Understanding layers

Layers are like invisible folders that help you hold and manage all of the items that make up your artwork. If you shuffle those folders, you change the stacking order of your artwork. You learned about stacking order in Lesson 2.

The structure of layers in your document can be as straightforward or as complex as you want. When you create a new Illustrator document, all of the content you create is organized in a single layer. However, you can create new layers and sublayers (like subfolders) to manage your artwork, as you’ll learn about in this lesson.

1. Click the L10_end.ai tab at the top of the document window to show that document.

2. Click the Layers panel tab in the upper-right corner of the workspace, or choose Window > Layers.

   Note

   The figure shows the top and bottom of the Layers panel. The Layers panel in the Essentials workspace is very tall, which is why the figure shows a split (dashed line) in the panel.

   In addition to organizing content, the Layers panel gives you an easy way to select, hide, lock, and change your artwork’s appearance attributes. In the following figure, the Layers panel shows the content for the L10_end.ai file. It may not match what you see in the file. You can refer to this figure as you progress through the lesson.

3. After reviewing the panel, choose File > Close to close the L10_end.ai file.

   

   A. Layer color

   B. Visibility column (eye icon)

   C. Template Layer icon

   D. Edit column (lock/unlock)

   E. Disclosure triangle (expand/collapse)

   F. Collect For Export

   G. Locate Object

   H. Make/Release Clipping Mask

   I. Create New Sublayer

   J. Create New Layer

   K. Delete Selection

   L. Current layer indicator (the triangle)

   M. Target column (the circle)

   N. Selection column (blank space to right of circle)

Creating new layers

You’ll start by renaming the default layer name and then create new layers using different methods. The idea for this project is to organize the artwork so you can more easily work with it later. Ideally, when you’re working in Illustrator, you’ll set up layers before you begin creating or editing the artwork. In this lesson, you’ll organize artwork with layers after the artwork is created, which can be a bit more challenging. Instead of keeping all the content on a single layer, you’ll create several layers and sublayers to organize the content better and make it easier to select later.

1. With the TravelApp.ai document showing, if the Layers panel isn’t visible, click the Layers panel tab on the right side of the workspace, or choose Window > Layers.

   In the Layers panel, Layer 1 is highlighted, indicating that it is active. Anything you create or add to the document will go on the active layer.

   

2. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the Layer 1 thumbnail to show the content on the layer.

   Each object you create is listed under that layer. By default, Illustrator shows groups as <Groups>, paths as <Paths>, images as <Images>, and so on. That makes it easier to glance at the content and see what is there.

3. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the Layer 1 thumbnail to hide the content on that layer.

   

4. In the Layers panel, double-click directly on the layer name “Layer 1” to edit it inline. Type Phone Body and then press Enter or Return.

   

5. Click the Create New Layer button () at the bottom of the Layers panel.

   Layers and sublayers that aren’t named are numbered in sequence. For example, the new layer is named “Layer 2.” When a layer or sublayer in the Layers panel contains other items, a disclosure triangle () appears to the left of the layer or sublayer name. You can click the disclosure triangle to show or hide the contents. If no triangle appears, the layer has no content on it.

   Note

   The Layer Options dialog box has a lot of the options you’ve already worked with, including naming layers, setting Preview or Outline mode, locking layers, and showing and hiding layers. You can also deselect the Print option in the Layer Options dialog box, and any content on that layer will not print.

6. Double-click the white layer thumbnail to the left of the layer name “Layer 2” or to the right of the name in the Layers panel to open the Layer Options dialog box. Change the name to Navigation, and notice all the other options available. Click OK.

   

   By default, the new layer is added above the currently selected layer in the Layers panel (Phone Body, in this case) and becomes active. Notice that the new layer has a different layer color (a light red) to the left of the layer name. This will become more important later, as you select content.

   

   Next you’ll create a new layer and name it in one step, using a modifier key.

7. Option-click (macOS) or Alt-click (Windows) the Create New Layer button () at the bottom of the Layers panel (circled in the following figure). In the Layer Options dialog box, change the name to Phone Content and then click OK.

   

Creating a sublayer

Think of sublayers as subfolders within a layer—essentially they are a layer nested within a layer. Sublayers can be useful for organizing content within a layer without grouping or ungrouping content. Next you’ll create a sublayer to put the footer content in so you can keep it together.

