PhotoPlus X6 User Guide - Serif

20 Layers, Masks, and Blending
Kinds of layers
In a typical PhotoPlus image—for example, a photograph you've scanned in, a
new picture file you've just created, or a standard bitmap file you've opened—
there is one layer that behaves like a conventional "flat" image. This is called the
Background layer, and you can think of it as having paint overlaid on an
opaque, solid colour surface.
You can create any number of new layers in your image. Each new one appears
on top of the currently active layer, comprising a stack that you can view and
manipulate with the Layers tab.
We call these additional layers standard layers to differentiate them from the
Background layer. Standard layers behave like transparent sheets through which
the underlying layers are visible.
In the example above, the standard layer 'Surfer' is highest in the stack, followed
by 'Beach Umbrella'. The Background layer contains the beach, sea and sky
photo.
Other types of layers also exist in PhotoPlus:
• Shape layers are specifically designed to keep drawn lines and shapes
(including QuickShapes) separate from the other layers so that they
remain editable. (See Drawing and editing lines and shapes; p. 142.)