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Sketch Basics

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Selecting, Moving, and Resizing Layers

3:18 with Christopher Downer

Learn how to maneuver the layers of your design.

You can get more information on these and other shortcuts at the Bohemian Coding Features Page

Layer Basics

Select a layer by clicking on the name of the layer in the List, or by clicking on the layer in the Canvas

Deselect a layer by pressing the Escape key or a blank area of the canvas

Moving Layers

  • Click and Drag the layer itself
  • Use your Arrow keys to move each layer one pixel
  • Use your Shift + Arrow keys to move each layer 10 pixels

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    [MUSIC] 0:00
    Now, we've covered the introduction, 0:04
    we'll be taking an in depth look at the rest of the application. 0:06
    Layers, as we previously touched upon, are the building blocks for 0:10
    all designs created in a Sketch. 0:13
    So it is important that we understand a little bit about them. 0:15
    We need to select the layer in our document. 0:19
    And there are two ways you can do this, by clicking on 0:22
    the layer's name in the list or by clicking on the layer in the canvas. 0:25
    To help us show what we are about to select on the canvas, 0:30
    a light blue outline will appear around the layer when we hover over it. 0:34
    When you're sure you want to select the layer just click it. 0:39
    To deselect a layer press the escape key or click on a blank area of the canvas. 0:43
    But right now, we a layer to be selected. 0:50
    When a layer is select you'll see these eight white squares appear 0:53
    around the layer. 0:58
    These are called handles. 0:59
    If you click and drag on any of them, you'll change the size of the shape. 1:01
    [BLANK_AUDIO] 1:04
    You may have noticed the values in the inspector have changed. 1:09
    The top two fields have to do with the layer's position on the canvas. 1:13
    And the two underneath have to do with the size of the layer. 1:17
    You can type in here to edit them. 1:22
    So let's just round the size to a multiple of ten. 1:24
    [BLANK_AUDIO] 1:27
    Just press Enter when you're done to confirm the size. 1:35
    Moving a layer around is incredibly easy. 1:41
    All you have to do is click on a layer and drag it around. 1:44
    Just click anywhere on the layer. 1:49
    But remember, if you touch a handle, you'll adjust its size. 1:51
    A shortcut for incrementally moving or nudging a layer's position. 1:56
    It's done by pressing one of the arrow keys and 2:00
    this will move things by one pixel. 2:03
    Which is the ends of measurement Sketch uses. 2:05
    If you hold Shift + Arrow key, you'll be able to enlarge a layer by ten pixels. 2:09
    As well as moving and resizing, what else can you do with a layer? 2:18
    For one, you can duplicate a layer. 2:23
    Right-click on the layer in the canvas or list, and select Duplicate from the menu. 2:25
    [BLANK_AUDIO] 2:31
    It may not look like anything has happened at first. 2:36
    But look at the layer list and we will see a third item, Rectangle 2. 2:39
    This is sitting on top of the first rectangle layer. 2:44
    So let's just move it out from this side here. 2:48
    It's an exact copy of the layer it just derived from. 2:54
    And duplicating is useful if you want a copy of a layer or 2:58
    want to make further adjustments to it. 3:02
    You can also duplicate by holding down Option and 3:04
    clicking and dragging the layer to make a copy. 3:08
    [BLANK_AUDIO] 3:11

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