Difference between "layer group" and "layer set"

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
May 19, 2022
3 replies
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I've been using Photoshop for so long that I was shocked to recently hear the term "artboard" for the first time. I'm still not sure what it is, but I see there are plenty of Google results to explain that.

What is really frustrating is I'm learning about scripting in PS and I constantly see references to "layer sets" on this forum. I'm getting the impression that it's pretty important to know what that is, but I've been unable to find a resource that explains the difference between a "layer group" (which I've, naturally used for decades) and a "layer set."

Can anyone explain or point me to an explanation? Thank you!

Actions and scripting

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Correct answer J453

They are the same thing.

They were called Layer Sets from Photoshop 1.0 - CS1. After CS2 they were renamed groups.

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

@Happy Doorway

The important thing to remember is that for scripting, from the Photoshop Object Model perspective, they are still layerSets or LayerSet - despite the GUI change in name. If using Action Manager code, there may be references to Group. It is all contextually dependent.

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

P.S. You might find the following helpful:

https://gist.github.com/MarshySwamp/ef345ef3dec60a843465347ee6fcae2f

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/get-infos-about-all-selected-layers/td-p/12101269/page/2

Trevor.Dennis

Community Expert

I've never got artboards. I had a wee play after reading your comment, and created an almighty mess which left me no idea where the document limits were. I'm sure that I am missing out and being too lazy to work them out, but I'd love to hear from someone who swears by them. Are they for doing comic strips and storyboards for instance? Or for jotting ideas on the same screen so you can have continuity of the artwork? I use the Michael Ninness window arrange shortcuts which does that, but I accept without the fluid transition between the boards, but then again, I like my rulers to reference the document I am working on rather than span across all of them. Yes, you could reposition the grid zero zero point, but it does not snap to an artboard corner. So what are they for?

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Artboards are typically used by UI/UX and web app designers to demonstrate how the app will appear on different device sizes and across multiple pages/screens.

Branding designers also use them for logos, menus, product packaging, labels, letter head, business cards (front & back), T-shirts... They sometimes create several artboards in different color schemes & themes.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert