moving layers

[Tape99]

A while back (not sure of the actual date) I was able to move around different layers by hovering over the item with mouse and click to move.  How do I get the current PS to do this?

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

@Tape99 While on the move tool, make sure you have the option to Auto Select checked on. 

[Tape99]

Kevin,

Where do I find this auto-select?  My PS (v26.9.0)does not show this.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

Hi @Tape99 the move tool has to be selected to see these options. 

If you dont see the options bar at the top go to Window>Workspace and Essentials or Reset Essentials. 

[Tape99]

 Kevin,

There is no auto-select box in my PS, even after selecting workspace to essential and resetting essential.  The box that says layer has the selection show here.

Dan

[Kevin Stohlmeyer · Accepted solution]

Your options bar looks very truncated - I have the same version as you (Mac) and your is drastically different. 

It appears your auto select is chosen for Layer - if you are looking for the highlighted box over top of the layer when you hover, that is found under the gear on the far right. 

[Tape99]

Kevin,

Thank you for your help.  There apparently is a preference box I had checked that prevented your solution from showing

[Conrad_C · Accepted solution]

What’s shown in your screen shot is how the options bar looks when the setting Enable Narrow Options Bar is on. To see the default options bar that Kevin showed, turn off Enable Narrow Options Bar in Preferences / Workspace as shown in the picture below. But the menu you popped up does look like the Auto-Select setting when Enable Narrow Options Bar is on, so if that works fine for you and you like the narrow options bar,  you don’t have to disable that.

[Tape99]

Conrad,

Thank you.  This is the answer I was looking for.

[jane-e]

@Tape99 

Conrad is correct that you have enabled the Narrow Options bar (meant for small monitors). If you don't want to disable it (best), there are other choices.

• The controls remain in the same left-to-right order, so the one for auto-select is to the left of the Layer/Group dropdown
• Reset the Move tool: right click the Move tool and choose "Reset Tool". Auto-Select is on by default until it is turned off

You can also use either of the two methods we had before the Photoshop team gave us auto select.

• Command plus click in the canvas and drag to move the no-selected layer
• Right-click to reveal a a shortcut menu listing all of the layers directly under where you clicked with your mouse, then choose the appropriate layer from the shortcut menu

Jane