If you work with bitmap objects, you may find that the Layers panel easily becomes cluttered. You can merge objects in the Layers panel, if the bottommost selected object is immediately above a bitmap object. Objects and bitmaps to be merged do not have to be adjacent in the Layers panel or reside on the same layer.

Merging down causes all selected vector objects and bitmap objects to be flattened into the bitmap object that lies just beneath the bottommost selected object. The result is a single bitmap object. Vector objects and bitmap objects cannot be edited separately once merged, and editability for vector objects is lost.

To merge objects:

  1. Select the object or objects on the Layers panel that you want to merge with a bitmap object. Shift-click to select more than one object.

    TIP

    You can merge the contents of a selected layer into a bitmap object that is the topmost object on the layer immediately beneath the selected layer.

  2. Do one of the following:
    • Select Merge Down from the Layers panel Options menu.
    • Select Modify > Merge Down.
    • Select Merge Down from the context menu that appears when you right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the selected objects on the canvas.

    The selected object or objects merge with the bitmap object. The result is a single bitmap object.

    NOTE

    Merge Down does not affect slices, hotspots, or buttons.