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Lock, hide, or delete layers

Learn how to lock, hide, or delete layers in Illustrator.

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Try it in the app
Use the Layers panel to lock, hide, and delete objects in a few simple steps.

As a graphic designer, organizing your work is crucial to create an efficient yet effective design. Layers are handy and allow you to separate design elements and control their visibility and position. However, sometimes you must lock, hide, or delete specific layers for various reasons. While these actions may seem simple, they can significantly impact your design process.

Read on to explore how to lockhide, or delete specific layers and layer groups in Illustrator and upgrade your creative designs.

Play this eight-second animation and learn to lock and hide objects directly from the Illustrator canvas.

Select the lock icon v  a and the eye icon   to lock or hide the shoe or other layers in your canvas.

Before you proceed

Familiarize yourself with these concepts before locking, hiding, or deleting layers in Illustrator.

Lock or unlock layers

  • Select the Edit column button (between the eye icon   and your layer name) in the Layers panel to lock specific layers in your design.

  • Deselect the lock icon    to unlock any layers. 

Use the Edit column button (between the eye icon and your layer name) to lock or unlock layers or layer groups in your design.
Drag across multiple edit column buttons to lock numerous layers together

Unlock objects directly from the canvas

Right-click the locked object and choose Unlock > Object-name to unlock objects directly from the canvas without going to the Layers panel.

Hide or show layers

You can hide any layers if you've too many layers in your artwork and want to work on a specific one.

Deselect or select the eye icon   next to the layer you want to hide or show in the Layers panel.

Delete layers

You can delete several layers or layer groups to reduce the size of your artwork. The delete icon    is unavailable if your document has only one layer.

Select any layer and press Backspace (Windows) or Delete (macOS) to delete it.


Related resources

Now that you've started locking, hiding, and deleting objects in Illustrator, you can take a step forward and learn how to copy and duplicate objects.

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