Layers
A USD stage is assembled from many files. The sidebar's Layers mode shows them as a tree, and the Node tab describes whichever one is selected. The mode is offered for USD only.
The tree
Each layer sits under the layer that brings it in. A layer reached by a reference sits under the layer that authors that reference, and a layer's own sublayers are its children.
The order is the flattened layer stack: a layer's own opinions are stronger than its sublayers', and an earlier sublayer is stronger than a later one, so reading the tree top to bottom reads the composition in strength order.
A layer reached from several places appears once, under the first parent that reaches it, and its Node tab card names the other routes under Also Reached From. Self-references are not shown.
Selecting a layer
Selecting a row describes it in the Node tab. The panel's title carries the layer's name and a badge naming its role, and under it an ancestry strip lists the chain of files that bring it in, root first. Each crumb selects that layer.
The panel has three cards:
| Card | Contents |
|---|---|
| Composition | How this layer is brought into the stage, and the other routes that reach it |
| File | Format, file size, and the layer's other file-level facts |
| Session | Present on the root layer only, describing the in-memory session layer |
Muting a layer
Right-clicking a layer offers Mute Layer, which removes its opinions from the composition, and Compose Layer, which puts them back. Muting is the direct way to find out what a layer contributes, and it is recorded on the session layer rather than written to the asset. Layers that cannot be muted, such as the session layer itself, do not offer the command.
The row context menu also offers copying the layer's identifier and revealing the file in the Finder when it exists on disk.
Searching
The sidebar's search field filters the layer tree by name while Layers mode is active.