Use layers
Open the Layers panel, reorder layers, hide or lock items, and expand grouped objects from the bottom-right editor controls.
Every element in a design, such as illustrations, text, shapes, or images, sits in its own layer. Open the Layers panel from the left toolbar to select, reorder, rename, hide, lock, or group elements without hunting around the artboard.
Open the layers panel
Open a design or project.
Click Layers in the left toolbar.
Expand an artboard layer to see what's inside
Click the arrow next to an artboard's name to expand it and see every element nested inside it.
Where an element sits in the stack matters, not just how it looks on the canvas. Only elements nested inside an artboard's layer get exported or downloaded with it. Drag one out, and it becomes a separate top-level layer that's still visible on the canvas but left out of the artboard's export.
Select a layer
Click a layer to select it. Hovering over a layer highlights the matching element on the artboard, and hovering over an element on the artboard highlights its layer in the panel, so you always know what you're about to click.
To select several layers at once, hold Cmd (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) while clicking each one. This is handy when you want to group elements or apply the same action to more than one at a time.
Reorder your layers
Drag and drop a layer up or down in the list to change where it sits in the stack. Layers higher in the list appear in front of the ones below them.
Rename a layer
Double-click a layer's name to rename it. Some layer types, like textures, can't be renamed.
Hide and lock layers
Hover over a layer to reveal its eye and lock icons.
Click the eye icon to hide the layer from the artboard, and click it again to bring it back.
Click the lock icon to lock the layer in place, and click it again to unlock it. A locked layer can't be moved or edited until you unlock it.
Once a layer is hidden or locked, its icon stays visible so you can see its state at a glance, even when you're not hovering over it.
Group and ungroup layers
Select multiple layers and group them to keep your design organized, or ungroup them when you want to work with the individual elements again.
Expected outcome
The layers panel lists every element in your design in the order it's stacked on the artboard, and you can select, reorder, rename, hide, lock, or group any of them directly from the list.
Troubleshooting
I can't find my artboard's background
Every artboard has its own background layer, either a color or image, which is usually listed last among that artboard's layers. Select it to open its settings in the right panel, where you can adjust the background color or image.
There's a missing element in my design when I download it
Check whether it's nested inside the artboard's layer in the panel. If not, drag it back in and download again.
Common questions
Can I select more than one layer at a time?
Yes, hold Cmd (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) and click each layer you want to select.
Can I rename a layer?
Yes, double-click its name in the layers panel. A few layer types, like textures, can't be renamed.
Does the order of my artboards in the layers panel matter?
Yes, if you export a project as a single combined PDF. The bottom-most artboard in the layers panel becomes page one, and each artboard above it becomes the next page in order. Drag your artboards into the order you want before exporting.
Related articles