How can two vector layers be combines in Photoshop?

Is it possible to combine to vector layers in Photoshop CS2? For example, if I have a shape layer with a circle on it, and a shape layer with a triangle, how do I combine them to a single shape layer with a circle and triangle? I can add more shapes to an layer, but not merge two existing layers.

As far as I know, you can't actually merge two shape layers without first rasterizing (which would effectively destroy your vectors), but you can cetrainly copy & paste from one to the other. Simply ctrl-click the source layer's thumbnail to select, copy the selection (ctrl-C), then click on the name of the target layer to activate it, and paste (ctrl-V). The shape(s) from the source layer will get added to the target layer's shape.

Robin's a little more knowledgeable than I am with Photoshop's vector tools (I tend to use Illustrator for most of my vectoring and then export to Photoshop), so maybe she can chime in here if there's something I've been missing, but I believe pasting is the only way to do what you're trying to do. Photoshop doesn't have the capacity for multiple shapes per layer like Illustrator does.

Thanks; that isn't an ideal workaround but should let me get everything onto one layer. I have considered using a proper vector based app and importing to Photoshop, but that would involve learning another tool when I know I can make all the shapes I need using the pen tool and simple addative/subtractive combinations.

Nepenthes, although you don't feel like learning another vector app, but you can at least try using Inkscape. It doesn't take a lot of effort and its free as well.

You can do boolean addition, subtraction, etc of shapes simply by selecting two shapes and hitting ctrl+ or ctrl-.

It works natively in SVG format and you can export it easily to PS.

http://www.inkscape.org/

Have you considered using paths instead of shape layers? The advantage is that paths (on the paths palette) are layer-independant, they're much easier to combine/manipulate, and they're really simple to use for making selections which you can then fill, rendering shape layers pretty unnecessary in my opinion. Whenever I do vector work inside Photoshop, I always use the paths palette. I really never use shape layers.

Anyway, as far as "learning another tool" goes, just so you know, if you ever were interested in learning Illustrator, it's pretty easy. Over the past few years, Photoshop and Illustrator have steadily become more and more similar. The basic look and layout of both programs is almost the same (and from what I've been hearing, will be even more so in CS3). If you already know Photoshop, you can learn Illustrator in a day.

Hi Nepenthes!

It's easy to do. You don't need workarounds or anything like that.



There you go!

You can now do all the things you'd do if you had drawn the shape on the layer in the first place.

If you want to keep your separate layers, too, just make copies of the one you want to paste into before you do so, of course. The one you've pasted from will remain intact, so if you don't want that, you'll have to delete it manually.

If you want to move a shape from one layer to a different one, just use Cut instead of Copy, as you'd expect.

If you want to put move a shape from a layer with several into a layer of its own, Select, Cut, create a new Solid Color Layer (under the Adjustment Layer icon,) click the Layer Mask icon to create a Vector Mask, and Paste. If you want it to look exactly like a native "Shape Layer", just delete the normal Layer Mask from the middle, so all you have is the Color and the Vector Mask.

Or you can do what I do, and cut the Shape (deleting the Shape Layer from the dialog that shows up when you cut the only Shape on a layer,) Create a new normal layer, click twice on the Mask icon to make a Vector Mask, Paste, and delete the normal Mask.

This gives me a Shape Layer that doesn't use a Solid Color Layer for color. Which means, of course, that it's easy to put a gradient into that layer, or to tap Command/ctrl+U and interactively change the color, or do any of the other things that you can do with normal layers, but not with Solid Color Layers.

Shapes are really great to work with; all they are, really, is pre-drawn paths. (They even show up in the Paths palette.) So you can use the Hollow arrow tool to edit them, just like you would for a Path.

If you want to know more stuff about them, just ask.

(Edit; oops, that's what Chosen said. I was interrupted while reading this thread, and missed that. Sorry, Chosen! But you can put a bunch of Shapes on the same layer. The only thing you can't do is put different color fills in them. But you don't have to, since anything you'd want to do with different color fills you can do with different shape layers, and different Blendig Modes.)

I still think working with shapes in Photoshop is really sucky especially when combining shapes into layers and using boolean operations. This is one of the parts where PS fails. What Robin is suggesting IS the workaround, since PS was never intended as a vector drawing software.

Having said that, there is no need to rasterize vectors just to combine them. PS can do it fine and still preserve it as vectors.