How to Highlight All in Photoshop

The term "highlight all" in Photoshop can refer to several different actions depending on what you want to select or highlight. It most commonly means selecting everything on the canvas, selecting all the content on a specific layer, or selecting all the layers in your document.

Here are the common ways to "highlight" or select "all" in Photoshop:

1. Selecting Everything on the Entire Canvas

This is the most frequent interpretation of "select all." It creates a selection around the entire dimensions of your active document window.

• Method: Use the keyboard shortcut.

  • Windows: Press Ctrl + A
  • Mac: Press Cmd + A

• Practical Use: This is useful when you want to copy the entire image, apply an effect to the whole canvas, or transform everything.

2. Selecting the Contents of a Specific Layer

If you want to select only the pixels, shapes, or type that exist on a single layer, leaving the transparent areas unselected, you can use this method.

• Method: Use a shortcut with the Layers panel.

  • Tip: Press the CMD (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) key and click on the Layer Thumbnail to create a selection of all the contents of that layer.

• Steps:

  1. Locate the specific layer you want to select in the Layers panel.
  2. Hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or Cmd key (Mac).
  3. Click directly on the thumbnail image (not the layer name or icon) in the Layers panel.
  4. A selection outline (marching ants) will appear around all non-transparent content on that layer.

• Practical Use: Excellent for isolating specific elements like a logo, object, or text block that's on its own layer, allowing you to move, copy, or apply effects only to that element.

3. Selecting All Layers

Sometimes you need to select multiple layers in the Layers panel to group them, link them, move them simultaneously, or apply an action to them.

• Method 1 (Manual):

  1. Click on the first layer you want to select in the Layers panel.
  2. Hold down the Shift key.
  3. Click on the last layer you want to select. All layers in between will also be selected.

• Method 2 (Select All Layers):

  1. Go to the top menu bar.
  2. Click Select > All Layers.
  • Shortcut: Press Ctrl + Alt + A (Windows) or Cmd + Option + A (Mac).

• Practical Use: Essential for organizing complex documents, moving an entire composition, or applying bulk actions like linking or grouping layers.

Summary Table: Different "Highlight All" Actions

To quickly recap the different methods based on what you want to select:

Action	What it Selects	Keyboard Shortcut (Windows / Mac)	Method in Layers Panel
Select Canvas	Entire document area	Ctrl + A / Cmd + A	N/A
Select Layer Contents	Non-transparent content on one layer	Ctrl + Click / Cmd + Click	Click on the Layer Thumbnail while holding Ctrl/Cmd
Select All Layers	All layers in the Layers panel	Ctrl + Alt + A / Cmd + Option + A	Select > All Layers or Shift-click layers

Understanding these different methods allows you to quickly select exactly what you need in Photoshop, whether it's the whole canvas, the content of a single layer, or all the layers in your project.