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<ul class="navigation"><li class="prev"><a accesskey="p" class="prev" href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-7867a.html" title="Masking layers"><img src="images/blank.gif" alt="Previous" width="17" height="17" /></a></li><li class="next"><a accesskey="n" class="next" href="WS53F74E51-AED7-4f75-A1E3-7285F83FD96Ca.html" title="Add layer masks"><img src="images/blank.gif" alt="Next" width="17" height="17" /></a></li></ul><div class="hierarchy" id="hierarchy"><a href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-78e4a.html">Layers</a> /
     <a href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-7867a.html"><b>Masking layers</b></a> 
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                <h1>
                    About layer and vector masks
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                <div><p>You can
use masks to hide portions of a layer and reveal portions of the
layers below. You can create two types of masks:</p>
<ul><li><p>Layer masks are resolution-dependent bitmap images that
are edited with the painting or selection tools.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Vector masks are resolution independent and are created with
a pen or shape&#160;tool.</p>
<p>Layer and vector masks are nondestructive,
which means you can go back and re‑edit the masks later without
losing the pixels they hide.</p>
<p>In the Layers panel, both the
layer and vector masks appear as an additional thumbnail to the
right of the layer thumbnail. For the layer mask, this thumbnail
represents the grayscale channel that is created when you add the layer
mask. The vector mask thumbnail represents a path that clips out
the contents of the layer.</p>
<div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:  </span>To create a layer or vector
mask on the Background layer, first convert it to a regular layer
(Layer&#160;&gt; New&#160;&gt; Layer from Background).</div>
<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="la_16" src="images/la_16.png" /><div class="figdesc">Masking layer</div><br /><dl><dt class="dlterm">A.</dt>
<dd>Layer mask thumbnail</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">B.</dt>
<dd>Vector
mask thumbnail</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">C.</dt>
<dd>Vector Mask Link icon</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">D.</dt>
<dd>Add Mask</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p></dl>
</div></li>
</ul>
<p>You can edit a layer mask to add or subtract from the masked
region. A layer mask is a grayscale image, so areas you paint in
black are hidden, areas you paint in white are visible, and areas
you paint in shades of gray appear in various levels of transparency. </p>
<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="la_17" src="images/la_17.png" /><div class="figdesc">Background painted with black; description card painted with
gray; basket painted with white</div><br /></div><p>A
vector mask creates a sharp-edged shape on a layer and is useful
anytime you want to add a design element with clean, defined edges.
After you create a layer with a vector mask, you can apply one or
more layer styles to it, edit them if needed, and instantly have
a usable button, panel, or other web-design element. </p>
<div class="para">The Masks panel provides additional controls to adjust a mask.
You can change the opacity of mask to let more or less of the masked
content show through, invert the mask, or refine the mask borders,
as with a selection area. <div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="la_maskspanel" src="images/la_maskspanel.png" /><div class="figdesc">Masks panel </div><br /><dl><dt class="dlterm">A.</dt>
<dd>Select the filter mask.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">B.</dt>
<dd>Add a
pixel mask. </dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">C.</dt>
<dd>Add a vector mask. </dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">D.</dt>
<dd>Panel
menu.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">E.</dt>
<dd>Apply Mask</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p></dl>
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