View one layer thru another

**HarryPutnam** · 31 August 2007, 04:12 PM

Probably pretty basic to know how to erase parts of a top layer to expose a layer underneath... but I haven't discovered the right search string for the help file.
Transparency appears to all be about a quite different usage than erasing a specific spot in a top layer.

Erase... leads to nothing more than erasing a line as you draw it.

**handrawn** · 31 August 2007, 04:24 PM

Hi Harry

Thats because in terms of erasing thats all you can do in xara, on account of it being a vector drawing application and erase is a pixel based function

So if you need to see through part of a layer, you will need to either apply local transparency, or slice out that part of the drawing using boolean or the freehand drawing tool

Take a look at the xara help movies - 'editing lines with the freehand and brush tool' and 'intersecting objects' 'slicing objects' and 'subtracting objects'

Should point you in the right direction

**jclements** · 31 August 2007, 04:32 PM

To see a layer which is "under" another layer, open the the Layer Gallery.

Method 1. Click on the Eyeball icon next to the layer which is hiding info. This will turn-off the visibility of that layer and allow all layers under it to be visible.

Method 2. Click and drag on the layer which has info in it which is being hidden by a layer above it and drag the layer upwards until all of its objects can be seen.

Method 1 is usually the recommended method.

**HarryPutnam** · 31 August 2007, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by jclements

To see a layer which is "under" another layer, open the the Layer Gallery.

Method 1. Click on the Eyeball icon next to the layer which is hiding info. This will turn-off the visibility of that layer and allow all layers under it to be visible.

Method 2. Click and drag on the layer which has info in it which is being hidden by a layer above it and drag the layer upwards until all of its objects can be seen.

Method 1 is usually the recommended method.

Thanks for the input... I should have been more specific. My intent is to leave the layer arrangement as is and punch a feather edged hole thru the top one in specific location to reveal underlying layer.

HandDrawn explained about vector vs pixel and gave some good pointers to documentation to get me started.

**HarryPutnam** · 31 August 2007, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by handrawn

Hi Harry

Thats because in terms of erasing thats all you can do in xara, on account of it being a vector drawing application and erase is a pixel based function

So if you need to see through part of a layer, you will need to either apply local transparency, or slice out that part of the drawing using boolean or the freehand drawing tool

Take a look at the xara help movies - 'editing lines with the freehand and brush tool' and 'intersecting objects' 'slicing objects' and 'subtracting objects'

Should point you in the right direction

Sorry to be obtuse or dense... (its a lifelong problem)
After fiddling a bit with the areas you mention.... I'm not getting how to do this.

Let me ask first if its even possible to:
Create a hole with feathred edges, thru an upper layer object such as an imported pixel based image that will reveal another pixel based object on a lower layer?

If that is possible, does, to your knowlege, one of the tutorials cover somethiing at least similar to that?

I thought for a moment I might be able to create a transparent brush, but setting that attribute to say 75% and then trying to draw with the brush gives me really unexpected results... it created strange lines or even whole objects when I `draw' with it. Clearly this is not the way.

**handrawn** · 31 August 2007, 05:20 PM

See the attached hope it helps - there may be other ways - usually are with xara

**HarryPutnam** · 31 August 2007, 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by handrawn

See the attached hope it helps - there may be other ways - usually are with xara

Oh wow, an instant tutorial... thanks. Once I figured out I had to select both image and circle before pressing Ctrl-2, I see a neat hole punched...Working on the feather...

**handrawn** · 31 August 2007, 05:40 PM

ah sorry about the selecting - easy to take things as read

**raynerj1** · 31 August 2007, 10:26 PM

I just think of it as a cookie cutter... the bitmap is the dough and the shape is a cookie cutter... I can slice it, intersect it, add it, subtract it... I call it slicing and dicing.

I have used this techique to grab an entire tree with all the leaves intact and all the background removed. It takes quite a bit of time to slice out a tree though. You can even slice out parts of the cookie cutter and then use that on your bitmap... The sky is the limit with xara...