Unlocking Background layer

I am making a collage of pictures and realized I had added a number of pictures directly onto the background without creating separate layers. When I wanted to move some of them, I couldn't because the background is locked.Is there a way to unlock the background so I don't have to redo it?Abbey

Abbey,
To unlock the Background layer, simply double-click it and rename it to something other than "Background". The default name "Layer 0" is sufficient.
But I'm a bit confused. You say you already added some items to the background? Since these are not layers I'm guessing they are permanent and unlocking the Background won't buy you anything.
I find it good practice to first duplicate the Background layer, turn off it's visibility, and start working from the duplicate layer. This way the orignal will still be there in an emergency.

Similar Messages

How do I unlock background layer?

How do I unlock the background layer on free trial photoshop?

go to layers window and select the layer you are trying to unlock, There should be a lock icon next to name of layer, you can drag lock icon to trash can at the bottom of the layer window and layer will be unlocked. There is also a lock icon just above all the layers and you can toggle the layer as locked or unlocked. multiple ways to do the same task. Male sure to the select the correct layer you are trying to unlock. background layer applies as well.

Unlocking Background Layer with lots of other layers

I've been looking at the similar questions, but no script has worked perfectly yet. I have a series of phoshop actions that I run on a regular basis. I have two version of each, one for if there's a locked background layer, and one for when its already been unlocked. Otherwise my actions error.
I'd like to simplify the process and have a script run that finds any locked layers (ie: background) and unlocks it, even if there are 15 other layers and even if I have another layer selected. It should also run without errors if there are no locked (background) layers to be found.
I don't know the first thing about writing my own scripts, so can somebody tell me what lines of code I'd need? Thank you Thank you!

function makeActiveByIndex( index, visible ){
    var desc = new ActionDescriptor();
    var ref = new ActionReference();
    ref.putIndex(charIDToTypeID( 'Lyr ' ), index )
    desc.putReference( charIDToTypeID( 'null' ), ref );
    desc.putBoolean( charIDToTypeID( 'MkVs' ), visible );
    executeAction( charIDToTypeID( 'slct' ), desc, DialogModes.NO );
function getNumberOfLayers(){
    var ref = new ActionReference();
    ref.putProperty( charIDToTypeID( 'Prpr' ), charIDToTypeID( 'NmbL' ) );
    ref.putEnumerated( charIDToTypeID('Dcmn'), charIDToTypeID( 'Ordn' ), charIDToTypeID( 'Trgt' ) );
    return executeActionGet( ref ).getInteger( charIDToTypeID( 'NmbL' )) ;
function getProperty( psClass, psKey, index ){// integer:Class, integer:key
    var ref = new ActionReference();
    if( psKey != undefined ) ref.putProperty( charIDToTypeID( "Prpr" ), psKey );
    if(index != undefined ){
        ref.putIndex( psClass, index );
    }else{
        ref.putEnumerated( psClass , charIDToTypeID( "Ordn" ), charIDToTypeID( "Trgt" ) );
    try{
        var desc = executeActionGet(ref);
    }catch(e){ return; }// return on error
    if(desc.count == 0) return;// return undefined if property doesn't exists
    var dataType = desc.getType(psKey);
    switch(dataType){// not all types supported - returns undefined if not supported
        case DescValueType.INTEGERTYPE:
            return desc.getInteger(psKey);
            break;
        case DescValueType.ALIASTYPE:
            return desc.getPath(psKey);
            break;
        case DescValueType.BOOLEANTYPE:
            return desc.getBoolean(psKey);
            break;
        case DescValueType.BOOLEANTYPE:
            return desc.getBoolean(psKey);
            break;
        case DescValueType.UNITDOUBLE:
            return desc.getUnitDoubleValue(psKey);
            break;
        case DescValueType.STRINGTYPE:
            return desc.getString(psKey);
            break;
        case DescValueType.OBJECTTYPE:
            return desc.getObjectValue(psKey);
            break;
        case DescValueType.LISTTYPE:
            return desc.getList(psKey);
            break;
        case DescValueType.ENUMERATEDTYPE:
            return desc.getEnumerationValue(psKey);
            break;
var doc = app.activeDocument;
var layerCount = getNumberOfLayers();
var invisibleLayers = [];
var loopStart = Number(!doc.layers[doc.layers.length-1].isBackgroundLayer);
for(var layerIndex = loopStart;layerIndex<=layerCount;layerIndex++){
    if(!getProperty( charIDToTypeID('Lyr '), stringIDToTypeID( 'visible' ), layerIndex )) invisibleLayers.push(layerIndex);
for(var hiddenIndex=0;hiddenIndex<invisibleLayers.length;hiddenIndex++){
    makeActiveByIndex( invisibleLayers[hiddenIndex], true);
    if(doc.activeLayer.allLocked) doc.activeLayer.allLocked = false;
    if(doc.activeLayer.pixelsLocked) doc.activeLayer.pixelsLocked = false;
    if(doc.activeLayer.positionLocked) doc.activeLayer.positionLocked = false;
    if(doc.activeLayer.transparentPixelsLocked) doc.activeLayer.transparentPixelsLocked = false;
    doc.activeLayer.visible = false;

