Viewing Layers
This section shows you how to use Flash's layer tools (including locking/unlocking and hiding/showing) to keep from going crazy when you're editing content in multiple layers (Figure 4-12). (Two layers isn't so bad, but if you need to add 6, 8, 10, or even more layers, you'll find it's pretty easy to lose track of which layer you're working in.) Then, in the following section, you see how to edit the content in your layers.
Showing and Hiding Layers
Whether or not you want Flash to show the contents of your layered frames on the Stage depends on the situation. Typically, when you're creating the content for a new layer, you want to hide all the other layers so that you can focus on what you're drawing without any distractions. But after you've created a bunch of layers, you're probably going to want to see them all at once so that you have an idea of what your finished animation looks like and make adjustments as necessary.
Flash shows all layers until you tell it otherwise.
Tip
You can tell Flash to show (or hide) all your layers by clicking the Show/Hide All Layers icon you see in Figure 4-8. Click the icon again to turn off showing (or hiding).
To hide a layer
On the Timeline, click the dot (the Show/Hide icon) next to the layer you want to hide. When you do, Flash redisplays the dot as an X and temporarily hides the contents of the layer (Figure 4-13).

Figure 4-12. This ...