The Move Tool
The Move Tool is an essential Photoshop tool and you will use it a lot to move layers and image elements, but it does more than just move objects.
Use it to;
- Move layers or selections
- Resize layers or selections
- Automatically select the layer containing the object you click on
- Align multiple layers
- Distribute multiple layers (spacing evenly)
- Use Smart Guides to aid positioning and spacing layers
- Nudge a layer with the keyboard arrow keys, to accurately position the layer
This received a small change in the v26.0 update in October 2024, restoring the Show Transform Controls button back on the toolbar, where it lived for years, before the last version.
Move Tool Options
Detailed descriptions of each tool component
Tool Presets
You can create and save a Tool Preset for any tool, which will remember settings that you choose for that tool, so you can quickly and easily select different presets and settings for a particular tool. The degree of usefulness of presets varies, depending on the tool.
You can reset any tool back to its default settings by right clicking on the Tool Presets button and select Reset Tool. Take care not to Reset All Tools, unless that is intended.
Auto Select
When the Auto Select box is ticked, clicking on an element within an image will automatically select the layer containing that element. This can be very useful, especially when you have a large number of layers in your image, e.g. a montage.
I would suggest that for most people, especially beginners, this should be ticked most of the time.
However, at other times it can be a nuisance and I find it helpful to untick this box. So be prepared to turn this feature on or off as appropriate.
Layer/Group
Select a Layer or Group to move.
Show Transform Controls
Show or Hide the Transform Controls and blue bounding box. When selected, you will see a blue box around the layer contents, with "handles" in each corner and midway along each side. This allows you to quickly and easily resize the layer.
When the box is unticked, there is no visible box around the image and you are not able to resize the layer.
Note that if the layer is locked, even with Show Transform Tools selected, you will NOT see the box and handles. You will need to unlock the layer, by clicking the lock icon.
If you still can't see the bounding box or handles, you may be very zoomed in on the image. Keep zooming out until you can see the box and handles.
I'm very pleased to see this option is now back on the Options Bar in the October 2024 v26 release, after being placed in the Additional Options in the previous version.
Align Horizontal
Three buttons to Align:
Align Left Edges, Align Horizontal Centers, Align Right Edges
These buttons are only active when multiple objects or layers are selected. The buttons are greyed-out (unavailable) if multiple objects are not selected.
Distribute Vertically
When multiple objects or layers are selected, you can distribute (space evenly) them vertically.
These buttons are only active when multiple objects or layers are selected. The buttons are greyed-out (unavailable) if multiple objects are not selected.
Align Vertical
Three buttons to Align:
Align Top Edges, Align Vertical Center, Align Bottom Edges
These buttons are only active when multiple objects or layers are selected. The buttons are greyed-out (unavailable) if multiple objects are not selected.
Distribute Horizontally
When multiple objects or layers are selected, you can distribute (space evenly) them horizontally.
These buttons are only active when multiple objects or layers are selected. The buttons are greyed-out (unavailable) if multiple objects are not selected.
Align & Distribute
All of the previous four options are also gathered on one button.
Additional Options
Show layer bounds on hover When this option is selected, if you move the cursor over the object, the layer bounds (the edges of the layer) will show.
Expand layer group on click Expand Layer Groups in the Layers Panel when clicking on a layers in the image.
Show hover bounds from layers Show Layer boundary when moving the cursor over the layer in the Layers Panel.
How to Use the Move Tool to Resize an Image
Step 1
Tick the box to Show Transform Controls on the Options bar.
This adds the box with "handles" at each corner and midway along each side.
To resize an image, or layer, click and drag a "handle". There are handles at each corner and midway along each side.
Step 2
Resize the Right Way - Don't Distort
Don't distort images, unless you intend to. Faces and many objects look wrong if resizing is not done proportionately, maintaining the Aspect Ratio. Current and recent versions of Photoshop allow you to click and drag any handle without distorting the image or layer. Older versions would distort the image unless you also held the Shift key while clicking and dragging to resize. If you want to distort the image, press and hold the Shift key and click and drag a handle.
The two images show resizing by dragging the bottom right handle and the middle right handle.
Step 3
The two images show resizing by dragging a handle whilst also holding down the Shift key, which allows you to distort the image.
Step 4
The image shows that you can also drag the handles outside of the image, to zoom in, or enlarge a part of the image. Note that if you crop the image, you will lost the content outside the crop area, if you have selected the Crop option to "Delete Cropped Pixels". See the Crop Tool tutorial for more information.
Align and Distribute
These buttons allow you to align and distribute (space evenly), multiple layers. Having said that, if you turn on and use smart guides, it’s often not necessary to use the Align or Distribute tools. Anyway, here’s how to do it.
Step 5
Position your first image. If aligning to the top, ensure your first image is the highest. If aligning to the left, ensure your first image is the most left aligned. The screenshot shows 3 images that are deliberately positioned so they are not aligned, nor evenly spaced.
Step 6
Select all the layers that you want to align or distribute.
To select multiple layers click on the first layer, then press and hold the Ctrl key while you also click on the other layers.
All layers that you wish to align or distribute, must be selected.
Step 7
The layers are all selected, as indicated by the blue box around them all.
To view the box with handles, tick the box on the Options bar to Show Transform Controls.
Step 8
Click on your desired button. In this screenshot I've clicked on the button to Align to Top, (highlighted in red), to align the layers to the topmost selected layer.
Step 9
Now the images are aligned at the top. Because we selected Align to Top, the images are aligned to the highest image. If you aligned to the bottom image, all images would align to the lowest image.
Step 10
To distribute (evenly space) the images, position the first and last. Take care not to change the alignment. Press and hold the Shift key while dragging, to ensure you only move the layer in a horizontal line.
Click on the Distribute button (highlighted in blue).
Smart Guides
Smart Guides indicate alignment and spacing between objects, while you are dragging them into position. You can turn Smart Guides on or off. When Smart Guides are turned on, you often don't need to use the above method to align and distribute, as you can do it manually.
Step 11
From the menu; View > Show > Smart Guides.
Step 12
With the Move Tool, drag the selected layer. As you move the layer, watch for the Smart Guides, shown in pink. The Smart Guides will highlight distances and alignment. The two screenshots below show that as the image on the right is moved, when it is positioned at the same distance as the gap between the first and middle images. This is highlighted by the pink boxes showing that the spacing is the same, i.e. 0.383 in.
Step 13
In the two screenshots above, the first shows that the gaps are equal, but the tops are not yet aligned, as shown by the lack of a pink Smart Guide.
The second screenshot shows that when the images are aligned, that the pink Smart Guide is clearly visible.
The Smart Guides confirm that the tops are aligned and the spacing between them is equal.
Summary
The Move tool is an indispensable tool in Photoshop and it does more than just move things. It is great for resizing layers and for aligning and distributing multiple objects or layers.
