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escaped.light
Participating Frequently
June 8, 2015
Answered

Why Can I Not Copy/Paste Layers or Folders in Photoshop?

  • June 8, 2015
  • 1 reply
  • 29373 views

I am honestly having a hard time understanding why I cannot Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V layers and/or folders (with styles and properties) in Photoshop, despite that I can with other elements in Photoshop and with nearly every element in all the software produced by Adobe (including the insurmountably more complex layers of an After Effects composition). I've long used many different methods to copy layers and folders around (duplicate, drag, etc.), but they can all be very cumbersome at times depending on the project and it's specific workflow. For example, I just finished editing about Thirty-Some selected RAW photos from an event in PS and I either need to have already put my watermark on them as I edited each one or I need to do it now as a big ol' batch - note: because I place my mark in a unique location photo based on it's contents, it's orientation and My Eye, the batch commands or actions won't work for this). My only option really is to visit the source document containing my watermark layer over Thirty times to retrieve a single piece of data that could and should just be held in my clipboard and available with a simple keyboard shortcut (also note that the blending styles of my mark will also be adjusted depending on the photo, ruling out a marque selection which can be copy/pasted, but only as a rasterized layer with an alpha channel).

Is there an explanation for why this is missing? Perhaps there is some logical reason I don't get...?

Cheers!

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Chuck Uebele

    You can also use ctrl/cmd-J to duplicate (copy) a layer in the same document, which will retain all its attributes. And as Trevor mentioned, you can just drag the layer from the layer panel to another document tab to duplicate it to another document - no menus, no rearranging workspace.

    1 reply

    Trevor.Dennis
    Community Expert
    Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 8, 2015

    You can do what you are asking, but you need to copy the 'contents' of a particular layer, rather than the layer itself.  That means you need to use Ctrl a (Cmd a)  to select all, then Ctrl c to copy it.  You can then paste that to a new layer in the same or a different document.

    However this might not be the easiest way to copy.  For instance, if you want to copy to a different document, dragging the layer to the other documents title tab at the top of the screen will move you to the other document.  You can then position and drop the layer where you want it.

    Or you can right click and Duplicate layer, either to the same document, a different open document, or choose new to place the layer in a new document.

    Or you can tile the different documents, and drag between them.

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      escaped.lightAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      June 8, 2015

      Thanks for the response, but as I said above, I am looking to copy the layer with it's properties (inc. layer name), style and dimensions intact. The method you described does not do that because it creates a rasterized copy. Tiling windows isn't a solution either as it involves the use of menus to change layout and then to change it back.

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      escaped.lightAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      June 8, 2015

      You can also use ctrl/cmd-J to duplicate (copy) a layer in the same document, which will retain all its attributes. And as Trevor mentioned, you can just drag the layer from the layer panel to another document tab to duplicate it to another document - no menus, no rearranging workspace.


      Nice! I just tried out the Ctrl+J, and that's a great shortcut I didn't know. Thanks!

      However, it still doesn't explain a reason why I can't just copy/paste a layer. My problem isn't that I can't copy a layer using the suggested methods here and in other forums on the internet, it's just that it is anti-productive to have to continually jump back to the original project window to get a layer that I'm repetitively using in a process like placing watermarks or logos across multiple projects and files. At risk of sounding crass, it's actually rather silly and slightly ridiculous that it just isn't there. I mean, as it is, I can already copy the entire PSD file - layers, styles and all - to the two backup drives I use, and only have to copy the file on the source disk once. And even in PS, the algorithmic functionality to do so is already built into the core software, as is apparent with the Ctrl+J shortcut (which again, after years of either dragging layers to the new layer icon or having to use the Duplicate Layers dialogue is a Godsend for that anti-productive practice so thank you!), so it seems to me that it's almost just literally a flick of a switch in terms of programming for Adobe to adopt this rather standard copy/paste software standard.

      PS. Nothing against the fine programmers at Adobe. Ultimately they've still got my dollar at the end of the day... Although, now I'm wonder if this works in Corel. (seriously though, I'd use Gimp before Corel).

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