1. Click the layer named “Phone Content” to select it, if it isn’t already, and then click the Create New Sublayer button () at the bottom of the Layers panel.

   Tip

   To create a new sublayer and name it in one step, Option-click (macOS) or Alt-click (Windows) the Create New Sublayer button or choose New Sublayer from the Layers panel menu to open the Layer Options dialog box.

   

   A new sublayer is created on the Phone Content layer and is selected. You can think of this new sublayer as a “child” of the “parent” layer named Phone Content.

2. Double-click the new sublayer name (Layer 4, in my case), change the name to Footer, and then press Enter or Return.

   Creating a new sublayer opens the selected layer to show existing sublayers and content.

   

3. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the Phone Content layer to hide the content of the layer.

   In a few sections, you’ll add content to the Footer sublayer.

   

Finding content in the Layers panel

When working on artwork, there may be times when you select content on the artboard and then want to locate that content in the Layers panel. This can help you determine how content is organized.

1. Drag the left edge of the Layers panel to the left to make it wider.

   When the names of layers and objects are long enough or objects become further nested one in another, the names can become truncated—in other words, you can’t see all of them.

   

2. With the Selection tool (), click the “Terraform Hikers” text on the artboard.

3. Click the Locate Object button () at the bottom of the Layers panel to reveal the selected content (a text group) within the Layers panel.

   

   Clicking the Locate Object button will reveal the content for the layer that the selected text is on in the Layers panel. You’ll see a selection indicator () to the far right of the layer that the selected content is on (Phone Body), as well as a <Group> object and the individual text objects. You can see that the selected text is in a group on a layer.

   

4. On the artboard, Shift-click the “$145.00” text to select it as well.

   

   In the Layers panel, you should also see a selection indicator () to the far right of the $145.00 text object.

5. To group the selected text, press Command+G (macOS) or Ctrl+G (Windows).

   When content is grouped, a group object (<Group>) is created that contains the grouped content.

6. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the selected <Group> to show the original group and the $145.00 text object that is now grouped with it.

   You can rename a <Group> by double-clicking the name in the Layers panel. Renaming a group doesn’t ungroup it, but it can make it easier to recognize what is in the group in the Layers panel.

   

7. Double-click the main <Group> name and type Description. Press Return or Enter to accept the name.

   

8. To collapse the group again so you hide the content, click the disclosure triangle () to the left of Description.

9. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the Phone Body layer thumbnail to collapse the layer and hide the contents of the entire layer.

   

   Keeping layers, sublayers, and groups collapsed is a great way to make the Layers panel less visually cluttered. The Phone Content layer and Phone Body layer are the only layers with a disclosure triangle because they’re the only layers with content on them.

10. Choose Select > Deselect.

Moving content between layers

Next you’ll move the artwork to the different layers to take advantage of the layers and sublayers you’ve created.

1. In the artwork, using the Selection tool (), click the text “Terraform Hikers” to select that group of content.

   In the Layers panel, notice that the Phone Body layer name has the selected-art indicator (the color square); it’s circled in the figure.

   Tip

   This selection square is smaller than the selected squares you’ve seen up until now. A smaller selection square indicates that it’s not the entire layer that’s selected—just certain objects on the layer.

   

   Also notice that the color of the bounding box, paths, and anchor points of the selected artwork matches the color of the layer (the small color strip [ ] you see to the left of the layer name in the Layers panel).

   If you want to move selected artwork from one layer to another, you can drag the selected-art indicator for either a sublayer or layer. That’s what you’ll do next.

2. Drag the selected-art indicator (the little blue box) for the Phone Body layer straight up to the right of the target icon () on the Phone Content layer.

   

   Tip

   You can also press Option (macOS) or Alt (Windows) and drag the selected-art indicator to another layer to duplicate the content. Remember to release the mouse button first and then the key.

   This action moves all of the selected artwork to the Phone Content layer. The color of the bounding box, paths, and anchor points in the artwork changes to the color of the Phone Content layer, which is green (in my case).

   

3. Choose Select > Deselect.

4. Click the disclosure triangle () for the Phone Body and the Phone Content layers to show the content for each layer.

5. With the Selection tool () selected, move the pointer above the ADD TO BAG button. Drag across the “ADD TO BAG” text and black rectangle at the bottom of the artboard to select a series of objects, making sure not to select the small white rectangle on the bottom edge of the artboard.

