Photoshop merge layers

[DavidNg (David)]

Hi,

Can someone please explain differences between Merge Down, Merge Visible and Flatten Image in Photoshop CS6 (Mac)? They all seem doing the same job to me, surely they're called differently for difference purposes.

Thanks in advance
David

[Dennis]

The following is my understanding of CS6 on my Win 7 PC:

• Merge Down will combine the currently selected Layer, with the Layer below the currently selected Layer into one singular layer. Layers above the currently selected Layer remain unchanged as do Layers below the Layer immediately below the currently selected Layer.
  
• Merge Visible will merge all those Layers with the “eye” or visibility icon toggled “On” into one singular layer. Any layer that has its visibility icon toggled to "Off" will be ignored.
  
• Flatten Image will combine all of the layers into one "flattened" image or layer. When you select this option, you should be prompted to choose whether or not to discard hidden layers before doing so. You should end up with a single “Background” layer.

Cheers

Dennis

[Andy01 (Andy)]

+1 Dennis you explained it perfectly

[DavidNg (David)]

Thank you Dennis, well explained and they made sense to me now.

Regards
David