For PhotoCraft 0.10.0. Keep the original file and check layers, fonts and the saved or exported result before relying on a complex PSD.
Everything you add — text, adjustments, painted strokes — becomes a layer, and the Layers panel is where you control it. This guide covers the operations we verified in the 0.10.0 web build: visibility, ordering, opacity and background layers.
How do I show or hide a layer?
Every row in the Layers panel has a visibility toggle (the eye-style control). Click it to hide a layer; the canvas updates immediately. Hiding is non-destructive — the layer still exists — which makes it the safe way to compare versions of a design or to prepare transparency for export (see transparent PNGs).
How do I reorder layers?
Drag a layer row to a new position in the panel. Order matters: a layer higher in the list paints on top of the ones below it. Text, images and painted strokes each keep their own layer, so reordering is how you compose — for example putting a caption above a color adjustment’s effect.
When a document arrives as a PSD, the panel shows the document’s own structure, including groups and masks — see opening PSDs without Photoshop.
How does layer opacity work?
Each layer’s opacity sits at the top of the Layers panel. 100% is fully opaque; lower values let the layers underneath show through. Use it for watermarks, glows and comparison views. Change the opacity of the layer, not the photo underneath, so the original pixels stay intact.
What is the background layer and why is it locked?
A plain photo opens with a single Background layer, often locked. The lock protects it from accidental moves. You can usually:
- hide it (safe, reversible),
- unlock it to move or transform it,
- or build everything on new layers above it and leave it untouched.
For a transparent export, hide or remove the background — the transparent PNG guide walks through that exact case.
A workflow that keeps edits safe
- Open your image; leave the background layer as-is.
- Do each separate change on its own layer (text on a text layer, color via adjustment layers, strokes on an empty layer).
- Use visibility toggles to compare.
- Save a PSD so the layer structure survives — see save and export.
Complex Photoshop-specific layer features (some blend modes, smart objects, advanced effects) may not behave identically; test important documents.