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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Click the Layer Commands button , and choose Group Layers.

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Click the Layer options button , and choose 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 Shift and click each layer you want to select.

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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Click the Layer Commands button , and choose Ungroup Layers.

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Click the Layer options button , and choose Ungroup Layers.

To collapse a group

2	Click the Layer Commands button , and choose Collapse Layers.

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

You can also collapse layers by clicking the Layer options button , 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 2018 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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