Merging Objects In The Layers Panel; Sharing Layers; To Share A Selected Layer Across Frames - MACROMEDIA FIREWORKS 8-USING FIREWORKS Use Manual

Merging objects in the Layers panel

If you work with bitmap objects, you may find that the Layers panel easily becomes cluttered.
You can merge objects in the Layers panel, if the bottommost selected object is immediately
above a bitmap object. Objects and bitmaps to be merged do not have to be adjacent in the
Layers panel or reside on the same layer.
Merging down causes all selected vector objects and bitmap objects to be flattened into the
bitmap object that lies just beneath the bottommost selected object. The result is a single
bitmap object. Vector objects and bitmap objects cannot be edited separately once merged,
and editability for vector objects is lost.
To merge objects:
1.
Select the object or objects on the Layers panel that you want to merge with a bitmap
object. Shift-click to select more than one object.
You can merge the contents of a selected layer into a bitmap object that is the
topmost object on the layer immediately beneath the selected layer.
2. Do one of the following:
Select Merge Down from the Layers panel Options menu.
Select Modify > Merge Down.
Select Merge Down from the context menu that appears when you right-click
(Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the selected objects on the canvas.
The selected object or objects merge with the bitmap object. The result is a single
bitmap object.
Merge Down does not affect slices, hotspots, or buttons.

Sharing layers

You can share a layer across all frames in a document. This allows you to update an object on
a layer and have that object be updated automatically in all frames. This is useful when you
want objects such as background elements to appear on all frames of an animation.
To share a selected layer across frames, do one of the following:
Select Share This Layer from the Layers panel Options menu.
Double-click the layer name in the Layers panel, and select Share Across Frames.
Working with layers 209