Double-click on the name “Background” in the Layers panel, and then click OK, or press Return (PC: Enter) in the New Layer dialog to accept the new name.  Or, even better, you can hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key, double-click on the Background layer’s name in the Layers panel and that bypasses the New Layer dialog.

8 Comments

1. Dave Clayton said on — August 12, 2009 @ 11:16 am

   or just click on the padlock on the background in the layers palette and drag it to the trash and it’s a layer !!

2. Mike Hoffman said on — August 12, 2009 @ 11:31 am

   Or, yet another way: drag the “lock” icon from the background layer to the trash can! Makes sense, in a weird sort of way. Photoshop is so multi-dimensional! mh++

3. Henk said on — August 12, 2009 @ 2:40 pm

   Even easier, just drag the lock, in the layer, to the delete bin. This is a tip from Julieanne Kost.

4. Mike Jenkins said on — August 12, 2009 @ 2:58 pm

   You can also just drag the lock icon from the Background layer to the trash can and it becomes a regular layer.

5. Karl-Franz said on — August 12, 2009 @ 3:00 pm

   Or, even better, you can drag the little padlock icon in the background layer onto the trash icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.

6. Kathy A said on — August 12, 2009 @ 8:15 pm

   I LOVE the trick of dragging the padlock to the trash!!! It may only save a second or two, but every second counts!

7. Notable NAPP Links for August 16, 2009 | My Home Sweet Home Pingback on — August 16, 2009 @ 12:00 am

   [...] Convert a Background Layer to a Regular Layer [...]

8. Convert a Background Layer to a Regular Layer « photoshop tutorials Pingback on — August 19, 2009 @ 8:15 pm

   [...] layer’s name in the Layers panel and that bypasses the New [...] View The Original Post HERE Filed under: photoshop, tutorials No Comments Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) ( subscribe to [...]

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