Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 6-17. Those potted plants again. If you no longer need two separate plant layers, then you
can merge them together. Left: The Layers panel with the two different layers for the potted plants
in Figure 6-1. Right: The plant layers merged into one.
TIP
The box on
Stamp Visible
explains how to combine
all
your layers into one while still
keeping separate copies of the individual layers.
Sometimes, when a layer contains text or shapes drawn with a shape tool, you can't merge
that layer right away; Elements needs to
simplify
the layer first. Simplifying means convert-
ing its contents to a
raster object
—a bunch of pixels subject to the same resizing limitations
as any photo. For example, after you rasterize a Text layer, you can apply filters to the text or
paint on it, but you can't edit the words anymore. (See
The Custom Shape Tool
for more
about simplifying and working with shapes, and
Chapter 14
to learn about working with
