How to Center Layers on Adobe Photoshop?

If you are a newbie working with Adobe Photoshop, and cannot find an easier way to center the content on all the layers or the content on one single layer, this article will probably help you learn of two different ways to do it. Designs do look better when they are aligned according to the design. And for a newbie, it might get a bit tough to figure this out all on their own.

Method One to Align the Text, or the Image to the Centre of the Canvas

The first method to align the text or the image that you have added to a canvas on Adobe Photoshop is by using the tabs for ‘align’.

1. To begin with, open Adobe Photoshop in dimensions according to your work requirements. I added some content to my canvas. I simply added a shape and some text as an example, to teach you how you can center these.

   

   

   

2. Now that you have a few layers to work with, you are going to click on one of the layers, which has the image or the text that you need to be centered. And, along with another layer, to make the tabs active. Note: You cannot make the tabs for aligning work when you select a single layer. It is highly important that you select at least two layers for this method to align the image or the text on the layer. If you don’t have more than two layers, then you can simply select the background layer as the second one. To select both, you have to keep pressing the control key for both so that none of the two layers gets deselected.

   

   

   Once I selected the two layers, I will notice that the align tabs on the top toolbar will become active. When I say active, I mean that they will become ‘clickable’ when you bring the cursor over them.
   To know which tab is for what kind of alignment, you can bring the cursor over the tab, and the name of that alignment will appear. You can also understand the kind of alignment these tabs will do from the icons.

3. Since I want my rectangle, which is layer 2, to be centrally aligned, I will click the option which is second from the left and second from the right, from the active tabs for aligning. You can notice the difference in the color of the icons of the active tabs and the ones which cannot be applied on the layers for now.

   

   The tab for alignment, that is second from the left, will horizontally align my rectangle. While the one that is second from the right will vertically align the rectangle. This is how I can keep the rectangle right in the center, according to the canvas.

   

   The rectangle has successfully been placed in the center of the canvas.

Method Two to Align the Text, or the Image to the Centre of the Canvas

The second method to align the text or the image on Adobe Photoshop is done manually by the user. But before you adjust the image, here is what you need to do.

1. See the rulers in the image below? You need to keep the cursor clicked on one side at a time, and manually drag a ruler to your canvas. Repeat the step for the other side. Since I want to center the text at the top, for this one, I will only adjust the vertical ruler.

   

2. Now, I will select the single layer that I want to center. For this, I will either click on the layer from the right panel or, press the control key and click the cursor on the text/layer I want to select. I will keep the cursor clicked on the selected layer and move it to the center. The minute it is in the center, the ruler line will turn pink, as shown by the arrow in the picture below.

   

   Leave the cursor the minute this parts of the line turns pink. This in a way is an indicator that the text or the layer that you are adjusting is aligned to the center.