   

   You should see the blue selection indicators to the right of that content in the Layers panel. Also, notice the icons that are selected but can’t be seen on the artboard because they are behind the black rectangle at the bottom. In the next section you’ll arrange those icons so they are in front. Next you’ll select those objects in the Layers panel and move them to another layer.

6. In the Layers panel, click one of the <Group> objects that has the selection indicator to the right of the name. To select the other two groups, Command-click (macOS) or Ctrl-click (Windows) the other two <Group> objects where you see the selected indicator to the right of the name.

   Note

   You didn’t need to select the artwork on the artboard to drag content from one layer to another, but it made it easier to find in the Layers panel.

7. Drag any of the selected objects to the Footer sublayer in the Phone Content layer above it. When the Footer sublayer shows a highlight, release the mouse button.

   

   This is another way to move artwork between layers. Any content that is dragged to another layer or sublayer is automatically at the top of the layer or sublayer ordering. The color of the bounding box, paths, and anchor points of the selected artwork now matches the color of the Footer sublayer.

8. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the Phone Body and Phone Content layers to hide the layer contents.

9. Choose Select > Deselect, and then choose File > Save.

Viewing layer content differently

In the Layers panel, you can display layers or objects individually in either Preview or Outline mode. In this section, you’ll learn how to view layers in Outline mode, which can make artwork easier to select.

1. Choose View > Outline. This displays the artwork so that only its outlines (or paths) are visible.

   You should be able to see the menu icons that are hidden beneath the black shape. They are circled in the figure.

   

   Notice the eye icons () in the Layers panel now. They indicate that the content on that layer is in outline mode.

2. Choose View > Preview (or GPU Preview) to see the painted artwork.

   

   Sometimes you may want to view part of the artwork in Outline mode while retaining the strokes and fills for the rest of the artwork. This can be useful if you need to see all artwork in a given layer, sublayer, or group.

3. In the Layers panel, click the disclosure triangle () for the Phone Content layer to reveal the layer content.

4. Command-click (macOS) or Ctrl-click (Windows) the eye icon () to the left of the Phone Content layer name to show the content for only that layer in Outline mode.

   

   You should be able to see the icons near the bottom of the artboard again. Displaying a layer in Outline mode is also useful for selecting the anchor points or center points of objects.

5. With the Selection tool () selected, click one of the mobile icons to select the group of icons.

6. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the Footer sublayer to show the content on the sublayer.

   

   You should be able to find the group of icons in the Footer sublayer.

7. Choose Object > Arrange > Bring To Front.

   

   The Arrange commands move the content up or down in the layer stack on an individual layer. The Bring To Front command only brought the icons group to the top of the Footer sublayer. If you decide to create layers and organize your content and later need to move content in front of other content, it can be a bit more challenging to use the Arrange commands if that content is not on the same layer. Sometimes you wind up moving content from one layer to another or reordering layers altogether so some content can be in front of other content.

8. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the Phone Content layer to hide the layer content.

9. Command-click (macOS) or Ctrl-click (Windows) the eye icon () to the left of the Phone Content layer name to show the content for that layer in Preview mode again. You should now see the icons.

   

10. Choose Select > Deselect and then File > Save.

Reordering layers and content

In earlier lessons, you learned that objects have a stacking order, depending on when and how they were created. That stacking order applies to each of the layers in the Layers panel. By creating multiple layers in your artwork, you can control how overlapping objects are displayed. Next, you’ll reorder content to change the stacking order.

1. With the Selection tool () selected, on the artboard, drag across the content at the top of the artboard to select the header content.

   After attempting to select just the header content, you’ll see that the selection appears to capture other content. You can tell because the bounding box surrounding the selection covers the artboard.

   

2. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the Phone Body layer name to show the content.

   You should see the content that is selected. You need to remove a few items from the selection. There is a gradient-filled rectangle and something else.

   

3. To remove the rectangle with the gradient fill from the selection, Shift-click the rectangle on the artboard. See the figure.

   There is still a shape that is the size of the artboard that is selected and needs to be deselected.

   

4. In the Layers panel, Shift-click the selection indicator to the right of the bottom <Rectangle> object to remove it from the selection.

   That happened to be the right thing to deselect, in this case. If it weren’t, you could have Shift-clicked the selection indicator column again to reselect it and tried another object. Just as in the document, you can use the Shift key to add or remove items from a selection in the Layers panel. As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, selecting the name of a layer or object in the Layers panel does not select it in the document. That’s why you Shift-clicked the selection indicator and not the name of the rectangle.

