{"id":1558,"date":"2021-12-20T12:57:10","date_gmt":"2021-12-20T12:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zerotoart.com\/?p=1558"},"modified":"2021-12-20T12:57:11","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T12:57:11","slug":"how-to-unmerge-layers-in-photoshop-bonus-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zerotoart.com\/how-to-unmerge-layers-in-photoshop-bonus-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Unmerge Layers in Photoshop + Bonus Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photoshop can sometimes be tricky when you want to go back and revert some actions you did. In some situations, you will easily undo the action, while in others, it will be more complicated or even impossible to do that. Merging the layers is one of those actions you\u2019ll often rethink and want to undo.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a quick reminder, merging layers means combining multiple layers into only one<\/strong>. In this article, I\u2019ll cover how to unmerge layers in Photoshop. Also, I\u2019ll suggest what methods you should consider using to merge layers to avoid unnecessary complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three ways how to unmerge layers in Photoshop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For all the examples, I will use the same image consisting of 2 shapes and white background – three layers total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before diving into different methods of how you can unmerge layers, let\u2019s first remind ourselves how to merge layers. First, select the layers you want to merge, then choose Layers > Merge Layers<\/strong> or press Ctrl+E<\/strong> (Windows) \/ Command+E<\/strong> (Mac) to merge them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Choose<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll see that previously selected layers were replaced by a new layer containing the content from both. Unfortunately, this is a destructive way of editing since the original layers are lost and transformed into a new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s see how to unmerge layers in Photoshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use Undo command to unmerge layers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The simplest way to unmerge layers is to use the Undo command<\/strong>. If you merged layers, and want to undo it, choose Edit > Undo Merge Layers<\/strong> or just press Ctrl+Z<\/strong> (Windows) \/ Command+Z<\/strong> (Mac).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Unmerge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This will return layers in a state they were in before merging. You can see in our example that there are again two layers in the Layers panel alongside the background layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Result<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yet, this method is very limited in terms of possibilities, and in most cases won\u2019t be enough to achieve the result you want. If you already did a bunch of additional edits after you merged layers, undoing to the point where you merged them will also undo all these edits you did<\/strong>. That can be very irritating since there won\u2019t be any way to recover all the actions you did meanwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, undo won\u2019t work if you close Photoshop and open the image again<\/strong>. This is because Photoshop keeps track of previous actions only temporarily while the current session is still active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use the History panel to revert actions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A slightly more flexible method for unmerging layers is to use the History panel to revert the edit to the specific state<\/strong>. The History panel is a tool that creates a chronological top-down view of every performed action in the current Photoshop session.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To access the History panel, click on the History<\/strong> panel icon to open it. If you can\u2019t see the icon, it probably isn\u2019t enabled in the current workspace view. To enable it, make sure Window > History<\/strong> is checked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Select<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To unmerge layers, you must first find the Merge Layers<\/strong> action in the History<\/strong> panel. Then select it, and click on Delete current state<\/strong>. Doing this will remove the Merge Layers action from the history and all other actions that followed<\/strong>. So, the outcome is similar to the previous method when we used the Undo<\/strong> command. Only you can be more precise by using the History<\/strong> panel and selecting the specific state you want to return to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Unmerging<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The History<\/strong> panel also won\u2019t be helpful if you close the Photoshop and open it again. But, again, this is because it only preserves actions performed in the current session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use Selection tools to separate layers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If none of the above methods are applicable in your case, the only thing you can do is separate layers yourself. The easiest way to do that is to use one of the available selection tools and use it to create a selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again I\u2019ll use the example with two shapes on a white background, merged together:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m using the Magic Wand Tool<\/strong> to quickly select desired part of an image based on similar colors. After creating a selection on the merged layer, copy the content to a new layer by choosing Layer > New > Layer via Copy<\/strong> or pressing Ctrl+J<\/strong> (Windows) \/ Command+J<\/strong> (Mac). You can read more about this technique in the previous article<\/a> I wrote. Alternatively, you can copy and paste the selection to a layer you created beforehand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Create<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Doing this will yield a new layer created from the selection. As you can see, a new layer appeared in the Layers<\/strong> panel, and it contains the purple shape selected a moment ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Example<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You need to repeat this process for each layer you want to separate from the merged layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Result<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although this method can be used to unmerge layers in Photoshop after saving, it has one major drawback, unlike the previous two methods. It works fine when merged layers aren\u2019t overlapping. Still, it isn\u2019t helpful in a case when you have overlapping layers<\/strong> that you\u2019d like to separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternative methods for merging layers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can avoid most difficulties with unmerging layers if you slightly change your editing flow in Photoshop. Of course, I\u2019m talking about non-destructive editing<\/a>, which does not permanently overwrite original layers\u2019 data. So if you make adjustments you are not satisfied with, you can easily return to the original state of the particular layer and again make changes from there.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will show you three non-destructive methods that will make your life easier, and you won\u2019t have to deal with unmerging layers anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use Smart Object to merge layers in Photoshop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Using the Smart Object<\/strong> functionality is my preferred way of merging layers in Photoshop. It allows you to merge multiple layers and still access each layer individually<\/strong>. You can even make changes to each layer, and those changes will propagate to the merged layer that is a Smart Object<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s see how it works in action! For demo purposes, I\u2019ll use the same example as before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First select layers you want to merge in the Layers<\/strong> panel. Then choose Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object<\/strong> or right-click any of the selected layers and choose the Convert to Smart Object<\/strong> option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"To<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This will immediately convert selected layers to a Smart Object<\/strong>. You\u2019ll notice a small icon in the bottom right corner of a layer thumbnail. To edit converted layers individually, double-click on the layer thumbnail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Layer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photoshop will switch to another tab that represents layers of a Smart Object<\/strong>. You can notice that the layers are laid out individually in the Layers<\/strong> panel, and you can make whatever adjustments you want to each of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Smart<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If, for some reason, you want to unmerge layers at any time, choose Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Layers<\/strong>. Alternatively, you can right-click on the Smart Object<\/strong> and select Convert to Layers<\/strong>. Layers will again show up in the Layers<\/strong> panel as before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Example<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Group layers together<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another method of merging layers by their context is by grouping them. This is not exactly merging, but it can work in most cases when you need to clean a mess in the Layers<\/strong> panel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To group layers, select layers in the Layers<\/strong> panel, then use any of these three methods:<\/p>\n\n\n\n