Deleting contents of a layer without selecting first

I am working with Photoshop CS2 on Windows XP. I've been a Photoshop user for a couple of years. Please bear with me, because I'm suddenly not sure how Photoshop is intended to work.

I always thought that any operation like moving or deleting worked on the entire contents of the active layer (i.e. the layer selected in the layers palette), and if you wanted to limit the action to a subset of the layer you used a selection. I'm specifically concerned with deleting.

I was working with Photoshop this evening and expecting the contents of the active layer to delete when I pressed the delete key, but nothing happened. If I try to move without a selection it works, but delete just won't work. In fact, "clear" under the "Edit" menu is grayed out.

What confuses me is I'm positive that's the way it has always worked. I was just doing a routine clear operation and nothing happend, and I was stunned.

AM I LOSING MY MIND OR IS THERE SOME KEY COMBINATION THAT WHEN PRESSED PREVENTS CLEARING A LAYER WHEN THERE IS NO SELECTION.

Please somebody straighten me out.

Thanks,
Steve

Select all by control-clicking on the layer thumbnail. Now you can delete. Delete only works with selections.

Michael's right. You can also do it mouselessly with a Ctrl+A to select all followed by delete.

Make sure also that the layer is not locked.

I always thought that any operation like moving or deleting worked on the entire contents of the active layer (i.e. the layer selected in the layers palette), and if you wanted to limit the action to a subset of the layer you used a selection.

No - well, kinda. You can't delete without telling PS what you want to delete. You can delete an entire layer by using the layer palette, but not the delete key. However, moving an time does not require any selection to be selected at all, save for the fact that you must have the layer you want to move targetted in the layers palette, and is not, as Pierre says, a background layer or locked.

Thanks guys. I must have dropped a bit there for a second.