Layers, groups and z-order

Three different things get confused constantly. Z-order is the stacking of objects within a container. A group bundles objects so they move together. A layer is a special group with a name, a visibility toggle and a lock — designed for separating parts of a drawing you work on independently. Use groups for things that belong together, layers for stages of the drawing.

Working with them

Open the Layers dialog with Ctrl+Shift+L. Add a layer, name it something meaningful, and note the current layer indicator in the status bar — new objects land there, which explains most "where did my shape go" moments. Shift+Ctrl+Page Up and Page Down move the selection to the layer above or below. Layers can be nested when a drawing genuinely has sub-stages, though flat and well-named beats deep and clever.

Visibility, locking and opacity

Hiding a finished layer speeds up canvas redraw noticeably on heavy documents, and locking a reference layer stops you dragging it by accident. Per-layer opacity is useful for tracing over a scan: drop the reference to 30%, draw above it, then delete the layer when you are done. Hidden layers are still saved in the file — and still export in some paths — so delete what you do not want shipped.

Conventions that pay off

  • Cut files: one layer per material color, named for the material — see Cricut.
  • Laser jobs: separate cut, score and engrave layers matching your color convention, as in Glowforge preparation.
  • Illustration: background, midground, subject, highlights, notes.
  • Print: artwork plus a locked layer holding trim and bleed guides.

Finding things in a busy file

The Objects dialog lists every item with its layer, visibility and lock state, and lets you rename objects — far easier than clicking around the canvas. Edit → Find/Replace (Ctrl+F) searches object text, IDs and styles. When structure gets truly confusing, the XML editor (Ctrl+Shift+X) shows the real hierarchy, which is the same one described in working with SVG.

Before delivery

Run File → Clean Up Document to drop unused definitions, delete empty layers, unlock everything so the next person is not stuck, and confirm nothing important is hidden. Then export per the export guide.