Layers

In This Topic

Layers provide a powerful way to organize and manage the visibility and editing of different page items within a page. They allow you to segregate page items into different categories, which is particularly useful for handling complex diagrams. Each layer can be independently shown or hidden and locked or unlocked, giving you granular control over the page items you want to work with and enabling you to focus on specific parts of your page without affecting others.

Creating and Managing Layers

Layers are created and managed by the Layers Dialog, which is invoked by the Layers Properties... command, located at the Ribbon Home Tab - Editing group. The Layers Dialog looks like this:

As seen from the picture above, the Layers Dialog allows you to perform the following actions:

Add Layer - adds a new layer with an automatic name.
Delete Layer - the delete button deletes the currently selected layers.
Move Layer Up/Down - moves the current layer up or down in the layers collection list.

Additionally you can modify the properties of each layer, which are summarized by the following table:

Property	Description
Name	Specifies the name of the layer. Must be a non-empty string that is unique for the page.
Visible	Controls the visibility of the page items (shapes, guidelines etc.) assigned to the layer. In order for a page item to be displayed it must belong to at least one visible layer.
Print	Controls the visibility of the page items when it is printed or exported. In order for a page item to be printed or exported it must belong to at least one printable layer.
Active	Determines whether the layer is considered active. Active layers are automatically assigned to shapes that are dropped on the page, created by tools, or pasted.
Locked	Determines whether the layer is considered locked. Locked layers prevent modification and selection of the items belonging to them. A page item is considered locked (non-editable), if it belongs to at least one locked layer.
Snap	Controls whether moved objects can be snapped to page items belonging to this layer. You can for example split the guidelines of a page to several layers and dynamically control to which set of guidelines the moved objects are snapped to.
Glue	Controls whether the user can glue to page items belonging to this layer.
Highlight	Controls whether the page items belonging to the layer must be highlighted. If set to true, the associated page items are rendered in a layer specific color, so that the user can easily identify them.
Color	Gets or sets the color used to highlight the page items belonging to the layer. By default set to DarkGray.

Assigning Page Items To Layers

Each page item can belong to multiple layers. Because of that, layers do not control the Z-Order of the page items. You can assign the currently selected page items to layers, through the Assign To Layers Dialog, which is invoked by the Assign To Layers... command, located at the Ribbon Home Tab - Editing group. The Assign To Layers Dialog looks like this:

The Preserve Group Member Layers option ensures that individual shapes within a group retain their original layer assignments. This allows the group to be assigned to a new layer without altering the layers of individual shapes, maintaining their original visibility and behavior settings. It simplifies managing complex diagrams by preserving layer-based organization even when shapes are grouped.