How to Manage Elements (Layers) in the Studio

Step-by-step guide

1. 1

   Open the Elements panel

   Click Elements (1) in the bottom bar. The Elements panel (2) opens over the left side of the map. It stays open while you click between slides. To close it, click the X at the top of the panel, click Elements again, or press Esc.

   

2. 2

   Read the list

   Each row (1) has an icon for the kind of element, its name, and its type in capitals. Here France is a REGION, which is how a country highlight is stored, Grand Tour is TEXT, Paris and Lyon are PIN, and Paris to Rome is a ROUTE. Rows are grouped by what happens on the slide you have selected, with a count for each group (2): Visible, Hidden on this slide, and Starts later. An element starts on the slide where you added it and stays visible on later slides until you hide it. Here the Paris slide is selected, so Rome and Paris to Rome are marked Not started. The footer (3) reads Showing 6 of 6 elements. Click another card in the storyboard and the groups update.

   

3. 3

   Find an element by name or type

   Type in the Search elements box (1) to filter the list. It matches part of an element's name or its type, so typing route finds the Paris to Rome element. The footer (2) shows how many elements match, here 1 of 6. Clear the box to see every element again.

   

4. 4

   Select an element

   Click a row to select that element. The row turns blue (1), the element is outlined on the map, and its settings open in a panel on the right (2). In the picture that is the settings panel for Paris, with the pin's name at the top, the Style and Timing tabs, and Pin Style and Size below. Changes you make there apply to that element only. Selecting from the list is useful when elements overlap on the map and are hard to click.

   

5. 5

   Hide an element from a slide onward

   Select the slide where an element should stop showing, then click the eye icon with a slash on its row. The row moves to Hidden on this slide (1) and is marked Hidden in red, and the element no longer appears on this slide or any slide after it. Earlier slides still show it. To bring it back, click the eye icon on the row (2); its tooltip reads Show again. You can also set the exact slides in the element's own settings, on the Timing tab under On screen: Appears at and Disappears at. In the picture the Grand Tour title is hidden from the Paris slide onward, so it only shows on Overview. Rows under Starts later have no eye icon because those elements are not on screen yet. Use the eye icon on a slide after the element's first slide. On the slide where an element starts, hiding it removes it from the whole animation until you click Show again.

   

6. 6

   Delete an element

   Select an element, then open the ··· menu at the top of its settings panel and choose Delete element, or press Delete or Backspace. The Remove Element dialog asks what to do. Disappear at this slide keeps the element but stops showing it from the current slide on. Delete Everywhere removes it from the whole project. Cancel closes the dialog. If you delete an element by mistake, press Ctrl or Cmd with Z to undo.