Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
text.) Unlike Elements 10 and earlier, if you try to merge a layer that needs to be simplified
first, Elements 13 doesn't ask you if you want to do this—it just automatically simplifies the
layer and merges it with the others you activated before applying the Merge command.
Flattening an Image
Layers are simply swell when you're working on an image, but they're a headache when you
want to share the file, especially if you're sending it to a photo-printing service (their ma-
chines usually don't understand layered files). Even if you're printing at home, the large size
of a multilayer file can make it take forever to print. And if you plan to use your image in
other programs, very few non-Adobe programs are totally comfortable with layers, so you
may get some odd results.
In these cases, you can squash everything in your picture into a single layer. You do this by
flattening your image: Go to Layer→Flatten Image or, in the Layers panel, click the four-line
square and choose Flatten Image. Or, to keep your original intact, go to File→Save As, and
in the Save As dialog box, turn off the Layers checkbox (which will turn on the “As a Copy”
checkbox) before clicking the Save button.
TIP
Saving your image as a JPEG file automatically gets rid of layers, too.
There's no keyboard shortcut for flattening because it's something you don't want to do by
accident. Like merging, flattening is a permanent change. Cautious Elements veterans always
do a Save As (instead of a plain Save) before flattening. That way you have a flattened copy
and a working copy with the layers intact, just in case. Organizer version sets ( Saving Your
Work ) can help you here, too, because they let you save an image in different states, so you
can have both a layered and a flattened version.
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