Hi, I'm learning Photoshop on the fly and although I'm doing pretty cool things with it, some basics still evade me. My question regards layers... I love them to adjust all my settings seperatly, but there comes a time, where I would like to apply an operation (usually a filter) to all the layers like it was a flat image. I haven't found a way of doing this without merging my layers. Thank You for your help.

Filtering multiple layers at the same time is not entirely impossible and perhaps you have already discovered this remedy. The best way to achieve this, is to indeed merge the desired layers to be filtered uniformally. However, if you duplicate the doc, merge the wanted layers in the new doc, copy and paste the new result as a new layer in the primary illustration, you can maintain the integrity of your originals and manipulate the previously unsmashed layers as over or underlays with a myriad of opacity, masking, etc; options.

for a "quick" filter to each layer use the keyboard short-cut of "Ctrl/Cmd + F". Just select the layer from the Layer palette (highlighted means any action will effect that layer) run the filter you want, click the next layer, Ctrl + F and move down your list....

best thing with PS is to experiment!!!

:)
retrocity

The tip from RAWeaver can be done even easier. Create a new layer atop the layers you want merged. Hold down the alt or option key (it is 'alt' on the Mac but any pc user may correct me on the specific one over there) and choose 'merge visible layers'. The new layer will contain the wanted information you can use a filter on. No need for multiple docs and copying and pasting.

BTW, on the PC it's Ctrl-E for "Merge Layers" and Shift-Ctrl-E for "Merge Visible".

Hoofdcommissaris? I'm curious .. Why would you create a new layer atop the layers if you were going to merge them anyways? If you really wanted merged layers then you just merge them without creating a new layer.

RAWeaver's method was to "maintain the integrity of your originals" since the question was "a way of doing this without merging my layers".

Whoops. I forgot to add what I would do. If i'm going to be doing multiple layers with that intention, I would first "create a new set" and do all my layers in that set. You can then drag that set to the "create a new set" icon and click the eye to the left of the first set to make it invisible. With the new set selected (highlighted) press Ctrl-E (Ctrl-E is also "merge layer set" when a set is selected). It merges all the layers in the new set and removes that new set folder too. Filter can then be applied and you still have the originals there untouched.

I do what Hoofdcommissaris has suggested. I use Shift-Ctrl-Alt-N to create a new layer on top of all the other layers and then use Shift-Ctrl-Alt-E to merge all visible layers onto the new layer I just created. This is essentially the same thing dreamer101 is doing but much quicker. The benefit of merge visible is that you retain the other layers and all adjustment layers that you used. This way you can still go back and tweak them later. When Photoshop 8 comes along we will get non-destructive filters, which I hope are just adjustment layers for filters. Then you could simply add a filter layer to the top of your image and affect the entire thing. And like adjustment layers you could make changes to that filter after you reopen the .psd file.

@dreamer 101 *RAWeaver's method was to "maintain the integrity of your originals" since the question was "a way of doing this without merging my layers".* Well, actually just that. Merging layers while maintaining the integrety of your original. Without making duplicate documents which information would be fed back into the document. There are lots of situations where I merge layers or just visible layers (sometimes using sets, but most of the time their purpose is workflow-related) AND retain the merged layers underneath. Now hardware and RAM are not in my way of making multi-layered PS docs that surpass 1 Gb size it is easier to keep all the stages in 1 document. In the example above there are a lot of layers that add extra texture (fire), so Arnie has to be masked, but then other image enhancements, to make the tool stand out and to make the pic a little more interesting, have to be done on combined layers. If the client decides that the tool has to be blue (for some reason), I can go back some steps all within the same document. Overlaying the whole doc with a blurred version of itself is another case where making a new layer with the merged underneath is necessairy. Really, I was very happy when I found out about the key-thing... Can't wait for filter layers. Or layer filters. How sure is it that the are in PS8?

Attached Link: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,804807,00.asp

Here is a brief article about Photoshop 8.

Isn't Photoshop great? One of the thing's i love about and why it is one of my Primary tools is that it offers a myrriad of solutions to any one problem. My main concern in telling Vandalar to create a new doc. was in the supposition that he discovered the problem that multi- layer filtering has on multiplicity of effect, ie; 2x 3x of the same effect overlapping. I wanted to make it as simple as possible because he stated he was a beginner. Am I making sense??? Anyways I'm new to render but not to ps, Key commands are great but how can you get paint under your fingernails that way. Experiment. Great advice in all the replies, all good options.

PS8 has a while in coming the project this year, and we all should know that Adobe revamps one product per calendar, is/was InDesign. Rumors have it that A new Streamline product is in the think tank. Thanx for the link Enian!

Maybe Dimensions will get some (Mac OSX) update then, someday. All-vector import and export (getting someones logotype on an illustrated football is never a proplem) in 3D is still needed. I use it whenever I need to transform 2D vector material in 3D. Maybe they can put it in Illustrator 11... Streamline is still great too (and quite hip - those traced contours), I want an OSX version!