2. Basics of Image Processing / 2.3 Layers
Quite often a graphic - for example the logo of a company - has to be used several times in a document. Therefore the graphic is usually copied each time. If a part of the graphic has to be changed later, all copies have to be modified, too. But this is a cumbersome and error prone work.
This is the reason for virtual copies. A virtual copy is not a real copy but only a reference to the original layer.
Virtual copies inherit most properties of their original. These are:
But the following data can be different:
A virtual copy can be created by two means. The original layer can be copied and then be pasted as a virtual layer (see chapter 7.2.12), and it can be duplicated as virtual layer by using the context menu of the Layer List (see chapter 4.7). Additionally the context menu is a fast way to show the source of a virtual copy (see chapter 7.4.52) and to make a virtual copy be a real copy (see chapter 7.4.53).
A virtual copy has to be in the document of its original layer.