1.28 FAQ-142 How do I manually move and arrange layers?

Last Update: 12/14/2020

How to move or resize a layer

  1. Select the layer so 8 handles show around the layer frame. Drag or resize the rectangle to move/resize the layer. Hold Ctrl key while resizing, the original aspect ratio will be maintained. There are multiple ways to select layer:
    • Click blank area inside the layer frame
    • Alt+click inside layer will always select the layer. If there are many plots in layer or it's a contour plot, Single click will not work since it will select plot instead of layer
    • Ctrl+click on axis to select corresponding layer.
  2. Choose Format: Layer... menu to open Plot Details - Layer Properties dialog. Go to Size/Speed tab to set the layer size more precisely.
    • For linked layer, you can set Units as % of Linked Layer and set Left, Top, Width and Height relative to parent layer. E.g. You want Layer2 to overlap with layer1, you can go to link layer2 to layer1. Then size Units of layer2 as % of linked layer, and set Left, Top, Width and Height to 0, 0, 100, 100.
    • Of linked layer, if Units is % of Linked layer, when you move or resize the parent layer, the linked layer will also move.

How to move or resize multiple layers

  1. Shift+Alt+click to select multiple layers and move or resize them together.
  2. Link layers first and then move or resize together.
    1. Choose Format: Layer... menu to open Plot Details - Layer Properties dialog.
    2. Select a layer node on the left panel. Go to Link Axes Scales tab. Link it to the layer (parent) you want it to move with. Note: 1st layer in graph can't not be linked to any other layers so there is no Link Axes Scales tab for it.
    3. Go to Size/Speed tab. Set Units as % of Linked Layer
    4. Click OK.
    5. Now if you move/resize the layer this layer is linked to, it will move/resize together.
    6. On Size/Speed tab, you can also check When dragged to reposition, also reposition parent layer checkbox. Then if you move/resize this layer, the parent layer will move/resize as well.

To restrict movement to the horizontal or vertical dimensions, press SHIFT while dragging the layer(s).

Why moving/resizing a layer, some other layer is moved/resized as well

This is because layers are linked together and the child layer's Unit is set as % of Linked Layer. See the above section. If you don't want them to be moved/resized together,

  1. Choose Format: Layer...menu to open Plot Details - Layer Properties dialog.
  2. Select Layer node on the left panel and go to Link Axes Scales tab to check what layer it is linked to. Go to Size/Speed tab to check menu. Check if Unit is % of Linked Layers. Change it to some other unit. such as % of Page, inch, etc.
  3. Click OK. Now if you move the parent layer, this layer will not move with it. If you move this layer, parent layer will not move with it.

How to move, resize, and arrange layers in one place

There is a Layer Management tool to manage multiple layer graphs in one place. Don't forget to click Apply button on each tab before clicking OK button. Otherwise the changes may not take effect.

  1. Choose Graph: Layer Management... menu.
  2. Go to Arrange tab to arrange them into panels, e.g. MxN panels
  3. Go to Size/Position tab to resize, move, swap, align them.

Keywords:axes, plots, size, axis

Minimum Origin Version Required: 8.0SR0
English | Deutsch | 日本語