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2. Basics of Image Processing / 2.3 Layers

### 2.3.6 Virtual Copies

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 same 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:

- the layer content
- the effects
This includes all kind of effects of PhotoLine: the layer style, layer distortions and 3D bodies.

But the following data can be different:

- the position
This includes rotations, scalings and perspective distortions.
- the intensity
- the display mode

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 Panel (see chapter 4.7). Additionally the context menu is fast way to show the source of a virtual copy (see chapter 7.4.50) and to make a virtual copy a real copy (see chapter 7.4.51).

A virtual copy has to be in the document of its original layer.