Tool Window - Layers

The Layers tool window shows all of the layers the active multi-layer image has. Every layer will be shown in its own row. You can make the individual layers appear or disappear, and you can also delete them.

Should this tool window not be visible, use the View > Tool Windows > Layers command to show the tool window.

Makeup of the tool window

The tool window is made up of several parts. Click on one of the areas in the tool window shown above to jump to the corresponding help topic.

(1) List of the layers

The Layers tool window shows all of the layers the active multi-layer image has. Every layer will be shown in its own row. The field in the center (1) contains the thumbnail and the name of the layer. Within the row you will find a number of icons that supply information about the corresponding rows (2-4).

(1)	List of the layers	The thumbnails and the names of the layers are shown here.
(2)	Eye icon	The eye icon indicates that the layer is visible.
(3)	Check mark	A check mark indicates the layers that can be edited.
(4)	Image type / Prohibitory sign	The field on the right shows the icon for an image layer's image type.

(1) List of the layers

The order in which the layers are shown in the tool window is fixed and cannot be changed. This order determines how the objects lie over one another. All of the objects in the topmost layer also lie on top, and cover the layers beneath them.

All layers are given a standard name. You can change this name at any time. To do so, doubleclick on the layer's name. Then enter the name you want and confirm it with the [Enter] key.

Drawing objects, measurement objects and annotations will be inserted into a vector layer. A vector layer contains no image data. The vector layer is transparent everywhere where there are no drawing objects. As an example, this illustration shows you an image on which several drawing objects have been defined.

(2) Eye icon

The eye icon identifies all of the layers that are currently on display on your monitor.

Click an empty cell without an eye icon to make the corresponding layer reappear.

You can also make a drawing layer disappear/reappear by using the Show Drawings

button. You can find this button on the Drawing toolbar.

The vector layer and printing an image

Note: If you don't want to print a layer out together with the image, you can hide the layer. The File > Print... command ignores all hidden layers.

(3) Check mark

A check mark indicates which layer is active. Only active layers can be edited. Only a maximum of two layers can be identified by check marks, one image layer, and if present, one vector layer.

As soon as you access a function that only affects one certain layer, this layer will automatically become active. For instance, if you click on any of the drawing functions in the Drawing toolbar, the check mark will automatically jump to the drawing layer.

(4) Image type / Prohibitory sign

The field on the right shows the icon for an image layer's image type. The following image types are available:

The prohibitory sign means that the individual layers can't be shifted in respect to each other.

(2) The tool window's toolbar

	Deleting a layer	Delete a layer.
	Setting layer opacity	Change the opacity of image layers.

Deleting a layer

1.To delete a layer, you must first select it. To do so, simply click the layer's name.

2.The layer you have selected will then be shown with a colored background in the tool window.

2.Then click the Delete Layer

button. You will find this button below the tool window's header.

3.In this manner you can, for example, remove all of the drawing objects in an image with one mouse click.

Setting layer opacity

When you display several image layers simultaneously in the image window, the image layer that lies on the top covers all of the image information that lies beneath it. You can make the top image layers transparent and in this way make the image information beneath them recognizable.

1.To start with, select the image layer in the Layers tool window. To do so, simply click the layer's name.

2.The layer you have selected will then be shown with a colored background in the tool window.

3.The button is not available for the lowest layer because this layer doesn't cover any other layers.

2.Then click the Set Layer Opacity

button. You can find this button in the tool window's toolbar.

3.In the tool window a slide control will then appear, with which you can set the degree of transparency.

3.Use the slide control to set the degree of transparency you want. At a value of 100% the image layer is opaque. At a value of 0% the image layer will be completely faded out.

4.When you're satisfied with the transparency setting, click once on any place on the user interface.

What exactly, are layers?

An image can be made up of different layers. A multi-layer image is made up of two or more layers. A layer can contain drawings and/or measurement results. Depending on how the multi-layer image has been created, the different layers can have considerably different properties.

Examples of multi-layer images

Images with drawings	Use the Drawing toolbar to insert additional information in the form of labeling, markers or drawings, into an image. All drawing objects will be written into their own layer, the drawing layer.
Images with measurements	Use the Measurements tool window to define measurement objects in an image. All measurement objects will be written into their own layer, the measurement layer.

Properties of the layers

Although the information each image layer provides is saved in one single file, the image file, the layer information can still be separated. Should you change the information contained in one layer, this will, therefore, not have any effect on the other layers. Furthermore, you can, at any time, make an individual layer disappear, or delete it. To do this, use the Layers tool window's functions.

Note: The individual layers will only be saved separately when you use either the TIF or VSI file format to save them. If you use any other file format the data will be irrevocably lost when you save the image.