Can't unlock background layer using Photoshop CS3 Extended

I installed CS3 a few days ago (though I'm an experienced CS2 and Photoshop 6 user) and opened Photoshop CS3 Extended today for the first time.
The problem I'm having is with unlocking the background layer. I read in the documentation and on the Net about double-clicking and renaming the layer (which is what I did in other versions), or creating a new file with a transparent background, but those things aren't working for me in this version.
I opened a tiff file (a logo I want to use as the basis for a new image) but I can't unlock the background layer so I can copy, manipulate or add to it. Everything on the Layers drop-down menu is grayed out, as are the word Lock: and the symbols following it in the Layers window.
I tried creating a new image but when File|New dialog box opens the option to use transparent in the Background Contents dropdown is grayed out, too.
I'd appreciate some help with this.
Thanks,
Peggy

The issue has to do with the mode that you are in. If it is a TIFF or GIF file that you are opening, when you click on "Image -- Mode" you are likely to see "Indexed Color..." with a checkmark next to it. Be sure to select "RGB Color." Once you have done that, you can simply double-click the background layer in the layers palette to unlock the image.

Unlock background layer

How do I unlock the background layer without duplicating it first and deleting the locked layer. It's a nuisance. I never ever want that background layer locked. why is photoshop locking it by default?

I have always wondered why they locked the initial layer. Many times I will open a picture to do alterations on it, and many times I have to unlock that layer, pretty much all the time actually. It is simple to promote to a regular layer, I just don't see the productivity enhancement in locking it.
Many times a regular image you open will just have 1 layer, and the whole layer is the background layer. I agree that locking the "background" is a good idea, but not when an image is 99% of the time interpreted as a single layer, in the form of a locked background layer. Not that I'm sitting here day in and day out pulling my hair out over it, but it is slighty perplexing and slightly annoying, and I've always wanted to ask a Photoshop Guru the benefits of making this happen by default with no option to change it at all.

Newbie Question ... How do you Unlock Background Layer

How do you unlock the background layer? I put together an image then flattened it. Now it is showing as locked. I want to make changes to the various layers I used to make the image. The lock symbol in ghosted, as well as the Lock Grid image.
Can anyone offer any quick assistance?
Thanks.

You'll get better response on the Photoshop Elements forum for a Photoshop Elements question, of course.
But, meantime, try double-clicking on the Background layer on the Layersa palette.

Why does the Background Layer unlock itself?

When I open a picture in PS the first layer is a locked background layer. If I start working in PS it changes automatically to an unlocked Layer 0. I want it to stay as an locked background layer. I have used PS for a few years, and just started happening.

With the new version of Photoshop if you work on the background layer and do something like click on the add layer mask icon in the layer palette. Since the background layer does not support transparency Photoshop knows you need to convert the background layer to a normal layer so Photoshop automatically does that for you. If you just paint on the background layer or clear or fill an area, stroke a selection it will remain a background layer with its transparency locked. The Background layer is only partially locked so you can work on it as shown by the un-filled in lock icon on the background layer in the layer palette. If you look here you see layer 2 is unlocked, Layer 1 is fully locked and the background layer is partly locked and has been worked on.

Why is my Background Layer unlocked

Using Adobe, PSE 5.0, Windows XP
When I opened a blank file in the Full Editor a Background layer appeared on the Layers Palette with an icon that indicated the layer was Locked.
Next I loaded a JPG into the Full Editor. It appeared in the Palette Bin, and also appeared in the Background Layer's icon.
I Closed the JPG. It disappeared from the Palette Bin and the Background Layer icon.
I created another Layer. So now on the Layers Palette I have Layer 0 - Background - Locked, and Layer 1 - Unlocked . Aagin I load a JPG. It appeared in the icon of the Locked Background Layer instead of the unlocked layer 1. Why does this happen?

The palette just shows the layers in the current image. If you open a photo with a background layer, it shows the locked layer. If you open a photo with regular layers it shows those layers. When you switch another image to be the currently active image, the layers palette changes, too, to show you what is currently the state of the active image.

Unlock the background layer?

