Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - Why Is "Merge Layers" Not Available?

 
 

In discussing the Layers panel in an advanced Illustrator class, one student posed an excellent question. "Why is 'Merge Layers' always grayed out in the Options menu of the Layers panel? How can I combine Layers if I can't access the command?," he asked. "Merge Layers is only available when you actually select multiple Layer listings in the panel," I answered. He jumped in, "But I targeted all the objects in three different Layers by clicking the hollow circle to the far right of each Layer listing." I answered, "Ah, but you didn't select the Layer listings, just the objects in those Layers. Click on the first Layer listing, then Command-click (Control-click with PC) on the other Layers that you'd like to Merge. If you look under the Options menu of the panel and select 'Merge Layers' (which is no longer grayed out), all Layers combine into the last Layer selected, which is marked with a small black triangle to the far right of the listing."