity reduced 50% using the Layer Opacity slider, won't make a selection that's a 50% gray fishnet. It will make a solid, completely opaque selection, since that's what's on the layer.

The work around is simple.



All of which takes a lot more time to read about than it does to do! When you're doing it, it takes about 2 seconds.

Anyway, it seemed worth it to say all of that, in case people are using layer opacity and masks.

Actions rock - but I never use them enough. If I need to perform 100 of the same thing today I go action all the way - but somehow when i need to perform only 3 steps now, the same 3 steps tomorrow, the same 3 steps twice on saturday, and the same three steps on every clothing file I will ever ever upload ever again I fall off the wagon. Thanks, Robin - I resolve to change my ways.

Preach it, sister

huh? what? shift+alt+ctrl+what?
O M G !
Why did no-one ever tell me about this before??