The Stage takes up the largest part of the document window. It displays the layers of the slide that is currently selected in the Storyboard. A layer may contain an image, a video, a map, or text. These layers can be freely positioned, zoomed and rotated on the Stage. If only a single layer is selected, then this layer will have a white selection frame in the Stage.
If Animation is turned in for this slide, then the Stage displays two parts. The left side displays the start of an animation and the right side displays the end or finish of the animation. Using different positions and zoom values on the left and right sides defines the animation for a layer. For more detailed information, refer to Stage and Layer Animation.
Positioning a Layer
There are several options to position a layer:
- Drag the selected layer to move it to the desired position.
- Press the ⌘ and arrow keys to move the selected layer pixel by pixel.
- Right-click on a layer and select Edit Geometry… from the context menu, to enter the position values numerically.
Zooming a Layer
There are several options for zooming a layer:
- Drag the Zoom jogwheel left or right to zoom the selected layer.
- Use a two-finger pinch gesture on the trackpad to zoom the selected layer.
- Hold the ⌥ key and click a layer and drag up or down to zoom it.
- Press the ⌘+ or ⌘- keys zoom up or down in small increments.
- Right-click on a layer and select Edit Geometry… from the context menu, to enter the zoom value numerically.
- Clicking and dragging one of the corner points of a selected layer both zooms and re-positions it.
Rotating a Layer
There are several options for rotating a layer:
- Drag the Rotation jogwheel left or right to rotate the selected layer.
- Use a two-finger rotate gesture on the trackpad to rotate the selected layer.
- Hold the ⌘ key and click a layer and drag around its center to rotate the layer.
- Right-click on the layer and select Edit Geometry… from the context menu, to enter the rotation value numerically.
Snapping to Grid & Guidelines
While positioning, zooming, and rotating layers, sometimes green or yellow or grey guidelines show up and the layer snaps to these guidelines. Green guidelines are for Stage edges or center, while yellow guidelines indicate layer edges or center. With the help of these guidelines it is easy to quickly align layers on the Stage:
- Using the green guidelines you can align a layer with the Stage boundaries
- Using the yellow guidelines, you can align one layer with another layer
- Using the yellow guidelines, you can align a layer on the Start and Finish sides of the Stage
Copy & Paste Geometry
Sometimes you want to apply the position, zoom and rotation values of one layer to another layer. In this situation, right-click on the layer, and select Copy Geometry from the context menu. Then right-click another layer, and select Paste Geometry from the context menu. Both layers now have the same position, zoom, and rotation values. Use this technique to:
- Apply the same geometry to a layer on the left and right side of the Stage. This effectively disables animation for a single layer.
- Apply the same geometry to a layer of the following slide. This is useful to achieve some special effects. You will know when you need it.