The transparency of the layers in a design has a huge impact on the look of the design. High transparencies cause the information on visible layers to blend and mix together, whereas low transparencies have the opposite effect.
Individual layer transparencies can be changed so that the simulated opacity of the print better matches production prints.
Changes to layer transparency are shown in real time and you can change more than one layer at a time if you wish. If you activate multiple layers in the Layers Palette which have different transparencies, a message will be displayed in the Transparency settings window to warn you of this.
How to change the transparency of an individual layer
- Activate the layers for which you want to change the transparency, and then do one of the following:
- Go to the Layer Menu and select Transparency
- Click in the small ‘T’ button at the top of the Layers Palette
Both of these actions will open the Layer Transparency settings window. Alternatively, you can hold down the option key as you click on the “T” button in the Layer Palette. A sheet will open in the Design Window with the current transparency level of the active layer(s) highlighted.
- Enter the required transparency and click OK. 0% transparent is completely opaque and 100% is the highest transparency possible. The selected layers will change accordingly.
Displaying layer transparency as Dynamic Text in the Layout Window
- Set up a colourway with your desired size, frame, chips etc. Then click on the design object and go to Layout Menu > Text > New Dynamic Text.
- Highlight the text and hold down ^ (control key) and go to > AVA Dynamic Text > EveryLayer{}.
- Hold down ^ (control key) and click inside the brackets and choose AVA Dynamic Text > LayerTransparency.
Tip: Directly after %%LayerTransparency, and before the closing bracket, enter a comma like in the snapshot below. This will place commas between each of the transparencies listed when the dynamic text is set in step 4 below.
Alternatively, instead of a comma, press return, so that the text looks like the snapshot below;
This will list your layer transparencies in column mode
- Hold down ^ (control key) and click on the text to bring up the contextual menu and select Set as Dynamic Text
Tip: Add some descriptive text as a prefix to the dynamic text to avoid the layer transparencies appearing as just a list of numbers.
You can list each layer transparency with the layer number (or name if you prefer), followed by the transparency by setting your Dynamic Text like this:
- Once set, the text will look like like the snapshot below, and can be arranged to sit nicely on your page
