About Groups
The Group is a multi-function layer type in Fable that enables you to nest a selection of layers under a parent layer on the timeline.
Groups can be used for a variety of reasons, some of which are:
Transforming multiple children layers together on the canvas
Applying effects over a group of layers
Keeping your timeline organized
Creating Groups
There are a few ways to create groups. All methods outlined below are available to use when layers are selected.
Group Tool
Select multiple layers
The Secondary Toolbar will display
Click the second button to Group the selected layers together
Timeline Context Menu
Select multiple layers on the Timeline using
SHIFT+LMBRight click the layers
The Timeline Context Menu should appear
Click the Group Selection option on the context menu
Canvas Context Menu
Select multiple layers on the Canvas
Right click the layers on the Canvas
The Canvas Context Menu should appear
Click the Group Selection option on the context menu
Group Selection Hotkey
Select one or more layers
Use the
CMD+Ghotkey to group the selected layer(s)
The only way to create a group with only one layer selected is the Group Selection Hotkey.
How to Ungroup
Ungrouping single layers
To remove single children layers from groups:
Expand the Group in the Timeline
Drag the child layer out of the group
Ungrouping an entire group
Ungrouping will delete the group layer but maintain the children layers in the position they are ungrouped in. Note that ungrouping is a destructive operation that will delete all effects and keyframes applied to the Group.
To ungroup an entire group, do any of the following:
Right click the Group on the timeline and click the Ungroup option from the context menu
Right click the Group on the Canvas and click the Ungroup option from the context menu
While a group is selected, use the hotkey
CMD+SHIFT+Gto ungroup the selected group
When to use Groups
Groups are a powerful tool that can keep your project organized and simple. They are extremely useful when you have many layers on a project that you want to keep organized.
Here's an Academy video to help learn more about how you may want to use groups.