Adobe Photoshop Elements Layer Menu - Details On New, Duplicate, and Rename Layer

The first choice you have under the Layer menu is New. New gives you a couple of options to work with a layer. The first is simply new layer. This allows you to create a new blank layer, name it, choose the mode, and the percentage of opacity. New layer from background will change your background from a locked layer to a layer you can work with. New layer via copy will copy everything from your selected layer and make a new layer from it. Finally, new layer via cut will take whatever you have selected, cut it out of that layer and create a new layer from that selection. Be aware that new layer from cut will chop that portion out of the layer you have selected.

Duplicate Layer: This option will copy the layer you have selected and make an exact replica of it as a new layer.

Delete Layer: This will delete the layer you have selected in your layers palette. Unless you turn the warning off, Photoshop Elements will ask you if you are sure you want to delete the selected layer.

Rename Layer: This allows you to select a layer and rename it something more fitting rather than the default layer 1, layer 2, layer 3, etc…

Layer Style: These options will all be grayed out unless you’ve added a layer style to your photo from the Effects menu on the right side of your screen. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be faced with a few options in order to change it to your liking. First is Style Settings. This brings up a dialog box which allows you to change the radius of the layer style, add a drop shadow, a glow, or a bevel, and change the size and amount of pixels.

• Copy/Paste Layer Style: These two work together so I’ve gone ahead and put them in the same explanation. If you use a layer style and you like it, you can copy it from the layer and paste it into a new layer in order to use it on another photograph.

• Clear Layer Style: This will allow you to remove any layer styles you’ve added to your photograph much like Edit>Undo would. This works if you’ve done more things to the photo and don’t want to undo it, but want to remove the style you’ve applied to the layer.

• Hide All Effects: Hiding all of the effects will allow you to work on the photograph without viewing the styles you’ve added to the layers of your photo. This would be much like hiding the layer while still being able to work on it since when you hide a layer you cannot make any changes to it.

• Scale Effects: Scale effects will only be used if you choose to use the layer effect for another image you’re working on. When working with two different file sizes the layer effect will not look right on a photo that is larger or smaller in size than the original document. Scale effects will allow you to scale the style up or down depending on the new document to get the correct viewing of the style you’ve copied over to the new image.