Layers act like sheets of glass placed in a stack. They enable you to organise, manage and edit your movies much more effectively. Each separate object in your movie should have its own layer.
To Insert a Layer
 |
To insert a new layer, click the insert layer icon. To rename your layer, double click on its name and type a new one. |
 |
|
Deleting Layers
 |
To delete a layer, click on its name and then click the garbage bin.
|
Stacking Order
Layers have a stacking order, so that if you have an object on a higher layer, it may totally or partially cover an object on a lower layer. You can change the order of the layers by clicking and dragging the layer name up or down in the stack.
 The red circle is on a higher layer, so covers the green triangle. |
 |
 Here the order of the layers has been changed so that the green triangle is on a higher layer, so it covers the red circle. |
 |
To work on a particular layer you must click on it to select it first. Only one layer can be worked on at a time.
Hiding Layers
You can hide a layer while you work on others by clicking the dot under the 'eye' icon:
 The green triangle is hidden. |
 |
Locking Layers
 |
You can lock a layer so that it can't accidentally be edited. Click under the padlock icon for the particular layer. |
Outline Mode
 You can put one or more layers into outline mode to simplify your work. |
 |
Masks
Masks are a special type of layer that work a bit like a stencil. You add objects to your mask layer and place it on top of a normal layer. The content of the normal layer is only visible through the objects on the mask layer, a bit like looking through a window.
To add a mask, add a new layer over your first layer. Add some content to it that covers some of the bottom layer's content. Right click on your mask layer and choose mask. On the stage, the content of the normal layer is only visible through the content of the mask layer.
