Working with Layers in Java

Creation ANSI/AIM Code 39 in Java Working with Layers

To create a drawing guide layer, follow these steps: 1 Click the Insert Layer button on the Layer list

2 Right-click the layer and choose Guide from the contextual menu that appears The layer icon changes to the guide icon that looks like a hammer

A mask layer sits on top of other layers, and acts, you guessed it, like a mask! A mask layer hides everything on its connected masked layers, except what s inside the objects that are on the top mask layer It, in effect, masks the content on the lower layers You can use masks to create a spotlight effect, where you only see what s in the spotlight and everything else is hidden You can see this effect in Figure 4-3, where the circular mask hides everything outside of the circle The circle is on a mask layer, and what you see inside the circle is on a masked layer To create a mask layer, follow these steps: 1 On the top layer of the Layer list, create the objects that you want to be visible through the mask 2 With the top layer selected, click the Add Layer button at the bottom of the Layer list 3 Draw a shape, such as a circle, on this new layer 4 Right-click the new layer and choose Mask from the contextual menu that appears In the Layer list, the mask layer is locked (meaning it can t be edited) by default and the masked layer is both locked and indented, showing that it s connected to the mask layer above it (Refer to Figure 4-3) To edit a mask or masked layer, click the lock next to the layer name in the Layer list Unlocking these layers removes the mask effect After you finish editing, click the lock column next to the layers names again to redisplay the mask effect To link a layer to a mask layer, drag the layer directly underneath a mask layer The layer is indented To display the mask effect, make sure that the layer is locked by clicking it under the Lock column in the Layer list

You can control the visibility, editability, and display of objects on layers These tools can really help you when you re trying to isolate certain objects for editing or animation

You can hide all the objects on a layer If you have a lot of objects on the Stage and want to edit objects on one layer, you can hide other layers that you don t need to see at the moment Don t forget about objects on hidden layers These objects still appear in your published movie To hide a layer, click beneath the Eye icon on the layer s row An X appears in the Eye column to show you that the layer is hidden Click the X to unhide the layer To hide all layers except one, right-click the layer that you want to see and choose Hide Others from the contextual menu that appears

You can lock the objects on a layer so that you can t edit them You may find yourself accidentally selecting objects that you want to leave alone This can get annoying, but you can easily avoid the situation by locking that layer To lock a layer, click beneath the Lock icon on the layer s row A lock appears in the Lock column Click the lock to unlock the layer To lock all layers except one, right-click the layer and choose Lock Others from the contextual menu that appears

Many of the layer controls that you can read about in this chapter all appear in the Layer Properties dialog box, as Figure 4-4 shows you Most of the time, you just use the controls on the Layer list or the contextual menu that you see when you right-click a layer However, the Layer Properties dialog box does have some unique features