How to Move Artboards in Photoshop

For Photoshop users, artboards are the basis of their work. They are the things that hold all of the elements and layers involved in creating an image. Unlike other programs, Photoshop allows you to make multiple artboards in a single file, so you can work on multiple aspects of a project at once — but what do you do if you don’t know how to move artboards in Photoshop?

This easy-to-follow guide will show you how to rearrange artboards in Photoshop, add more to your project, and even duplicate existing ones. Just open up the program and follow along with these simple instructions.

How to Move Artboards in Photoshop - Step by Step

Choose a Photoshop project that you’d like to practice on, or open a new, blank file.

1. Make sure you have artboards set up.

If you do, you can continue to the next step. If not:

Go to "Layer" in the menu bar.

You should see an option for “New,” then “Artboard.” Click on this to convert your current project.

If you’re starting from a new file, go to “File,” then “New.” In the dialog box, you’ll see a field labeled “Document Type.” Choose “Artboard” from the drop-down menu, and select the size you desire.

2. Select the "Move" tool.

Click on the “Move” tool positioned at the top of your toolbar. The icon looks like a four-way arrow.

3. Using the "Move" tool, select the artboard.

You can click on either the name of the artboard, or the very outer edge. Avoid clicking inside of the boundary, since this will select one of the images or pieces of text instead.

4. Drag the artboard to wherever you need it.

With the artboard selected, simply drag it to another area of the screen, and let go. That’s all there is to it!

How to Keep Artboards from Moving

Once you have an artboard where you want it, you can make sure it stays there.

1. Select an artboard.

Choose an artboard for locking.

2. In the "Layer" panel, choose the positional lock.

There’s a field marked “Lock.” Beside it, you’ll see a number of icons. The four-way arrow is the icon for the positional lock. Make sure you have the correct artboard selected, then click on this icon.

3. If desired, lock the content.

You can also click on the artboard icon to the right of the positional lock icon. This will prevent auto-nesting into or out of your artboard.

How to Add an Artboard in Photoshop -- The Long Way

A lot of the appeal of artboards is that they act like separate pages on a desk. You can have several that belong to the same project, and swap elements in and out of each individual board at will. Now that you know how to move artboards in Photoshop, how can you add more of them? It’s surprisingly easy.

1. Go to the "Tools" panel.

You should see the Artboard icon — it looks like a page with two lines coming off of the top-left corner.

2. Using the Artboard tool, draw the size you want on your canvas.

Click and drag to draw the boundary of the artboard, just like you would if you were drawing a square. Don’t worry if the size isn’t exactly correct, since this can be changed later.

3. If necessary, resize the artboard.

In the tool options bar, you can choose a specific size. You can also leave your artboard whatever size you originally drew it, or select a custom size.

4. If desired, rename your artboard.

With the new artboard selected, click on “Layer,” then “Rename Artboard.” This will allow you to type in a new name. Hit “Enter” to apply the name change.

How to Add an Artboard in Photoshop -- The Quick Way

If you’re in a hurry, you can also add artboards to your canvas with pretty much one click. Here’s how to create multiple artboards in Photoshop in a flash:

1. Select an existing artboard.

Once it’s selected, you should see plus sign (+) icons on all of the sides that can accommodate an additional artboard.

2. Click one of the plus sign icons.

Just click on an icon on whatever side you’d like the new artboard to appear. Photoshop will add a new blank one for you, automatically!

How to Duplicate an Artboard in Photoshop

You can also easily copy an artboard’s entire contents if you need to. Follow the instructions for adding a new artboard, but hold down Option or Alt while clicking the plus sign icon. You’ll get a new artboard that’s an identical copy of the first one. This is helpful if you need to maintain consistent layouts, formatting, colors, or other stylistic elements from one part of your project to the next.

From there, you can follow the instructions on how to move artboards in Photoshop to place them wherever you like.

How to Move Elements from One Artboard to Another

Now that you have multiple artboards, you can move images or text from one to the next. All you need to do is click on an element to select it, then drag it to its destination. Use the rulers and guides to help you position the element in the correct spot.

Tips & Tricks:

1. You can save multiple artboards as a single PDF.

This is great for presenting your work in the form of a brochure or pamphlet. All you have to do is make sure that your individual artboards are ordered appropriately, and choose “Export” > “Artboards to PDF.”

2. You can quickly navigate from one artboard to the next with keyboard shortcuts.

You know how to create multiple artboards in Photoshop, but how can you jump from one to the other? Pressing Shift + Page Up or Shift + Page Down will take you from one artboard to the next.

3. Use grids and guides for precision.

Need to align your content perfectly? You can select an artboard and choose “View” > “Show” > “Grid” to display grids over your artboard. You can also drag guides from the ruler, directly to the canvas.

How to Rearrange Artboards in Photoshop

Artboards are convenient and helpful, but only if you can get them to do what you want. If you’re not sure how to move artboards in Photoshop, here’s a quick breakdown: