How to Lock objects & layers in Illustrator

Why Locking and Unlocking in Illustrator Matters

Working efficiently in Illustrator is all about accurately selecting the objects you want to work on AND not losing time by accidentally selecting other objects by mistake. Selecting only the objects you want gets more challenging as the artwork you create gets more complex. Locking objects renders them unselectable. You can still see them but you can’t move or delete them by accident.

Imagine you are working on a design and have a bunch of small complex objects on a larger background on your artboard. The fastest way to select a bunch of objects is to do a marquee selection, where you draw a box around the objects you want to select using the Selection tool, except in this case you also keep getting the shape you are using as a background as well. By simply locking the background object we will make the selection of the other objects much, much easier!

In this tutorial, you are going to learn techniques to make the objects you are not currently working on un-selectable by using Illustrator’s ability to lock and unlock both objects and layers.

Table of Contents

How to lock an Object in Illustrator:

Select the object you want to lock then

From the menu choose Object > Lock > Selection, or
From the Layers panel, click the empty square in the lock column, or
Use the keyboard short cut Ctrl + 2 (Windows) | Cmd + 2 (mac)

Locking an object makes it not selectable. You will not be able to move, edit or delete that object until you unlock it. Locked objects will show the lock icon in the Layers panel

How to Unlock Objects in Illustrator:

From the menu choose Object > Unlock All, or
From the Layers panel, click the lock icon next to the object you wish to unlock, or

Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + 2 (Windows) | Cmd + Opt + 2 (Mac)

Using the menu or keyboard shortcut works fine for locking objects but for unlocking those methods unlock everything which is not always what you want. For simple designs with limited objects, no problem, but if you just spent the last 15 minutes locking various teeny, tiny shapes used in a grunge effect you are going to be frustrated! When working on more complex designs you are going to want to use the Layers panel to unlock your objects.

The Benefits of Organizing your Artwork into Layers

When you are working on more complex designs organizing your artwork into specific layers and then using Layers panel to lock and unlock gives you more granular control.

When you are designing a graphic you may have a background or backgrounds, photographic elements, graphic shapes, text as well as the guidelines you created to keep things organized. If you take a moment or two as you start to work it will make things much easier if you group things on different layers. This way you will be able to lock and unlock layers, and importantly for complex projects, lock and unlock specific objects or groups. You can also use a one-step process to lock every layer but the one you are working on, which can come in very handy.

Tip: You can name layers by double-clicking the layer name in the Layer’s palette. For example, “Background” is much more meaningful than layer 3.

Lock / Unlock a Layer, Group or Object from the Layers Panel

Locking a layer means that all shapes, groups, linked images, etc on that layer are not selectable.

First, select the object you want to lock. This makes it easier to find in the Layers panel. The layer, group, and object itself will have a highlighted box in the layer’s panel. Each layer will have a different highlight color. The graphic below shows the layer, group, and individual shapes highlighted in pink.
Click the square in the lock column next to the object you wish to lock. This is a toggle off/on switch so to unlock the layer, object or group simply click the square in the lock column again.

Lock All Other Layers

This is a quick way to lock everything down but the specific layer you are working on.

To lock all other layers Ctrl + click (windows) | CMD + click (Mac) the lock square next to the layer you wish to keep unlocked, or
Choose Object > Lock > Other Layers from the menu

Unlock All Layers

If you have been doing some fancy locking in the Layers panel you may find the Unlock All option greyed out in the Object menu and that Ctrl + Alt + 2 (Windows) | Cmd + Opt + 2 (Mac) doesn’t work. Not to worry, you can unlock everything from the Layers panel by Ctrl + Clicking (Windows) | Cmd + Clicking (Mac) one of the locked layers

Lock All Artwork Above

This menu option comes in handy if you are working on something a ways down in the stacking order. It will keep you form accidentally selecting anything above the object you are working on.

Select the object you want to work on
From the menu choose Object > Lock > All Artwork Above

Before you go…

Being able to lock and unlock in illustrator will make life easier by preventing you from selecting the wrong object but… there is another useful feature in illustrator that not only locks all other objects but also dims them and brings what you are working on forward. Read my next article to learn about Isolation Mode and why it rocks!