Filters on Multiple Layers?

[John Bertram]

Browsing some of the posts re Layer Groups in Photoshop CS, I have a bad feeling I may have hit the wall with Elements, but thought it would be worth a post here just to see.

(FYI, am using PSE v3 on a Mac dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5.)

What I'm wanting to do is apply a Gaussian Blur filter to a number of consecutive layers (14 in all) which live in the middle of my 29-layer image. (Some of these 14 layers already have Hue/Saturation and/or Levels adjustment layers attached to them.)

Is there a way in PSE to add a filter effect to a specific group of layers, and to do so in such a way that its parameters can still be adjusted down the road (as is the case with other kinds of adjustment layers)? Or with PSE am I SOL?

Possible inelegant workaround: Is there a way to "Merge Visible" layers into a BRAND NEW layer (leaving the originals as is: separate layers with all their own Adjustment Layers intact), so that I could at least try applying the Gaussian Blur to that one new "composite" layer, which would sit on top of the 14 separate layers from whence it came?

(Or to do that, would I first have to make a copy of each of those 14 layers one at a time, then with only the copies selected as Visible, do a "Merge Visible"? Ugh.)

And does anyone know if Layer Groups will be a feature in PSE 4? :-)

John Bertram
Toronto

[Karin Sue]

My suggestion:

Turn off visibility on all layers but the ones you are interested in.

Select All

Edit>Copy Merged

Paste

That should end up giving you a new layer with a flattened version of all the visible layers.

As to the rest, I am clueless.

[lindajay]

Hi John,
If I understand your question correctly, it's a similar question I had a few days ago, and got an answer to.

First, turn off visibility except for the set you are wanting to put the blur on.

Secondly, add a new blank layer above the layers.

Third, hold down the alt key while selecting Layer>Merge Visible. This will put a merged layer on top of your separate layers, and you can add the blur to it. The other layers will still be accessible and able to be modified.

I had struggled with this for ages, then finally I asked, and got the answer. This forum is so great!

Let us know if this doesn't work for you, or if I misunderstood the question.

--Linda

[Wendy]

Hi John ...

I doubt that Adobe will put Layer Group in the Mac version of PSE4 as it isn't in the Windows version.


Wendy

[John Bertram]

Wendy:

I'm sure you're right, but hey -- I can dream, can't I? :-)

Linda & Karin:

Thanks for the create-a-new-layer workflows, which looks like the way I'll have to go. Of course that means if I make changes to the underlying original layers, I'll need to recreate a new layer and redo the blur. Likewise if I just want to change the blur itself -- too bad those kind of filter effects can't be applied and modified in their own separate adjustment layer.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies.

John Bertram
Toronto

[Wendy]

John ...

Oh yes both of those would be very nice ... :)


Wendy