Features
Working with layers
Stack images, text, shapes, backgrounds, and 3D relief — each with their own opacity, blend mode, lock, and reorder. Drag-to-position, undo/redo, project round-trip.
The editor now supports a full layer stack — drop multiple images onto the Layers panel and each becomes its own layer you can reorder, blend, hide, and delete independently. Works identically in the image editor, video editor, and real-estate staging tool.
Opening the Layers panel
In the image editor: open the Properties sidebar on the right and expand the 📚 Layers section.
In the video editor: open the right sidebar and expand the Layers section under the colour-grading and filters panels.
In the real-estate staging tool: the Layers panel replaces the legacy furniture list in the left sidebar.
Adding layers
- Drop files onto the panel — the simplest path. Each file becomes its own layer. Image files become image layers; in the video editor, video files become video-source layers.
- The + button in the panel header opens a menu with kind-specific entries: Image, Text, Background fill, Shape (rect / ellipse / line), Filter, Adjustments. Picking Image or Video opens a multi-file picker.
Per-layer controls
Every layer row shows, left to right:
- Visibility toggle (👁) — show/hide without removing.
- Thumbnail — automatic small preview per layer kind.
- Name — double-click to rename.
- Blend mode dropdown — 12 modes including Normal, Multiply, Screen, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Darken, Lighten, Colour Burn / Dodge, Difference, Exclusion.
- Opacity slider — 0–100 %.
- Lock / Unlock (🔒) — prevents accidental drags and edits.
- Duplicate (⎘) — clone the layer with all its settings.
- Delete (✕) — remove the layer.
Reordering
Drag any unlocked layer row up or down. The drag handle appears on hover. The canvas re-renders immediately with the new stacking order.
Drag-to-position on the canvas
Image and text overlay layers can be dragged directly on the canvas — click the layer once to select it, then drag to move. Hit-tests prefer the topmost visible unlocked layer, so brush / wand strokes fall through when no layer is under the pointer.
Keyboard shortcuts (image editor)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl + J | Duplicate active layer |
Ctrl + Shift + ] | Bring active layer to front |
Ctrl + Shift + [ | Send active layer to back |
Delete / Backspace | Delete active layer (when focus isn't in an input) |
Layer kinds reference
- Image — bitmap with optional baked brush mask, position (
x,yas fraction), and scale. The Brush tool can "bake" a stroke mask onto an active image layer for non-destructive layered editing. - Text — text content, position (
x,yas % of canvas), font size, colour, bold, font family. - Shape — rectangle, ellipse, or line with stroke + fill colour.
- Background fill — full-canvas solid colour, linear gradient, or pattern image. Use opacity to make it a tint rather than a hard overlay.
- Cutout — alpha mask layer; rare to add manually, used by project import.
- 3D relief — depth-displaced mesh; not rendered in the 2D canvas (use the 3D Preview panel).
AI commands
The AI panel understands layer ops:
list layers
add text layer "Summer Sale"
select layer Sky
hide layer
bring to front
send to back
duplicate layer
set layer opacity to 60%
delete layer
Saving & sharing
Save the editor state as a .nss-project ZIP from the Project panel. The
file contains the original image, every layer's bitmap or mask, names,
blend modes, opacity, and ordering — re-opening on any device restores the
exact stack with original layer ids preserved.