If I paint a picture with many layers, how can I directly choose / select a specific layer by simply clicking on the visible content of the layer in the picture?
For example, I paint an image of the sky. The background layer is completely filled with blue. On the layer above that, I paint a round yellow sun. On the layer above that, I paint clouds with the color white.
First, I just worked on the clouds (seperate layer), but now I want to continue to work on the sun to shade it with orange (the sun was already painted as a simple yellow ball previously on a seperate layer). So I want to change from the cloud layer to the sun layer by simply clicking on the sun (the visible yellow filled circle on a layer which consists besides that only out of transparent pixels).
Is there a tool / way to do that?
A “choose / select layer tool by simply clicking on its visible content on screen”?
I simply assumed that it would naturally work with the arrow (select shapes) tool in “point and click” fashion, but it doesn’t…
In Photoshop, the simple mechanism to be able to choose a layer by clicking on it’s visible content with the tablet / pen on screen is part of the “move” tool , one can enable “choose layer automatically”. But I don’t find that option in the Krita move tool options.
In PS, there is also the option to enable a colored frame popping up on screen, showing the contents of the different layers and what parts one is able to choose when simply hovering over the different parts of the screen with the move tool.
All of that possibly doesn’t seem to exist in Krita yet (at least I don’t find those options). Those things would be quite useful when working on a picture with lots of layers. 
If I remember correctly, default for letter “R” is for this. I’m not close to tablet or PC now
It seems to be R + left mouse button click.
It would be nice to be able to do that while simply working with pen & tablet without having to change to the keyboard and without having to occupy one of the few pen / tablet buttons with said shortcut just to be able to choose a different layer through clicking on its visible content.
On other programs you don’t have to press a key?
Hi, in Photoshop Elements you simply chose the “move” tool for that, you can enable the options to “auto select layer” (having chosen the move tool, then simply click with the cursor on a visible content and that selects the layer the content is painted on, like a painted sun in my example above) and also the option “show bounding box” (if you hover on screen over a visible content / object, a rectangular blue frame appears automatically, indicating and surrounding all the non-transparent pixels / painted objects of that layer of the visible object you are hovering over). You don’t need to change from tablet to keyboard and interrupt your work flow if you prefer to simply work with the tablet without keyboard while painting. Very helpful imo.
Move tool options:
When you select the Move tool, you can change the following settings in the options bar:
Auto Select Layer:
Selects the topmost layer that has pixels under the Move tool cursor, rather than the currently selected layer.
Show Bounding Box:
Displays the bounding box around the selection in the image, or around the currently selected layer (if there is no active selection on the image). The boxes on the sides and corners allow you to resize the selection or layer.
So you have to press a button to switch from the brush to the move tool. And then back to the brush… Same as in Krita pressing R to select and then back to the brush. This in Photoshop.
I’ve honestly never used Photoshop Elements, I don’t even know what it is.
No. I don’t have to press a button, neither keyboard nor tablet or pen. I just click with my pen cursor on the move tool symbol on the screen, then I click on the object in the painting that is on the layer I want to work on. The layer on which that object is, is then selected. I click with my pen cursor on the brush tool symbol, then I continue with painting.
Oh. Ok now I see. I have tried to configure it but it doesn’t seem to be possible. Being an option that is in canvas input settings, instead of keyboard shortcuts…