   

5. Click the disclosure triangle () to the left of the Phone Body layer to hide the content. To move the selected content to the Navigation layer, where it belongs, drag the selection indicator to the right of the Phone Body layer up to the Navigation layer and release.

   

   The selection indicator to the right of a layer means that there is selected content on that layer. It doesn’t tell you what or how much is selected, but dragging it to another layer moves only the currently selected content.

6. With the Selection tool () selected, click in a blank area, away from artwork, to deselect, if necessary. Shift-drag the image from off the left edge of the artboard into the approximate center of the artboard. Release the mouse button and then the Shift key.

   

7. The image needs to be on the Phone Content layer, so with it selected, drag the selection indicator in the Layers panel up to the Phone Content layer.

   

   Unfortunately, the image now covers the content on the Navigation layer. Next you’ll reorder the layers so you can once again see the navigation content.

8. Drag the Phone Content layer down below the Navigation layer. When you see a blue line below the Navigation layer, release the mouse button to move the Phone Content layer below the Navigation layer. You should now see the navigation content since it’s above the Phone Content layer content.

   

9. Choose Select > Deselect.

10. Choose File > Save.

Locking and hiding layers

In Lesson 2, you learned about locking and hiding content. When you lock and hide content using menu commands or keyboard shortcuts, lock, unlock, hide, and show are set in the Layers panel. The Layers panel lets you hide layers, sublayers, or individual objects from view. When a layer is hidden, the content on the layer is also locked and cannot be selected or printed. In this section, you’ll lock some content and hide other content to make it easier to select things.

1. Click the image of the hiker on the artboard. Click the Locate Object button () at the bottom of the Layers panel to find it in the layers. Notice the eye icon () to the far left of the <Image> name.

   

2. Choose Object > Hide > Selection.

   

   The image is hidden, and the eye for the <Image> object is gone in the Layers panel.

3. Click where the eye icon () was, to the far left of the <Image> name in the Layers panel, to show the image again.

   That is the same as choosing Object > Show All. But in the Layers panel, you don’t have to show everything that you hide, like the command does. You can show or hide layers, sublayers, individual objects, or a combination.

   

4. Option-click (macOS) or Alt-click (Windows) the eye icon () to the left of the Phone Body layer to hide the other layers.

   

   Hiding all layers except those that you want to work with can make it easier to focus on the content at hand.

5. Click the gradient-filled rectangle in the top part of the artboard. In the Layers panel, drag the selection indicator up to the Phone Content layer and release.

   The rectangle will disappear since it is now on a layer that is hidden.

   

   

6. To view the artwork in Outline mode, press Command+Y (macOS) or Ctrl+Y (Windows). You should see four small circles near the center of the artboard that are meant to show navigation for an image slideshow in the app. Click to select them.

   

7. Drag the selection indicator in the Layers panel up to the Phone Content layer and release. The circles disappear since they are now on a layer that is hidden.

8. Press Command+Y (macOS) or Ctrl+Y (Windows) to exit Outline mode.

9. Choose Show All Layers from the Layers panel menu (), or Option-click (macOS) or Alt-click (Windows) the eye icon () to the left of the Phone Body layer, to show all layers again.

   

10. Click the empty Lock column to the left of the Navigation layer to lock all of the content on that layer.

    

11. Try clicking the “KICKSAPP” text at the top of the artboard, and you’ll wind up selecting the gradient-filled rectangle on the layer beneath.

    Locking a layer makes it so you can’t even select the content on that layer. Locking content can be helpful if you don’t want to move content, for instance, accidentally. You can also click in the Lock column for an object on a layer to lock or unlock objects on a layer.

12. Choose Select > Deselect and then choose File > Save.

Duplicating layer content

You can also use the Layers panel as another method for duplicating layers and content. Next you’ll duplicate content on a layer and duplicate a layer.

1. With the Phone Content layer content showing in the Layers panel, click the name “Description” to select that group sublayer in the Layers panel. Pressing Option (macOS) or Alt (Windows), drag it down until you see a line appear just below the original. Release the mouse button and then the key to duplicate it.

   Dragging with the modifier key copies the content. This is the same as selecting the content on the artboard, choosing Edit > Copy, and then choosing Edit > Paste In Place.

