Workspace

Linearity Curve (formerly Vectornator) offers various tools and features to create various design assets. One of the most important aspects of working with complex designs is the ability to keep your workspace organized, reason why it is so important to work with layers.

Layers allow you to organize and manage your design elements, and in Linearity Curve, you can easily create and manage multiple layers, which can be quickly reorganized and adjusted to achieve the desired design outcome. Layers can also apply different effects and styles to specific elements within your design, allowing you to create complex and dynamic compositions easily.

The Layers panel on Mac is located as a separate panel on the left side of your screen. From this tab, you can access, create and organize all your Layers and Artboards

Add a new layer

Inside the header section of the Layers Panel, click the icon, or in the opening popover menu select New Layer to add a new layer.

By default, the newly created layer will be inserted above the active layer.

Select layers

You can select any element on the canvas by clicking on it. A bounding box will appear on the selected element and the Layers Panel will automatically scroll up or down to the selected element highlighted in blue.

Another option is to select any element by directly clicking on its name in the Layers Panel.  Again, the bounding box appears on the selected element and the layer is highlighted in blue color in the Layers Panel.

Select multiple layers

You have several options available in Vectornator to select multiple elements at once:

Click on the layer you want to select and press

Press

Select nested elements

Nested elements allow you to group an infinite number of groups inside groups.

To select a single element within the nested group, you can expand the group by clicking the toggle and then clicking directly on the element you want to select.

Organize Layers

You can browse and organize all of your objects (such as artboards, layers, groups, masks, or simple shapes) from the Layers Tab. You can change the order of your elements by dragging and dropping your selections from one layer, Artboard, or group to another Artboard, group, or layer.

Move layers

To move elements within layers, click on the element you want to move and hold and drag it to its new position.

You can move an element between two layers by dragging it between two layers and then releasing it. You can also move elements into different groups by selecting and then dragging them directly over the group and then releasing them.

You can move multiple layers at once by selecting the layers individually before dragging them to another position in the layers stack. Another option is to group elements in the Layers list before moving them simultaneously as a unit.

‍Rename a layer

You can rename any layer or element. Navigate to the Layers Tab and double-click on the element’s name to enter the Edit mode. Then, type your new title.

By default, shapes and groups are created with consecutive indexation, such as "Rectangle 1," "Rectangle 2," "Group 1," "Group 2," etc. The improved naming feature helps users manage and organize their designs by assigning individual names to each element.‍

Hide and Show a layer

Click the Hide / Show icon to toggle the visibility of your selected layers or sublayers on or off.

Lock a layer

Click the Lock / Unlock icon to lock or unlock a Layer on the current Artboard. If a layer is locked, it can't be moved or edited.

Adjust the layer Opacity

If you want to adjust the opacity of a layer, click on the displayed percentage value of your layer and enter a numeric percentage value in the Indicator field. Every element that is included within that layer will be affected by the adjustment of the opacity value.

Another option is to select your layer and click and drag on the Opacity Slider or enter a numeric value in the Appearance Tab to the right side of your screen.

Layers Options

By right-clicking on a layer, you will get access to the options in the popover menu, such as Export To (A), Duplicate (B), Merge Layers (C), Show/Hide (D), Lock/Unlock (E), Mask/Unmask (F), and Delete (G).

Delete a layer

In Vectornator for Mac, you have two options to delete a layer. The first option is to click on the layer you wish to select and press delete on your keyboard. The second option is to right-click on a layer and then click in the popover menu on delete. But be careful because this operation cannot be reversed.

Merge layers

To merge layers in Vectornator, at least two or more layers must be selected.

You have two techniques available to merge the selected layers:

• Drag & drop - You can drag & drop one layer on top of another. When you use this technique, the dropped layer will be organized on top within the layer hierarchy.
• Select & right-click – Select the layers you want to merge, then right-click and select the option Merge layers in the Context Menu. The right-clicked layer will be considered the destination of the merging process.

Merge layers via drag and drop

You have three options available if you want to merge layers in Vectornator with the drag & drop technique,

• Drag & drop a layer on top of another layer - Select a Parent Layer and drag & drop it on top of another layer.
• Drag & drop your layer inside an open layer - Select a layer and then drag & drop it directly between the elements of an open layer.
• Drop a Parent Layer inside a Group - Drag & drop a selected Parent Layer directly into a group.

Duplicate a layer

You have several options available in Linearity Curve for Mac to duplicate your layer.

• Click on the layer and press
  ⌘C
  to copy your layer, and then press
  ⌘V
  to insert a copy of your selected layer into the layer stack.
• The other option to duplicate a layer is to click on the layer, hold and swipe with two fingers on the trackpad from right to left.

Export a layer

You can export a single layer with one click and without having to leave your canvas or copy-paste your objects into a new document.

Select the layer you want to export and then right-click on it and select Export to and the export format. You can export the single layer as a .jpg, .png, .svg, and .pdf file.