OK forgive me if I'm being dense but I can't work it out!! I'm playing around with masks and coming up with some really interesting layers. What I wanted to do was to save them individually and then combine some of them at a latter stage (sort of like mix and match)Can I do this with UF.. if so how (or do these layers have to be rendered and put together in a paint program?) Thanks :D

Hi, "B-D" lol - All you have to do is save the parameters of each mask (or texture or any other layer) layer into a .upr file. What I do is, if the layer is part of another piece I'm working on or I'm exploring a formula, I "File"-"New"-"Fractal" selecting any formula to get a second fractal window. Then highlight the layer in the layer stack (Fractal Properties window) you want to save and left click drag it into the new fractal window. This duplicates the layer in the new window. Then delete the original layer. Then, "File" - "Save Parameters". When the window opens, there will be a long address in the "File Name" that ends in .upr. Change the name before the ".upr" to something you want - my layer library says "C:Documents and SettingsRykkMy DocumentsParametersRicTOOLS.upr. Then, give it a "Title" like "Texture - like the lines on my butt after I sit in a lawn chair" (lol) or "Texture - grainy" or "Mask - circle" - just whatever will jog your memory as to what that layer is when you look for it. Later, when you have another layer you want to save, save it to this same .upr File Name and with a different "Title". You can literally save dozens of layers in the same .upr file as separate images. Mine probably has well over 100. Then, when you need something, just "File"-"Browse"-"Parameters" and select that .upr file and it will display a full list of all the layers you've saved in that file and you just open the one you want and drag it from the Fractal Properties window into the fractal window you are working on or right-click "Copy" the mask layer in the Fractal Properties window stack, highlight the layer in the layer stack of your new image that you want the mask/texture/etc layer to be on top of and right-click "Paste". Doing things this way saves TONS of clutter in your Parameters folder. I have folders called "Landscaping.upr" for clouds, water, stars, etc - "Frames.upr" with a lot of frames I've made - "Flames.upr" and a few "WIP" upr's with lots of layers or almost done images. When you open parameters it can sometimes take a while to draw itself. There is another way to save fractals so that they open MUCH faster and that is to "File"-"Save As" and direct it to your fractals folder and it will save as a ".ufr" file. The major drawback is that it creates a HUGE file if you save this way. Saving parameters (.upr) just saves a text file that is merely a few kilobytes in size. Hope this is coherent and helps! Rick

Wow Rick...thank you so much for such a complete answer. I think I'll print your answer out then I can follow it easily without getting click-happy with the open windows. Thank you again Sue Erm.......er..... can.......em.....can I have the file 'Texture - like the lines on my butt after I sit in a lawn chair' That really got my attention LOL (I feel a competition theme coming on :o)

Well, it's my own variation on the KPK Squeezed Banana ucl called KPK Scrunched Buns. Lol ....hmmmm....sounds a little weird.....better do a little damage control b4 this starts rumors about me - Rest assured that I AM married....and to a WOMAN - LOL!

You can set things as presets,(formulae, colorings, transforms) I have lots of them. To do this for layers, choose a layer that you want to set up. Name the layer something descriptive (purple shimmer, wavy frame, etc). Highlight it. On the Fractal Properties menu, RIGHT click on the + (add) sign. You will get a popup menu. Cursor to the bottom and Left click on 'define'. Another menu pops up. Select Add Current. Then you can move it up or down in the list as you want, and click OK. Now any time you want to add that layer, just right click on the + Add button and the list pops up. This is terrific for textures and frames particularly, as well as effects like stars, etc. Hope that helps.

Tresamie thank you so much for the great tip. This will be really helpful. Rykk, we believe you (thousands wouldn't);oP

Just one caveat...I understand that for some reason in UF4 the Right click doesn't work. You need to Left click and hold down the button for a few seconds for the menu to pop up. Frederik says he will fix this is 4.01.