Working with Layers in ImageReady

When working in ImageReady, you can rest assured that you won’t have to give up the flexibility of working with the layers. ImageReady also sports a Layers palette and works the same way, but has a couple of additional features to help you with your Web page construction. Here’s a brief rundown on those additions:
- You can select multiple layers (contiguous or not, it doesn’t matter), either in the Layers palette or right in the document. Those selected layers can then be grouped, aligned, moved, transformed, and so on.
- ImageReady has a supercharged Move tool that lets you select, align, and move multiple layers. When you select the Move tool, you have three options. The Layer Move tool moves the entire layer. The Layer Select tool moves an ungrouped or grouped layer as a single element. And the Direct Select tool selects a specific layer(s) in a group to move independently.
- When you select a layer, you get selection handles around the content so you can easily distinguish what is selected in the file.
- You can group layers, allowing you to quickly move or transform multiple layers together as a single element. You can think of grouping as a great combo of Layer sets and linking layers.
- You can unify layers. The Unify buttons in the Layers palette specify how the changes you make to a layer for an active rollover state or animation frame apply to the states or frames. When you click a Unify button, the changes apply to all states and frames. Otherwise, the changes apply only to the active state or frame.
- You can export some or all of your layers or layer sets. File formats you export to include Photoshop, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WBMP, and SWF. What is really nice is that you can even assign different file formats to individual layers. They do not all have to be the same format. You can also apply different optimization settings to the individual layers.

Although you’ll find slices in both Photoshop and ImageReady, ImageReady provides enhanced options for creating and working with slices. For example, you can create multiple slide sets per document. You can also cut, copy, and paste slices using commands on the Edit menu. So if slicing in Photoshop isn’t quite cutting it, turn to ImageReady.

Using Tables
In ImageReady, you can group your slices into a table for conversion to HTML. By using tables, you can ensure that your original sliced image will appear consistently and properly composed in the Web browser. Tables are also useful for creating designs that you want to flex (or change size) in a browser window. To create a table, simply select your slices, and then click the Group Slice into Table icon (a divided square) in the Web Content palette. Or choose Slices-->Group Slices into Table.