PhotoPlus X2 User Guide - Serif

Layers and Masks 133
• Suppose you are creating a new picture image. The New Image dialog provides
three choices for Background: White, Background Colour, and Transparent. If
you pick White or Background Colour, the Layers tab shows a single layer in
the new image named "Background." If you pick Transparent, however, the
single layer is named "Layer 1"—and in this case, the image (typically an
animation file) has no Background layer.
Operations involving layers
• If you cut, delete, or move a selection on the
Background layer, the "hole" that's left exposes
the current background colour (as shown on the
Colour tab). The same operations on a standard
layer expose a transparent hole.
Many standard operations, such as painting, selecting and moving, Clipboard
actions, adjusting colours, applying effects, and so on, are possible on both the
Background layer and standard layers.
Others, such as rearranging the order of layers in the stack, setting up different
colour interactions (blend modes and blend ranges) between layers, varying layer
opacity (transparency) , applying 2D layer effects and 3D layer effects, using depth
maps, masking, or creating animation frames, only work with standard layers.
Once an image has more than just a background layer, the layer information can
only be preserved by saving the image in the native PhotoPlus (.SPP) format.
Multiple layers are merged when you export an image to a standard “flat” bitmap
format (e.g., .PNG). It’s best to save your work-in-progress as .SPP files, and only
export to a different file format as the final step.
Some standard operations can be applied to all layers simultaneously by checking
the Use All Layers option from the Context toolbar.
To carry out basic layer operations:
• To select a layer, click on its name in the Layers tab. The selected layer is now
the active layer. Note that each layer’s entry includes a preview thumbnail,
which is visible at all times and is especially useful when identifying layer
contents.