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Colour tagging layers for better layer organisation

In this article, we’ll explore how tagging layers can be used to improve the way your documents’ layers are organised.

Using tag colours, you can easily differentiate between content types belonging to different layers within your document—this is particularly useful when working with files containing a large number of layers.

It’s easy to assign a tag colour to a layer: with a layer (or multiple layers) selected, from the Layers Panel, right-click and select a colour swatch to tag your selected layer with that colour.

Conversely, selecting the white colour swatch with a line through it removes any tag colours assigned to a selected layer.

Tagging can be done from all Affinity apps, and provides a useful way of organising layer content beyond grouping layers, as it allows you to organise a set of layers without affecting the layer order. This can come in handy in a number of different ways depending on how you prefer to work.

For example, you can use tagging to arrange groups of content in your document that are made up of different elements (such as shapes or text).

Once you’ve tagged a selection of layers, it’s easy to arrange them using the Select Same Tag Colour command. On right-clicking a tagged layer, this allows you to immediately select all layers sharing that layer’s tag colour.

This is perfect for selecting a range of layer content that you may wish to edit all at once—for example, a selection of curves or some body text that you wish to recolour due to a rebrand.

You can also use layer tag colours to highlight layers you’re likely to experiment with—for example, layers you might duplicate or try out a few different layer blend modes on. This makes it easy to refer back to where you started.

Some layers may benefit from a colour coding system. For example, layers that need to be edited most urgently could be tagged in red, with less urgent layers in yellow, and layers requiring no further changes in green.

Additionally, layer tag colours can be used to make layers you’ve hidden stand out in the Layers Panel, making them easy to locate if you wish to show them again at a later point.

These are just a few of the ways you can use layer tag colours to arrange and organise content within your document. Layer tag colours provide a helpful and versatile way of marking layers for a range of purposes, and can be easily adapted to suit the way you work.