Release items to separate layers, Consolidate layers and groups – Adobe Illustrator CS4 User Manual
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USING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
Selecting and arranging objects
Release items to separate layers
The Release To Layers command redistributes all of the items in a layer into individual layers and can build new objects
in each layer based on the object’s stacking order. You can use this feature to prepare files for web animation work.
1
In the Layers panel, click the name of a layer or group.
2
Do one of the following:
•
To release each item to a new layer, choose Release To Layers (Sequence) from the Layers panel menu.
•
To release items into layers and duplicate objects to create a cumulative sequence, choose Release To Layers
(Build) from the Layers panel menu. The bottommost object appears in each of the new layers, and the topmost
object only appears in the topmost layer. For example, assume Layer
1 contains a circle (bottommost object), a
square, and a triangle (topmost object). This command creates three layers—one with a circle, square, and
triangle; one with a circle and square; and one with just a circle. This is useful for creating cumulative animation
sequences.
Release To Layers (Build) command creates new layers.
Consolidate layers and groups
Merging and flattening layers are similar in that they both let you consolidate objects, groups, and sublayers into a
single layer or group. With merging, you can select which items you want to consolidate; with flattening, all visible
items in the artwork are consolidated in a single layer. With either option, the stacking order of the artwork remains
the same, but other layer-level attributes, such as clipping masks, aren’t preserved.
•
To merge items into a single layer or group, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac
OS) and click the
names of the layers or groups that you want to merge. Alternatively, hold down Shift to select all listings in between
the layer or group names you click. Then, select Merge Selected from the Layers panel menu. Note that items will
be merged into the layer or group that you selected last.
Layers can only merge with other layers that are on the same hierarchical level in the Layers panel. Likewise,
sublayers can only merge with other sublayers that are within the same layer and at the same hierarchical level.
Objects can’t be merged with other objects.
•
To flatten layers, click the name of the layer into which you want to consolidate the artwork. Then select Flatten
Artwork from the Layers panel menu.