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The scenario is that i have 7 different layers and obviously, my screen monitor can't show them all (just only five layers). If i select the upper-most layer(the layer panel will adjust up) then I want to switch select the lower-most layer, is there shortcut key for it? Thanks.

Btw, the lower-most layer is locked.

Gif: https://imgur.com/Wjn6xH3

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  • it is same as windows select command. you know ctrl click for non contiguous thing and shift click for contiguous one.
    – Russian Blue
    Mar 17, 2020 at 5:38
  • @SuraiyaAbedin No. I mean, i''m not adding, but changing my selection.
    – snap
    Mar 17, 2020 at 5:46
  • you mean stacking orders of layers??
    – Russian Blue
    Mar 17, 2020 at 5:49
  • i mean at first layer 1 then the lower most? (u want it to be 2nd layer)???
    – Russian Blue
    Mar 17, 2020 at 5:49
  • changing my selection-- what it implies?
    – Russian Blue
    Mar 17, 2020 at 5:50

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
9

There are shortcuts for selecting the first and the last layer.

  • Alt + . → Top layer
  • Alt + , → Bottom layer

Photoshop default keyboard shortcuts

There's also a shortcut for selecting the next layer above and below: Alt + [ and Alt + ].

Additionally, there are ways to select layers from the document, which I'm a big fan of. Just point at a layer in the document and click... Especially handy if you're terrible at organizing layers in the layers panel by grouping and naming. Though you probably won't have that issue with just <10 layers.

The Move tool has this option called Auto-select:

  1. When this setting is on, you can Left click layers or groups depending on the selection in the dropdown that follows it.
  2. You can also then click + drag to select multiple layers.
  3. Locked layers are ignored.
  4. There's also the Right click context menu way of selection layers
  5. You can toggle the Auto-select option by holding down Ctrl (I usually turn the setting off and enable it with Ctrl when needed)
  6. Using Shift modifier with this method allows you to add/remove layers from the selection. So with the auto-select off, the modifier key combination would be: Ctrl + Shift + Left Click

The method I use the most is Ctrl + Alt + Right click:

  1. This works similar to the move tool methods, but there are a few differences.
  2. You don't have to have a specific tool selected to use this. That said I believe there are some tools that won't let you use it, if I'm remembering that correctly.
  3. This method will select locked layers
  4. Doesn't select groups
  5. No context menu option
  6. No click and drag
  7. Using Shift modifier with this method allows you to add/remove layers from the selection: Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Right click

Switch all Ctrl modifiers with Cmd on Mac.

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  • Interesting I was unaware of the top/bottom options.
    – Scott
    Mar 17, 2020 at 8:24
  • @Scott, just like shortcuts for selecting the next layer, these two are also pretty well hidden. I believe you can find them in some helpx article, but they are nowhere to be seen in PS and these shortcuts can't be changed either.
    – Joonas
    Mar 17, 2020 at 8:30
  • Noi on aika vaikeita suomalaisessa näppiksessä
    – joojaa
    Mar 17, 2020 at 9:40
  • @joojaa, jep. Paras tapa ratkasta tää ongelma on nauhottaa scripta scripting listerenillä käyttäen US näppis layouttia. Tosin vaikka mulla on vuosia ollu pikanäppäimet niille toiminnoille tehty tällä tavalla, niitä ei vaan tuu käytettyä :/
    – Joonas
    Mar 17, 2020 at 9:57
  • To find these shortcut open the adobe cc launcher and search for 'keyboard shortcuts photoshop'. Then, scroll down 'til you see the section 'Use the Layers Panel'
    – nocturns2
    Mar 17, 2020 at 21:09
2

For this exact scenario you can press Alt+] — that is a shortcut for Select Next Layer but if you have the top layer selected it'll jump back to the first one. The same is true for opposite: Alt+[ will select top layer if you have the first selected.

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  • Thank you very much for your answer. Yes i'm doing this (before joonas answered) Now I prefer using Alt +,
    – snap
    Mar 18, 2020 at 22:37
  • @FernanBuan I agree, that answer is far more comprehensive. I didn't know about that shortcut either!
    – Sergey Kritskiy
    Mar 18, 2020 at 22:54
-3

For mac keyboards it is " Alt + : " and " Alt + = "

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  • 1
    no it's not. I tried in both my MacBook Pro keyboard and the wireless keyboard, these are the wrong shortcuts.
    – Luciano
    Aug 20, 2020 at 8:23
  • On Mac, it's exactly as the accepted answer states, alt comma or stop.
    – Tetsujin
    Aug 23, 2020 at 11:18
  • Without knowing what keyboard or layout this guy is using I have to admit that maybe this answer is a bit too vague and misleading, but it does bring up a good point. I just wanted to give some insight on this. It's possible this guy has a weird keyboard or maybe he is using the US layout in a non-US keyboard. As an example, in my Fin/Swe keyboard with the US layout, the top and bottom layer shortcuts are the same, but the next layer up or down is Alt+Å and `Alt+^. If I use my Finnish layout, however, the next layer up or down no longer works. As far as I know, there is no way to
    – Joonas
    Sep 7, 2020 at 7:14
  • invoke any square bracket shortcut in my Fin/Swe keyboard. I believe many Europeans have this issue with Adobe application shortcuts that use square brackets and possibly some other keys. Which is infuriating because some of those shortcuts in PS can't be changed. I believe selecting the next layer down or up is one of those. You can get past the issue by changing the keyboard layout to US, which is something I do occasionally when I'm making actions. Any other time I want to use these shortcuts I use a script that I've recorder with scripting listener + the US layout.
    – Joonas
    Sep 7, 2020 at 7:14

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