Layers

Everything on a Studio page is a layer: text, shapes, images, vector paths, brush strokes, groups, frames and adjustment layers. This page covers the layer types, the Layers panel, selection, grouping, ordering, locking, alignment, snapping, opacity, blend modes and undo.

Layers stack from bottom to top. A layer higher in the list draws over the ones below it, and each page has its own stack.

Layer types

Studio has nine layer types. The right panel title tells you which one you have selected.

The layers panel

The Layers section of the left panel lists every page, and under each page its layers in stacking order, top layer first.

• Click a row to select that layer.
• Cmd / Ctrl + click adds or removes a layer from the selection.
• Shift + click selects every layer between the last one you clicked and this one.
• Double-click a layer's name to rename it. Press Enter to keep the new name or Esc to cancel.
• Drag a row up or down to change the stacking order.
• Click the arrow on a group to expand or collapse its contents. When you select a layer inside a group on the canvas, its group opens automatically.
• Right-click a row for a menu with Rename, Group, Ungroup, Duplicate, Lock or Unlock, Flip Horizontal, Flip Vertical and Delete.

Hover a row to reveal three buttons.

Selecting layers on the canvas

• Click a layer to select it. Selected layers show eight resize handles and rotation zones just outside each corner.
• Shift + click adds a layer to the selection.
• Drag on an empty part of a page to draw a selection box. Every visible, unlocked layer it touches on that page is selected.
• Press Esc to clear the selection.

Moving, resizing and rotating

• Drag a selected layer to move it. Hold Shift while dragging to lock movement to one axis. Holding Shift also turns off snapping for that drag.
• Drag a handle to resize. Hold Shift (or turn on the lock button next to the W and H fields) to keep the proportions.
• Drag just outside a corner to rotate. Hold Shift to rotate in 15 degree steps.

For exact values, use the Position & Size section of the right panel: X, Y, W, H, rotation from -360 to 360 degrees, and, for images and rectangles, corner radius up to 400.

Right-click menu on the canvas

Right-clicking a layer on the canvas opens a longer menu.

Duplicating and deleting

• Cmd / Ctrl + D duplicates the selected layers. Copies are named with "copy" at the end and placed 16 pixels down and to the right, so you can see them.
• Delete or Backspace deletes the selected layers.

Grouping

Select two or more layers and press Cmd / Ctrl + G, click Group 2 layers in the right panel, or use the right-click menu. The group takes the place of its layers in the stack and can be moved, resized and rotated as one.

To take a group apart, select it and press Cmd / Ctrl + Shift + G, click Ungroup in the right panel, or use the right-click menu. The layers return to the page at the same positions.

Groups can also arrange their contents automatically in a row, a column or a grid with gap and padding. That is covered in patterns and auto layout.

Ordering

The stacking order decides what covers what. To change it:

• Drag the layer in the Layers panel.
• Use Move layer up or Move layer down in the Layer options menu (three dots) in the right panel header.
• With the right panel collapsed, use the Move up and Move down rail buttons.

Each move shifts the layer one step. There is no single "bring to front" command, so drag in the Layers panel for bigger jumps.

Flipping

Flip horizontal and Flip vertical mirror a layer in place. They are in the Layer options menu, the right-click menu and the collapsed right panel rail.

Aligning

With one layer selected, the six align buttons at the top of Position & Size align it to the page.

With several layers selected, the right panel shows an Align section, and the same buttons align the layers to the box around the whole selection.

Studio does not have a distribute command. For even spacing, put the layers in a group and use auto layout with a fixed gap. See patterns and auto layout.

Scatter into collage

When two or more uploaded images are selected, the Arrange section also shows Scatter into collage. It lays the pictures out on a loose grid across the page, enlarges them so they overlap, tilts each one slightly, and gives them torn paper edges. Some also get tape strips. Each click shuffles a new arrangement. The shuffle is repeatable: the same pictures in the same starting positions always scatter the same way, so undo and click again to get the identical layout back. You can fine-tune the paper treatments on each picture afterwards.

Snapping

While you drag a layer, it snaps to the left edge, center and right edge (and the top, middle and bottom) of the page and of the other layers on it. Snapping kicks in within about 6 screen pixels, whatever your zoom level, and a guide line shows what you snapped to.

Hold Shift while dragging to move freely without snapping.

Opacity and blend modes

Most layers have an opacity field (the circle icon, 0 to 100%) and a blend mode dropdown in their Appearance section. Blend modes control how a layer mixes with the layers beneath it, exactly as in other design tools.

Tip: Multiply a textured scan or a halftone image over a colored page to get the look of ink printed on colored paper.

Undo and history

Studio remembers your last 40 or so steps. Press Cmd / Ctrl + Z to undo and Cmd / Ctrl + Shift + Z (or Cmd / Ctrl + Y) to redo, or use the arrows in the top bar and the Edit menu.

History covers layers, pages and page sizes. It lives in memory while the editor is open, so it starts fresh each time you open a project, and opening a .btg file clears it.

Related

• Shapes and vectors
• Text and typography
• Pages and frames
• Patterns and auto layout
• Keyboard shortcuts

More documentation

• All documentation
• More in studio
• Open the editor
• Open the studio
• Read the blog