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# Core Animation Support

Manage the layer object that provides the view’s visual representation and accelerates drawing operations.

## Topics

### Managing the View’s Layer

[`var wantsLayer: Bool`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/wantsLayer)

A Boolean value indicating whether the view uses a layer as its backing store.

[`var wantsUpdateLayer: Bool`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/wantsUpdateLayer)

A Boolean value indicating which drawing path the view takes when updating its contents.

[`var layer: CALayer?`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/layer)

The Core Animation layer that the view uses as its backing store.

[`func makeBackingLayer() -> CALayer`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/makeBackingLayer())

Creates the view’s backing layer.

[`var layerContentsPlacement: NSView.LayerContentsPlacement`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/layerContentsPlacement-swift.property)

The current layer contents placement policy.

[`enum LayerContentsPlacement`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/LayerContentsPlacement-swift.enum)

These constants specify the location of the layer content when the content is not rerendered in response to view resizing. For more information, see the [`layerContentsPlacement`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/layerContentsPlacement-swift.property) property.

[`var layerContentsRedrawPolicy: NSView.LayerContentsRedrawPolicy`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/layerContentsRedrawPolicy-swift.property)

The contents redraw policy for the view’s layer.

[`enum LayerContentsRedrawPolicy`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/LayerContentsRedrawPolicy-swift.enum)

Constants that specify how layer resizing is handled when a view is layer-backed or layer-hosting. For more information, see the  [`layerContentsRedrawPolicy`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/layerContentsRedrawPolicy-swift.property) property.

[`var canDrawSubviewsIntoLayer: Bool`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/canDrawSubviewsIntoLayer)

A Boolean value indicating whether the view incorporates content from its subviews into its own layer.

[`var layerUsesCoreImageFilters: Bool`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/layerUsesCoreImageFilters)

A Boolean value indicating whether the view’s layer uses Core Image filters and needs in-process rendering.

[`protocol NSViewLayerContentScaleDelegate`](/documentation/AppKit/NSViewLayerContentScaleDelegate)

An optional layer delegate method for handling resolution changes.

### Managing Layer-Related Properties

[`var alphaValue: CGFloat`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/alphaValue)

The opacity of the view.

[`var frameCenterRotation: CGFloat`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/frameCenterRotation)

The rotation angle of the view around the center of its layer.

[`var backgroundFilters: [CIFilter]`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/backgroundFilters)

An array of Core Image filters to apply to the view’s background.

[`var compositingFilter: CIFilter?`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/compositingFilter)

The Core Image filter used to composite the view’s contents with its background.

[`var contentFilters: [CIFilter]`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/contentFilters)

An array of Core Image filters to apply to the contents of the view and its sublayers.

[`var shadow: NSShadow?`](/documentation/AppKit/NSView/shadow)

The shadow displayed underneath the view.


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