# Groups & Repeaters: Clipping masks

> Show a photo only inside a shape or a word, Photoshop style.

Glider documentation · Building Graphics · Web page: https://cgglider.com/docs/groups-repeats/clipping/

Sections of this page: [Groups](https://cgglider.com/docs/groups-repeats.md) · [Clipping masks](https://cgglider.com/docs/groups-repeats/clipping.md) · [Repeat over data](https://cgglider.com/docs/groups-repeats/repeat.md) · [Patterns](https://cgglider.com/docs/groups-repeats/patterns.md)

A clipped item shows only inside the item directly behind it (its base): a photo inside a circle, a video inside a headline. Both stay separate components, so either can move on its own.

- On the canvas: select the item to clip, hold Alt (Option on a Mac) and click the item to clip it into. It moves directly in front of that item and clips to it. Alt-click the same base again to release it.
- In the Components list: hold Alt (Option) over the line between two rows and click. The upper row clips to the lower one; Alt-click the line again to release. Layer ▸ Create Clipping Mask does the same for the selected item.
- To move the mask under the picture, select the base (the shape) in the Components list and drag anywhere inside it on the canvas, even where the photo covers it. The photo stays put and shows through the shape wherever it goes. Select the photo to slide it inside the shape instead.
- Clicks go through what is not visible: a click on the part of a clipped photo outside its base, or on an area a mask hides, picks what is underneath.
- Clipping stays within one group: both items need the same parent. A component cannot clip into a group, because components stack behind groups.