Draw by Layer

Options| Advanced Preferences

The Draw by Layer functionality is activated by selecting the Apply general property changes to all tool presets check box. This affects how tools relate to general properties such as: Layer, Line Color, Line Width, Line Pattern etc.
When active, changing any of those properties, while using a tool, will change that property for all tools in the same way.
When inactive the application will behave in its traditional manner. This means that the layer setting for other tools will be unaffected, and changes to other tool properties, like Line Color, will only affect related tools. For example, changing the color of the Line tool affects the color of all line tools.