The Layers Panel

Open it with the Layers tab at the top left (it's closed when a project first opens). The panel lists every layer on the current page as a tree, in stacking order (top of the list is front-most on the canvas). Containers like groups and frames have a chevron next to their name.

• Click a chevron to expand or collapse that container.
• Alt-click a chevron to expand or collapse everything inside it at once.
• Use the Collapse layers button in the panel header (or press Alt/Opt L) to collapse every container on the page at once.

Drag the panel's right edge to make it wider when layer names are long — the canvas stays put underneath. Double-click the edge to snap back to the default width.

Selecting layers

Click a row in the Layers panel to select it. Hovering a row highlights that layer on the canvas so you can find it quickly.

On the canvas, hovering shows an outline of exactly what a click will select. A single click selects the outermost frame, group, or artboard under the cursor — the whole container, not an object buried inside it. Double-click to step one level deeper, and again to keep drilling down to the individual shape or text. Once you've drilled into a container, single-clicking another item inside it selects that item at the same depth, so you can move between siblings without re-entering. Hold Cmd/Ctrl and click to jump straight to the innermost object under the cursor.

Selecting a layer on the canvas scrolls the panel to it and expands any groups or frames it's nested inside, so the selected layer is always revealed in the tree.

• In the Layers panel, Cmd/Ctrl-click toggles individual rows and Shift-click selects a range.
• On the canvas, Shift-click adds or removes a layer from the selection.

Renaming

Double-click a layer's name to edit it, then press Enter to confirm.

Show, hide, and lock

Hover a row to reveal the eye and lock icons on the right. Click the eye to show or hide a layer, and the lock to lock or unlock it. A locked layer can't be selected or edited on the canvas.

| Action | Shortcut | | ---------------------- | ------------------ | | Hide / show selected | Cmd/Ctrl Shift H | | Lock / unlock selected | Cmd/Ctrl Shift L |

Reordering and nesting

Drag a layer by its name to move it. Drop it higher or lower to change its stacking order, or drop it onto a group or frame to nest it inside.

Frames and artboards always stay at the top level of the tree — you can't nest them inside another layer.

Right-click a frame on the canvas to pick it as the project's cover image — see Set a cover thumbnail.