Consolidate layers and groups, Locate an item in the layers panel – Adobe Illustrator CS3 User Manual
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ILLUSTRATOR CS3
User Guide
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Do one of the following:
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To release each item to a new layer, choose Release To Layers (Sequence) from the Layers panel menu.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Locate an item in the Layers panel
When you select an item in your document window, you can quickly locate the corresponding item in the Layers
panel using the Locate Object command. This command is especially helpful for locating items in collapsed layers.
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Select an object in the document window. If you select more than one object, the frontmost object in the stacking
order will be located.
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Choose Locate Object from the Layers panel menu. This command changes to Locate Layer if the Show Layers
Only panel option is selected.