Grouping layers

Grouping layers enables you to control layers as a unit. A group can contain any combination of layers: pixel-based layers, Watercolor layers, Liquid Ink layers, vector-based shapes, and dynamic layers.

You can move, rename, hide, show, lock, and set options for a group just as you do for a single layer. However, you cannot paint across layers in a group or change the composite method for a group; you must collapse the group into a single layer if you want to paint on it.

To work with individual layers in a group, you must open the group. To regain control of the group as a unit, you must close the group. Collapsing a group reduces its contents to a single layer.

If you select a layer within a group in the Layers panel and then proceed to create a new layer, the new layer is added to the group. If the group is selected, the layer is placed above the group.

To create a group

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Choose the Layer Adjuster tool in the toolbox, and click the Group Layers button on the property bar.

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Choose Layers Group Layers.

If you select nonsequential layers (layers not next to each other in the list), Corel Painter creates the group at the position of the topmost layer. To select nonsequential layers, in the Layers panel, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS), and click each layer you want to select.

You can also group layers by using keyboard shortcuts. For more information, see Layers menu commands.

To open or close a group

When the arrow points down and you can see the group items, the group is open. When the arrow points to the right and the names of the group members are hidden, the group is closed.

To add or remove a layer in a group

You can create a nested group by dragging a closed group to the open destination group.

To ungroup layers

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Choose the Layer Adjuster tool in the toolbox, and click the Ungroup Layers button on the property bar.

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Choose Layers Ungroup Layers.

You can also ungroup layers by using keyboard shortcuts. For more information, see Layers menu commands.

To collapse a group

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Click the Layer Commands button , and choose Collapse Layers.

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Choose the Layer Adjuster tool in the toolbox, click the Merge flyout button on the property bar, and choose Collapse Layers .

When you collapse layers, the name of the bottom layer is used as the name of the new merged layer.

If you want to collapse a group containing a Watercolor layer, you must first convert the Watercolor layer to a default layer. For more information, see Blending layers by using composite methods.

You can also collapse layers by right-clicking the selected layers in the Layers panel, and choosing Collapse Layers.

You can also collapse layers by clicking the Layer options button in the Layers panel, and choosing Collapse Layers.

If you have enabled the Commit and don’t ask again check box in the Commit dialog box, you can reinstate the display of the Commit dialog box when collapsing layers by choosing Corel Painter 2020 menu Preferences (macOS) or Edit Preferences (Windows), then clicking General from the Preferences list of categories, and enabling the Show Commit dialog when converting to layer check box.

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