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Merge paint layers

Paint layers can be combined (flattened) into one layer using the Merge Visible feature. Merging layers combines any visible layers for an active paint channel into one layer that you specify. This reduces the number of texture files and saves texture memory when painting models.

The following items are of note when merging layers:

- All visible layers are merged for the selected paint layer channel. You can temporarily turn off any layers you don’t want merged using the layer visibility setting. For more information, see Hide or show a paint layer.
- You must select one existing layer to be the resulting merged layer. All other visible layers for that paint channel are merged into it, and the name is retained.
- The visible layers are merged in the same order as when they were separate layers.
- Existing layer opacity values are frozen when layers are merged. You can adjust the opacity of the resulting merge layer but not the original layers after merging.
- When layers of differing image resolutions are merged, the layer with the highest resolution determines the merge layer’s resolution. For example, three layers with image resolutions of 512 x 512, 256 x 256, and 1024 x 1024 are merged. The resulting merge layer has a resolution of 1024 x 1024.
- When layers with different color bit depths are merged, the layer with the highest bit depth determines the resulting merge layer’s bit depth.
- When the paint layer exists on multiple UV tiles the merge feature merges the layer even though the tiles may be unloaded provided the layer’s visibility is on.

1. In the Layers window, ensure the Layers display button is set to Paint.
2. In the Layers window, turn off the visibility for any paint layers you don’t want merged (on the active paint channel). For more information, see Hide or show a paint layer.
3. Select the paint layer you want the other visible layers to be merged into.
4. In the Layers window, select the Layers window menu ( ), and choose Merge Visible from the list of menu items. You can also right-click on the selected layer and choose Merge Visible from the menu that appears.

   The visible layers for the active paint channel are merged into the layer you selected.

NoteYou cannot undo a Merge Visible for paint layers. If you want to retain the original pre-merged paint layers, save your file before merging, then use Save As to create a new file to contain the merged versions. The original image layers exist in the -files directory associated with the pre-merged version of the file (except for the layer that was selected to be the merge layer). If you need to use these, you can use Import Layer to bring them into the Layers window.