# Overview

## Layers

A Layer in LightAct is a very flexible concept. It can do many different things so playing video or audio is just one of them.

<figure><img src="/files/uyQvE0IYtMfcJ3z4pnmB" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Layer Layouts

Every Layer in LightAct is composed with nodes. These nodes graphs are created in Layer Layouts - LightAct's visual scripting system.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Good to know**: Layer Layouts is LightAct's node-based visual scripting system.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="/files/ZHxMK7NUqcOEDWncMr5b" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The main building block in any layer layout is a **node**. With various nodes, you can build complex behavior and even conditional action flows.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Good to know:** we've created dozens of [**Stock Layer Templates** ](/layers-and-layouts/stock-layer-templates.md)for you that fulfill all the most common functionalities you'll need in a typical project. In most cases, you won't have to modify any of the nodes.
{% endhint %}

You can read more about Layer Layouts here:

{% content-ref url="/pages/Qi9QRnYVOsimB9NELNlK" %}
[Layer Layouts](/layers-and-layouts/layer-layouts.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

### Variables

A variable is a placeholder that represents some kind of value.

In LightAct there are a lot of different variable types that are capable of storing different kinds of information, such as integer, float, and boolean.

<figure><img src="/files/gu5wtZNA3qgSrWiwTNri" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

You can read more about the variables here:

{% content-ref url="/pages/79CinBUgz7MRdQQr9I6F" %}
[Variables](/layers-and-layouts/layer-layouts/variables.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

## Layer Templates

When you create a layer from scratch, you can save it as a template and use it for future use. This collection of nodes and variables we call Layer Templates.

There are 2 kinds of them:

1. **Stock Layer Templates**: these are templates that we provide with every installation of LightAct. Among them there are some typical ones like Video or Audio and some very unique ones. Explore them in [Stock Layer Template pages](/layers-and-layouts/stock-layer-templates.md).
2. **User Layer Templates:** these are templates that users create themselves. Read more about them [here](/layers-and-layouts/user-layer-templates.md).

{% hint style="info" %}
**Good to know**: sometimes we refer to layer templates as simply templates or simply layers.
{% endhint %}


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