   

   Tip

   You can also Option-drag (macOS) or Alt-drag (Windows) the selected-art indicator to duplicate content. You can also select the <Description> row in the Layers panel and choose Duplicate “<Description>” from the Layers panel menu to create a copy of the same content.

   Note

   The original Description group was selected because if you had selected the copy and then attempted to drag it on the artboard, you would have instead dragged the original Description group that was above it in the layer stack. It really didn’t matter which you dragged off the artboard, since they are the same.

2. Option-click (macOS) or Alt-click (Windows) the original group name “Description” to select the text on the artboard.

   

3. Drag the selected text off the artboard to the right.

   

   You’ll keep a copy of the original text in case you convert the text on the artboard to outlines. Next you’ll make a copy of the Navigation layer and drag the content for the copy off the artboard. This can be a way to make a design version of the navigation off to the side.

4. Click the Navigation layer name and drag it down to the Create New Layer button () at the bottom of the Layers panel.

   This duplicates the layer, and the content is pasted in place, on top of the original Navigation layer content. Notice that the copied layer, named “Navigation Copy” is also locked.

   

5. Click the lock icon () to the left of the Navigation Copy layer name in the panel to unlock it.

   

6. To select the copied content so you can move it off the artboard, click the selection indicator column to the far right of the Navigation Copy name, to select all of the layer content.

   

7. On the artboard, drag the selected navigation content off the artboard to the right.

   

Pasting layers

To complete the app design, you’ll copy and paste the remaining pieces of artwork from another file. You can paste a layered file into another file and even keep the layers intact. In this section, you’ll also learn a few new things, including applying appearance attributes to layers and reordering layers.

1. Choose Window > Workspace > Reset Essentials.

2. Choose File > Open. Open the Sizes.ai file in the Lessons > Lesson10 folder on your hard disk.

3. Choose View > Fit Artboard In Window.

   

4. Click the Layers panel tab to show the panel and see the layer named “Sizes” that the content is on.

5. Choose Select > All and then choose Edit > Copy to select and copy the content to the clipboard.

6. Choose File > Close to close the Sizes.ai file without saving any changes. If a warning dialog box appears, click Don’t Save (macOS) or No (Windows).

7. In the TravelApp.ai file, choose Paste Remembers Layers from the Layers panel menu (). A checkmark next to the option indicates that it’s selected.

   

   When Paste Remembers Layers is selected, artwork is pasted into the layer(s) from which it was copied, regardless of which layer is active in the Layers panel. If the option is not selected, all objects are pasted into the active layer, and the layers from the original file are not pasted in.

8. Choose Edit > Paste to paste the content into the center of the Document window.

   

   The Paste Remembers Layers option causes the Sizes.ai layer to be pasted as a layer at the top of the Layers panel. Now you’ll move the newly pasted layer into the Phone Content layer.

9. Drag the Sizes layer down on top of the Phone Content layer to move the content to the new layer. The pasted layer becomes a sublayer of the Phone Content layer.

   

10. Drag the selected artwork on the artboard down into position.

11. Choose Select > Deselect.

    

Applying appearance attributes to a layer

You can use the Layers panel to apply appearance attributes, such as styles, effects, and transparency to layers, groups, and objects. When an appearance attribute is applied to a layer, any object on that layer takes on that attribute. If an appearance attribute is applied only to a specific object on a layer, it affects only that object, not the entire layer. Next, you’ll apply an effect to all of the artwork on one layer.

1. Click the target icon () to the right of the Navigation Copy layer in the target column.

   

   Clicking the target icon indicates that you want to apply an effect, style, or transparency change to that layer, sublayer, group, or object. In other words, the layer, sublayer, group, or object is targeted. The content is also selected in the Document window. When the target button appears as a double-ring icon (either or ), the item is targeted; a single-ring icon indicates that the item is not targeted.

2. To apply an effect, choose Effect > (Illustrator Effects) Stylize > Drop Shadow.

3. In the Drop Shadow dialog box, select Preview and change the following options:

   • Mode: Multiply (default)

   • Opacity: 50%

   • X Offset: 0 px

   • Y Offset: 10 px

   • Blur: 3 px

   • Color: Selected

   

4. Click OK.

   If you look in the Layers panel, the target icon () for the Navigation Copy layer is now shaded, indicating that the layer has at least one appearance attribute (the drop shadow added) applied to it. All content on the layer has the drop shadow applied.

5. Choose Select > Deselect.