Layers Panel
On the left sidebar of the design tool editing area, we call it the "Layer Panel", which contains the "Layers", "Page", "Artboard", and "Assets" in the design draft.
Before starting the detailed learning journey, first we would like to explain the logical relationship of nouns commonly used in design tools:
Pages, Artboards, and Layers are gradually nested. Pages can carry multiple artboards, and artboards can carry multiple layers.
You can access all the layers in the design draft in the Layer Panel. Below we will explain the contents in the Layer Panel one by one:
1. Page
When creating a design project, a page (page1) will be created by default which allows you to create multiple separate canvases in a single file on the page. Mockitt design tool allows many new pages to be created, but when there are too many pages, we recommend that you to create a new design draft.
1.1. Create a New page
Click ➕ in the layer panel to create a new page.
There are many scenarios for the use of pages, such as:
1. Design iterations: Different pages can be recorded as different versions of design iterations.
2. Multi-size device design drafts: you can design in different pages for desktop or mobile devices
3. Distinguish design versions.
4. Create different styles of designs and organize them into a book.
1.2. Switch and Adjust Page Order
In the left layer panel, click the page in the box to switch. At the same time, you can also click on the page and drag and drop to adjust the page order.
1.3. Rename Page
After selecting the page, double-click to rename it. After the naming is complete, press Enter to complete the operation.
1.4. Copy Page/Delete Page
After the page is selected, right-click to copy or delete the page.
2. Layer Panel Tab
There are two tabs on the top of the layer panel, including:
1. Layers
2. Assets
You can switch between these two tabs.
The layers, symbols, or groups you add to the canvas will all be displayed in the layer panel. The newly added layer will appear at the top of the list, and if you group some layers, you can see the nesting relationship between the layers in the list.
At the same time, you can distinguish whether it is an Artboard, a layer, a symbol or an instance by the different signs on the left side of the list. Like the Mockitt prototype tool, you can adjust the layer order by dragging layers in the list.
When the mouse hovers in the list, the corresponding layer will be selected, highlighting its layer position in the artboard.
3. Select Layers and Reorder Layers
There are two ways to select and reorder layers:
1. In the left side of the layer panel, click the layer in the list to select, while dragging the mouse up and down, you can adjust the order of the element in the drawing board layers.
2. Click to select the layer in the Artboard directly, right-click your mouse, and you can choose to "Move farward" or "Move backward" in the menu.
4. Toggle the Visibility of Layers
You can toggle the visibility of layers in the left Layers panel. And you can still change the layer position after the layer is hidden, or adjust the properties of the hidden layer.
1. Hover over the layer in the Layers Panel until the eye and lock icons appear.
2. Click the eye icon to close the layer and make the icon hidden; at this time the layer will no longer be displayed on the canvas and the layer will be shown as inactive in the Layers Panel.
3. If you need to show the layer again, use the mouse to hover over the layer and click the closed eye icon to show it.
5. Lock the Layers
The purpose of locking a layer is to prevent accidental edits from occurring. When a layer is locked, you will not be able to interact with it or move it around in the canvas, but you can still change the properties of the locked layer in the Properties Panel on the right.
Similarly, if the lock is on a group, then any sub-layers below that group will also be locked, and there is also support for unlocking any sub-layers individually to move the position.
In the Layers Panel on the left, hover over the locked panel/layers, see the lock icon appear and click to lock the panel/layers. Unlocking works the same way.