With the Align Visible Layers command,
you can very precisely position the visible layers (those marked with
the “eye” icon). This degree of precision is especially
useful when you are working on animations, which typically have many
small layers. Clicking on Align Visible
Layers displays a dialog which allows you to choose
how the layers should be aligned.
Note
In GIMP 1.2, the default base for the
alignment was the top visible layer in the stack. In
GIMP 2, the default alignment base is
the edge of the canvas. You can still align the image on the bottom
layer of the stack, even if it is invisible, by checking
Use the (invisible) bottom layer as the base
in the dialog.
Figure 10.122.
Example image for layer alignment
The example image contains four layers on a large (150x150 pixel)
canvas. The red square is 10x10 pixels, the green rectangle is
10x20 pixels and the yellow rectangle is 20x10 pixels. The
background layer (blue, 100x100 pixels) will not be affected by
the command, since the Ignore lower layer
option has been checked on the dialog. Note that the layers in the
image seem to have a different order than their actual order in
the stack because of their positions on the canvas. The yellow
layer is the top layer in the image and the second one in the
stack.
10.60.1.
Activating the Command
You can access this command from the image menubar through
Layer->Align Visible layers.
There is no default keyboard shortcut.
10.60.2.
Description of the “Layer Align” dialog
Figure 10.123.
The “Layer Align” dialog
Horizontal Style; Vertical Style
These options control how the layers should be moved in
relationship to each other. You can choose:
None:
There will be no change in the horizontal or the vertical
position, respectively.
Collect:
The visible layers will be aligned on the canvas, in the
way that is determined by the Horizontal
base and Vertical base
options. If you select a Horizontal
base of Right edge, layers
may disappear from the canvas. You can recover them by
enlarging the canvas. If you check the
Use the (invisible) bottom layer as the
base option, the layers will be aligned on the
top left corner of the bottom layer.
Figure 10.124.
Horizontal “Collect” alignment
(on the edge of the canvas)
Original image with the layer stack
The layers have been moved so that their left edges
are aligned with the left edge of the canvas.
Figure 10.125.
Horizontal “Collect” alignment
(on the bottom layer)
Original image with the layer stack
The layers have been moved horizontally so that their
left edges align with the left edge of the bottom
layer.
:
Fill (left to right);
Fill (top to bottom):
The visible layers will be aligned with the canvas
according to the edge you selected with
Horizontal base or
Vertical base, respectively.
The layers are arranged regularly, so that they do not
overlap each other. The top layer in the stack is placed
on the leftmost (or uppermost) position in the image.
The bottom layer in the stack is placed on the rightmost
(or bottommost) position of the image. The other layers
are placed regularly between these two positions. If the
Use the (invisible) bottom layer as the
base option is checked, the layers are aligned
with the corresponding edge of the bottom layer.
Horizontal filling alignment, Left to Right, with
Use the (invisible) bottom layer as the
base option not checked. The top layer
in the stack, the green one, is placed all the way
on the left. The bottom layer in the stack, the red
one, is placed is on the right and the yellow layer
is between the other two.
The same parameters as in the previous example,
but with the lowest (blue) level as the base.
Fill (right to left);
Fill (bottom to top):
These settings work similarly to the ones described above,
but the filling occurs in the opposite direction.
![[Note]](../images/note.png)
