Organizing Your Files Using Layers

Using layers in Illustrator enables you to better organize the objects in your file. Although it might not make much sense to spend time creating and working with layers to work on a simple logo, it certainly makes sense for illustrations or designs that are more complex.

The Layers Palette

Illustrator's layers are specified in the Layers palette. When you start working in a new document, all artwork is automatically placed on a layer called Layer 1 (see Figure 7.103). To open the Layers palette, choose Show Layers from the Window menu. The order in which layers appear in the Layers palette is important: Layers that appear closer to the top of the palette appear above (or in front of) other objects that might appear on layers that are closer to the bottom of the Layers palette.

Figure 7.103. The Layers palette, with the default Layer 1 showing.

Editing Layers

Some artists prefer to create several layers before they begin working, adding art to each layer as they progress. Others prefer to add or delete layers as necessary as they work on a project. Still others like to create the entire piece and then chop it into different layers afterward. As you'll soon see, there are certainly some benefits to working with layers during the design process (instead of after the fact).

To create a new layer, click on the New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Illustrator creates the layer and assigns it a name. You can double-click on the layer to rename it, or instead you can Option+click (Alt+click) on the New Layers button to create a new layer and name it in one step. In either case, it's a good idea to name your layers because trying to identify layers that are named Layer 1, Layer 2, Layer 3, and so is difficult (to say the least).

Did you Know?

When you click the New Layer button, a new layer is added just above the currently selected layer. If you hold down the Command (Ctrl) key while clicking the New Layer icon, a new layer is added to the top of your Layers palette.

To delete a layer, either click the layer in the Layers palette to highlight it and then click on the Trash icon at the bottom of the palette, or drag the layer itself into the Trash icon. If you try to delete a layer that contains artwork on it, a warning dialog box appears, alerting you about the situation; Illustrator deletes the layer and its contents only with your permission.

You can duplicate a layerand all the contents of that layer along with itby clicking and dragging an existing layer onto the New Layer icon in the Layers palette.

Using Layers in the Design Process

As I mentioned earlier, there are certainly benefits to working with the Layers palette as you design your art. Let's take a closer look at the Layers palette to better understand these benefits.

Each layer in the Layers palette has a several different icons, which enable you to perform certain functions (see Figure 7.104). We discuss these functions beginning on the far left of a layer listing.

Figure 7.104. The different icons within each layer in the Layers palette.

On the far left, each layer has an icon that looks like an eye. Clicking on the eye toggles the visibility of that layer. Pressing the Option (Alt) key while clicking on the eye hides/shows all other layers at once.

The next icon to the right of the eye is a lock indicator. Click in the box to toggle the layer to be locked or unlocked. Pressing the Option (Alt) key while clicking on the lock locks/unlocks all other layers at once.

The next icon to the right of the lock is a disclosure triangle. Click on the triangle to reveal the content of the layer. If there isn't a triangle on a layer, there are no objects on that layer.

By the Way

Take note that layers are shaded with a gray background. However, objects themselves (which appear inside of layers) appear in the Layers palette with a white background (see Figure 7.105). People often are confused by Illustrator's behavior of "automatically creating all of these layers each time I create something," but in reality, each time you create a new object, Illustrator isn't creating a new layer at all.

Figure 7.105. Layers and objects, displayed in the Layers palette. Objects are colored white.

To the right of the disclosure triangle is a thumbnail icon that gives a graphical preview of the objects on that layer. Be aware that for documents with many layers, thumbnails can slow the performance of Illustrator because it has to draw each and every thumbnail.

To the right of the thumbnail is the layer name.

To the right of the layer name is a little circle. This is the target icon. For an effect or attribute to be applied to an object in Illustrator, that object (or group or layer) has to be targeted. Illustrator actually employs something called smart targeting that automatically does the targeting for you; however, sometimes you want to specifically target something yourself. To target a layer or an object, click once on the circle icon, which then appears with a circle outlined around it. Layers or objects that have an appearance applied to them display the circle as a shaded 3D sphere (which the Adobe engineers refer to as the "meatball").

Finally, if you click on the far right of the layer, it selects all the objects in that layer. Selections are indicated by a colored square. This square can appear in two sizes. If all the objects on the layer are selected, you will see a large square, but if only some of the objects on a layer are selected, a smaller square displays. You can move artwork from one layer to another simply by dragging the colored square to a different layer. At the same time, you can press the Option (Alt) key while dragging the square to copy the selected art to a different layer.

Did you Know?

Illustrator layers can be used for more than just organizing artwork inside Illustra-tor. When saving files for SVG or for certain web applications, you can have Illustrator convert layers to CSS layers. You can also export an Illustrator file as a Photoshop file with layers intact. Finally, you can save a PDF file out of Illustrator that's compatible with Acrobat 6 or later, enabling you to view Illustrator's layers in Adobe Reader and Acrobat Professional.