Working in Flash > Using layers > Viewing layers and layer folders |  |

Viewing layers and layer folders

As you work, you may want to show or hide layers or folders. A red X next to the name of a layer or folder indicates that it is hidden. When you publish a Macromedia Flash movie, any layers that were hidden in the FLA document are preserved and visible in the SWF movie file.

To help you distinguish which layer an object belongs to, you can display all objects on a layer as colored outlines. You can change the outline color used by each layer.

You can change the height of layers in the Timeline in order to display more information (such as sound waveforms) in the Timeline. You can also change the number of layers displayed in the Timeline.

To show or hide a layer or folder, do one of the following:

| Click in the Eye column to the right of the layer or folder name in the Timeline to hide that layer or folder. Click in it again to show the layer or folder.
| Click the eye icon to hide all the layers and folders. Click it again to show all layers and folders.
| Drag through the Eye column to show or hide multiple layers or folders.
| Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) in the Eye column to the right of a layer or folder name to hide all other layers and folders. Alt-click or Option-click it again to show all layers and folders.

To view the contents of a layer as outlines, do one of the following:

| Click in the Outline column to the right of the layer's name to display all objects on that layer as outlines. Click in it again to turn off outline display.
| Click the outline icon to display objects on all layers as outlines. Click it again to turn off outline display on all layers.
| Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) in the Outline column to the right of a layer's name to display objects on all other layers as outlines. Alt-click or Option-click in it again to turn off outline display for all layers.

To change a layer's outline color:

1 | Do one of the following:
| Double-click the layer's icon (the icon to the left of the layer name) in the Timeline.
| Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the layer name and choose Properties from the context menu.
| Select the layer in the Timeline and choose Modify > Layer.
2 | In the Layer Properties dialog box, click the Outline Color box and select a new color, enter the hexadecimal value for a color, or click the Color Picker button and choose a color.
3 | Click OK.

To change layer height in the Timeline:

1 | Do one of the following:
| Double-click the layer's icon (the icon to the left of the layer name) in the Timeline.
| Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the layer name and choose Properties from the context menu.
| Select the layer in the Timeline and choose Modify > Layer.
2 | In the Layer Properties dialog box, choose an option for Layer Height and click OK.

To change the number of layers displayed in the Timeline:

Drag the bar that separates the Timeline from the Stage.