Why does Elements automatically lock the background layer? Is there no way to unlock it? Sometimes I like to modify the background layer, move it around, and make other alterations to it. As it is, if I want to move the background, I must copy it onto a new layer, make the shift, then delete the old background! Needless to say, very slow for large files.

Right click background layer in the layers palette, click "duplicate layer", then shut off visibility of the background layer by clicking the eye icon.
The background copy layer is now at your disposal for manipulation.
If you need to start over again, just delete the layers which you have created.

Background layer seizes added images.

I am trying to create a photo collage by scratch (not using "Collage"). First I create a new blank page for the background and save it. It is shown as "locked" with a padlock. Then I open an image file (.jpg) to add to the background layer, and I get a message that I need to unlock the background layer so I click to unlock it. However the added image locks onto the background layer and doesn't make a new layer. If I open another image file it locks on top of the others.

The Layers panel only shows the layer(s) belonging to the currently active file. You need to arrange your image windows so that you can see your composite image as well as the source. With the source image active the Layers panel will show the source - click and drag that layer to the composite.
So in the following, the violet image is the active image and I drag its layer to the white image I've created for my collage. In the composite image with the new layer selected I can position it where I want. Select each of the other images in turn and do the same. Refer to my previous note, you can also do this with Copy & Paste.
When finished, your composite image and its Layers panel will look like this:
Cheers,
Neale
Insanity is hereditary, you get it from your children
If this post or another user's post resolves the original issue, please mark the posts as correct and/or helpful accordingly. This helps other users with similar trouble get answers to their questions quicker. Thanks.

CS6 32 bit Image - Locked background layer

HI,
In Photoshop CS6 why can't I unlock the background layer in a 32 bit image as you used to in CS5?
I only seam to find answers as "change it to 16 bit" but that's not a solution.
In previous versions of Photoshop you were able to composite images in 32 bit.
What happen, what am I doing wrong?
Regards
David

No it doesn't
I have the EXACT same problem
Nothing has worked for me so far... I've tried double clicking the layer, changing modes "which can only be se to grayscale or RBG color, and RBG color doesn't work", ALT + double clicking on the layer and still nothio
"Edit"
I don't know if it makes a difference, but the image i'm trying to unlock is a render from 3ds Max. I checked the output to be .EXR, full RBG color and 32bit

Background layer default opening vanishing

Hi, when you open, let's say a PNG file, it creates a default locked Background layer, fine, now edit it, turn it into Layer 0 for example, and save, again as PNG, ...the next time you open that file, you'll get your Layer 0 and not a Background layer, I definitely need to get rid off that behavior, I need that Background Layer to be there! PNG isn't a PSD or TIFF, why is Photoshop saving Layer infos? and where? in the PNG? in a Cache ? I tried a bit of things to retrieve that "Background layer" when opening but PS CS5 still stores that info somewhere...

Hello! If you have unlocked the Background and need a new one, you can reassign a layer to be a Background using the "Background from Layer" command in the Layer menu. See attached screenshot.

I am trying to change the color of a background layer and it will not accept the color I want

I am trying to change the color of a background layer and it will not accept the color I want

If you want to get help you may have to provide a lot more details about what you are doing (which tools or commands do you use, what exactly happens when it fails, …)?

Lightroom does not create a background layer when editing in Photoshop - on Mac.

Thought this was a Photoshop problem. When I select a portion of an image in Photoshop (which has come from Lightroom) and press Delete, it no longer brings up the Fill dialog; it just deletes the pixels.
After some discussion on the Photoshop forum, I see that now, when I tell Lightroom "Edit in Photoshop", it creates a file which does not have a Background layer, and this causes the Delete key to act differently. This was not the case several weeks ago, but has just started to happen. Is there any adjustment I can make to the "Edit In" settings to get a Background layer in Photoshop?
JK

You must have changed a setting in Photoshop because Lr has no influence on how Photoshop treats the background layer.
There is nothing you can do in Lr to change this behavior of Photoshop.
What happens in Photoshop is this: For some reason the image is opened with transparent background.Such an image does not have a background layer and the layer at the bottom does not have the constraints of a regular background layer.
I am not aware of any command or script in Photoshop that would automatically do this on opening a file.
Try this: Reset your Workspace (>Window >Workspace). If that doesn't help I'd suggest to ask on the Photoshop forum why your Photoshop opens an image with transparent background.
You could also try to re-install Photoshop, supposedly this would reset any hidden settings that are causing this.

Do not have "background" layer and "shapes not showing up in my layers.

I open a new doc. there is no "background" layer, it is Layer 1 and when I make a shape it does not show up in the layers box. Maye reinstall ps?

Make a Shape how?
With which Tool and what are the Tool’s settings in the Options Bar?
Could you please post a screenshot with the Layers Panel visible?

Unlocking Background layer

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