---
title: "How to adjust raster or WMS layer opacity"
description: "Set how see-through a raster or WMS layer is with the opacity slider on the Style tab. Click Save Style to apply it. It is the only style control."
seo:
  title: "Adjust raster or WMS opacity"
sidebar:
  label: "Adjust raster/WMS opacity"
---

Open the raster or WMS layer's `Style` tab, set the opacity, and click `Save Style`. Lower opacity lets the basemap show through.

**[See it on an example map](https://mangomap-staging.com/examples-staging/maps/xawapsxc/interlaken-raster-lab)**

Open the Interlaken Raster Lab. In the legend, turn on `Land Cover`. The land cover colours are semi-transparent, so the aerial photos show through them.

Opacity is the only style control raster and WMS layers expose. Colour, classification, fill patterns, and outlines aren't applicable — the source provides their colours and shapes.

## Before you start

- You need edit access to the map.
- A raster layer (GeoTIFF / image) or a WMS layer on the map. Vector layers use a different set of controls — see the per-geometry references in [Styling layers](/docs/styling-layers).

## Open the Style tab

Click the raster or WMS layer in the layer panel to open its settings, then switch to the `Style` tab. The tab has an opacity slider and the layer's `Visibility` zoom-range slider.

## Drag the opacity slider

Drag the slider to the opacity you want, or type a percentage in the box next to it. The range is 0% (fully transparent) to 100% (fully opaque). Here, the Land Cover raster is at 70%, so the imagery below shows through it:

<img src="/_assets/styling-layers/adjust-raster-opacity--style.png" alt="Style section of the Land Cover raster layer with the Visibility zoom range, Opacity set to 70%, and Save Style, beside the map where land cover colours lie over aerial imagery and road lines" width="1600" height="960" />

Common values:

- `100%` — default; the raster fully covers anything underneath.
- `70%`–`80%` — a soft blend; basemap and raster both visible.
- `40%`–`60%` — strong basemap, raster as a tint.
- `0%` — invisible. The layer stays on the map (and in the legend) but renders nothing.

Hiding the layer is often clearer than setting opacity to zero — see [Managing layers](/docs/managing-layers).

## (Optional) Set the layer's zoom visibility

The same Style tab has a `Visibility` slider for the zoom range the layer renders at. See [How to set the zoom range a layer is visible at](/docs/styling-layers/set-layer-zoom-visibility) — the control behaves the same for raster and WMS as for vector layers.

## Save

Click `Save Style` at the bottom of the panel.

If you close the layer settings or switch tabs without clicking `Save Style`, the opacity change is lost.

## Verify the result

Pan or zoom the map to check the new opacity.

## What this doesn't cover

- **Every raster and WMS style control** — see [Raster and WMS style controls](/docs/styling-layers/raster-and-wms-style-reference).
- **Vector layer styling** — points, lines, polygons have their own how-tos. See the section index in [Styling layers](/docs/styling-layers).
- **Reprojecting or recolouring the raster** — those happen at import or in source software (QGIS, GDAL), not in MangoMap. Re-import to change the underlying raster.
- **WMS connection settings** — see [How to connect a WMS service](/docs/importing-data/connect-a-wms-service) for the import flow and [WMS connection failed](/docs/importing-data/troubleshoot-wms-connection) for connection issues.