Layer enhancements in digital illustration system

A method for editing a digital artwork document, comprising:

• receiving a user input selecting an aggregation of artwork elements;
• receiving a user input selecting a release to layers command on the selected aggregation;
• and
• in response to the command, expanding the selected aggregation into separate editable objects and placing each such separate editable object in a corresponding new layer in the document, a new layer being created for each of the objects.

A method for editing a digital artwork document, the document containing a hierarchy of digital artwork elements, the method comprising:

• displaying a graphical representation of a hierarchy of digital artwork elements of a document, the hierarchy representing a stacking order of the digital artwork elements defining the appearance of the document;
• receiving a user input selecting a group from the hierarchy, the group having a position in the hierarchy;
• receiving a user input dragging and dropping the group from the position to another position in the hierarchy;
• and
• redefining the hierarchy according to the user input dragging and dropping the group and thereby redefining the appearance of the document.

A system for displaying information to a user of a system for editing documents containing digital artwork objects, comprising:

• means for receiving a document containing a hierarchy of digital artwork elements, the hierarchy having at least three levels, the hierarchy including a first container, a second container, and a simple artwork object, the simple object being contained in the second container, the second container being contained in the first container, the hierarchy representing a stacking order of the digital artwork elements defining the appearance of the document;
• means for displaying the hierarchy to a user in a graphical representation including a representation of the first container, the second container, and the simple object;
• and
• means for displaying a corresponding thumbnail image with each of the first container, the second container, and the simple object, each thumbnail image being a small image of the corresponding artwork.

A system for editing a digital artwork document, comprising:

• means for receiving a user input selecting an aggregation of artwork elements;
• means for receiving a user input selecting a release to layers command on the selected aggregation;
• and
• means operable in response to the command for expanding the selected aggregation into separate editable objects and placing each such separate editable object in a corresponding new layer in the document, a new layer being created for each of the objects.

A system for editing a digital artwork document, the document containing a hierarchy of digital artwork elements, the system comprising:

• means for displaying a graphical representation of a hierarchy of digital artwork elements of a document, the hierarchy representing a stacking order of the digital artwork elements defining the appearance of the document;
• means for receiving a user input selecting a group from the hierarchy, the group having a position in the hierarchy;
• means for receiving a user input dragging and dropping the group from the position to another position in the hierarchy;
• and
• means for redefining the hierarchy according to the user input dragging and dropping the group and thereby redefining the appearance of the document.

A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, for displaying information to a user editing documents containing digital artwork objects, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:

• receive a document containing a hierarchy of digital artwork elements, the hierarchy having at least three levels, the hierarchy including a first container, a second container, and a simple artwork object, the simple object being contained in the second container, the second container being contained in the first container, the hierarchy representing a stacking order of the digital artwork elements defining the appearance of the document;
• display the hierarchy to a user in a graphical representation including a representation of the first container, the second container, and the simple object;
• and
• display a corresponding thumbnail image with each of the first container, the second container, and the simple object, each thumbnail image being a small image of the corresponding artwork.

A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, for editing a digital artwork document, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:

• receive a user input selecting an aggregation of artwork elements;
• receive a user input selecting a release to layers command on the selected aggregation;
• and
• respond to the command by expanding the selected aggregation into separate editable objects and placing each such separate editable object in a corresponding new layer in the document, a new layer being created for each of the objects.

A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, for editing a digital artwork document, the document containing a hierarchy of digital artwork elements, the product comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:

• display a graphical representation of a hierarchy of digital artwork elements of a document, the hierarchy representing a stacking order of the digital artwork elements defining the appearance of the document;
• receive a user input selecting a group from the hierarchy, the group having a position in the hierarchy;
• receive a user input dragging and dropping the group from the position to another position in the hierarchy;
• and
• redefine the hierarchy according to the user input dragging and dropping the group and thereby redefine the appearance of the document.