Move, cut, or copy a slice

You can perform many of the operations on slices that you can perform on other layers, such as copying and moving. You can also copy slices and paste them into other programs such as Microsoft Paint and Microsoft Expression Blend as a kind of exporting shortcut (see Copy a slice to another program).

To copy a slice

If you want to export the same slice using different export settings, you can copy and paste the slice under Slice Layer. What you copy are the slice properties (for example, the slice size or export properties), not the slice contents. Therefore, you will not duplicate any objects that occur in the slice.

1. Under Slice Layer in the Layers panel, select the slice that you want to copy.

2. Make sure that the slice is visible  and unlocked . Otherwise, you will not be able to copy it. If a slice is hidden, click the Toggle Visibility  button. If the slice is locked, click the Toggle Lock  button.

3. On the Edit menu, select Copy (CTRL+C).

4. On the Edit menu, select Paste (CTRL+V), Paste in Front (CTRL+F), or Paste in Back (CTRL+B), depending on where you want your copied slice to appear in the Slice Layer.

   Note

   The order of the slices under Slice Layer determines their XAML stack order (z-order) if the slices are exported as a XAML WPF Canvas or XAML Silverlight Canvas.

5. Rename the slice under Edit Slice in the Properties panel, or by double-clicking the slice name in the Layers panel.

   You can now change the export properties for either slice. For more information, see Modify slice properties.

To copy a slice and its contents

If you want to copy a slice and its contents to another location in your document, or to another document, you can use the Select Slice Contents command. What you copy are the slice properties (for example, the slice size), and the objects that occur in the slice.

1. Under Slice Layer in the Layers panel, make sure that the slice is visible  and unlocked . Otherwise, you will not be able to move it. If a slice is hidden, click the Toggle Visibility  button. If the slice is locked, click the Toggle Lock  button.

2. On the Select menu, select Select Slice Contents.

3. On the Edit menu, select Copy (CTRL+C).

4. If you want to paste the slice and its contents into another document, open the other document in Microsoft Expression Design.

5. On the Edit menu, select Paste, Paste in Front, or Paste in Back, depending on where you want your copied slice to appear in the Slice Layer, and where you want the objects to appear relative to the other objects under Layers.

   Note

   The order of the slices under Slice Layer determines their XAML stack order (z-order) if the slices are exported as a XAML WPF Canvas or XAML Silverlight Canvas.

   You can now change the export properties for the copied slice. For more information, see Modify slice properties.

To move a slice

You can move the bounding box of a slice so that it captures a different area of the artboard, or you can move the slice and its contents.

1. Under Slice Layer in the Layers panel, select the slice that you want to copy.

2. Make sure that the slice is visible  and unlocked . Otherwise, you will not be able to move it. If a slice is hidden, click the Toggle Visibility  button. If the slice is locked, click the Toggle Lock  button.

3. If you want to move the contents of the slice in addition to the slice's bounding box, click Select Slice Contents on the Select menu.

4. On the artboard, drag the slice to the new desired location. If Snap to Guides is turned on (View menu), the slice boundaries will snap to the boundary lines of nearby slices, the boundary lines will turn red where they overlap, and corner snapping icons will appear where common corners overlap (until you release your mouse button).

To reorder a slice

If you will be exporting multiple slices in the XAML WPF Canvas or a XAML Silverlight Canvas format, you can change the order of the slices under Slice Layer to specify the stack order (z-order) they will use when they are imported into a project in Expression Blend.

• Under Slice Layer in the Layers panel, drag the slice that you want to move to a new location in the Slice Layer. An orange bar appears where your slice will appear when you release your mouse button.

  Note

  If a slice is not hidden or locked, you can optionally use the Order options on the Arrange menu to move the selected slice.

See also

Tasks

Copy a slice to another program
Export a slice
Modify slice properties

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