Hello mdbruffy I hope this helps somewhat I am not fimilar with Elements as I am with Photoshop CS 5 but I looked this up and and you might have done this already but here goes

Lock or unlock a layer

You can fully or partially lock layers to protect their contents. When a layer is locked, a lock icon appears to the right of the layer name, and the layer cannot be edited or deleted. Except for the Background layer, you can move locked layers to different locations in the stacking order of the Layers panel.

Select the layer in the Layers panel, and do one of the following:
Click the Lock all pixels icon in the Layers panel, to lock all layer properties. Click the icon again to unlock them.

Click the Lock Transparency icon in the Layers panel, to lock the transparent areas of the layer, so that no painting occurs in them. Click the icon again to unlock.

Note: For type and shape layers, transparency is locked by default and cannot be unlocked without first simplifying the layer.

Simplifying a layer means converting a layer like a text layer into its current state and removing any ability to edit it. It can apply to several types of layers like shape layers and layers that have layer styles. It simplifies the layer so you can no longer change things (like the text, shape or style).

I do hope this helps in someway

Lobo3433

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Forum: Photoshop

Subject: Picture lock-up