Light Groups

Create a Light Group#

Select two or more layers in Light Stack. Use Shift-click for a range, Command-click on macOS or Ctrl-click on Windows/Linux for individual layers, or the selection checkboxes. Right-click any selected layer and choose Create Light Group.

The group is created immediately with an available name such as Light Group 1. Light Groups opens beneath the stack and selects the new group. Right-click its row and choose Rename, or use the pencil. Names can contain up to 60 characters and must be unique.

A light belongs to one named group. Creating another group from those lights moves their membership to the new group; it does not duplicate or reorder the lights. Locked lights can be members, while their direct lighting edits remain protected.

Switch between layers and a group#

Only one editing context is active: selected light layers, or one Light Group. Clicking a group opens Mass Actions for [group name] in the properties panel. The selected group has a gold border and a filled selection indicator. Click it again to deselect it.

Your previous layer selection is retained and dimmed. Click a retained row or Resume [count] lights to resume that selection. Selecting layers retains the last group in a dimmed state too. Selecting a different group replaces the previous group selection; groups cannot be selected together.

With no active selection, the properties panel explains how to choose a light, multiple lights or a group. Retained selections do not receive changes intended for the active context.

Know which lights will change#

The stack displays an Editing [group name] caption and a colored dot beside affected layer numbers. A Composite containing affected children also carries an identifying marker. The same color appears on the group row and in Mass Actions. Different group names use a wider range of colors; automatically numbered names are spread around the color wheel. Colors stay consistent across saves and layer reordering; renaming may change a group’s color.

The Affected layers list in group Mass Actions names the targets, including Composite descendants. Click a name to reveal its stack. Revealing nested Composite children requires Advance; Basic and Professional show that requirement on a disabled child-reveal control. Resume restores the retained layer selection and its stack. Long names are shortened visually; hover the name or panel title to read it in full.

Group Mass Actions offers exposure, position, visibility, preview inclusion, protection and linked-light controls. Available commands respond to the targets' current states. Locked layers and layers inside a locked Composite are protected from direct lighting edits. Unlock a containing Composite in Light Stack when necessary.

A group containing both a Composite and its children edits the topmost grouped branch once. Children inherit their parent's effect; their own settings are not adjusted a second time. Position values follow each target's local stack coordinates. Solo selected, Solo others and Clear Solo are available when group targets share one sibling stack; a group spanning different stacks explains why Solo is unavailable.

Delete a group safely#

Right-click a group row and choose Delete, use its red trash button, or choose Delete Light Group in group Mass Actions. There is no shared toolbar Delete button. Deleting a group removes membership only: all lights stay in the project, including locked lights. Delete/Backspace has the same meaning when a group is active. Undo restores the group.

Deleting lights automatically removes an affected group when fewer than two members remain. The surviving light stays in the project, with its lighting and lock settings preserved. One Undo restores the deleted lights and group membership together. This applies to row deletion, selected-layer deletion, Cut and disabled-light cleanup. Existing one-member groups from older projects or membership reassignment are left alone until their members are deleted. When no groups exist, the panel shows creation guidance. The panel has one scrollbar around its content, without a separate scrolling membership list.

Groups, selections and linked lights#

Save a .lumen project to preserve group membership. Existing named groups remain compatible. The active and retained selections are editing-session state, separate from saved lighting and device-local panel layout.