2013

Table Of Contents
154
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Four layers are hidden (called Holiday photo 4, Holiday photo 3, Holiday photo 1 and
MouseOver). The 'Page background' layer is locked.
Make the current layer always visible
It's possible that the current layer can be hidden or even locked. Just clicking on a
layer to select it and making it the current layer does not normally change its visible or
locked state. But there is a preference in the General (on page 346) tab of the Options
dialog (right click a page and choose
PAGE OPTIONS or choose OPTIONS from the
UTILITIES menu) to make the current layers always visible and editable (unlocked). If
you select this option then whenever you select any layer in the
PAGE & LAYER
GALLERY
it's made visible and unlocked. Moving to another layer will restore the
previous visible and locked state of the layer you just moved from.
Layers in PDF documents
Layers are useful for producing overlays. For example on a floor plan of a building, you
might have overlays showing the fire points, power outlets or wiring. By putting such
items on named layers you can easily show or hide them. When saving a document
as a PDF (on page 314), you can select to enable layers in your PDF document, and so
then usin
g the Layers control in PDF reader you can turn the layers on or off.
To enable layers in your PDF file: When exporting as a PDF, select the Advanced
option on the export screen, and then choose Adobe Reader 6 or higher (PDF
version 1.5 or higher) from the PDF Version list. And then on the Layers tab of the
same dialog, select the 'Enable Reader layers..' option. When you view your PDF file
in Adobe Reader there is a Layers control available.
Soft Groups and Layers
Soft Groups (on page 123) are unusual because they are groups of objects that can
span different layers. (Normal groups have to be contained within one layer). When
you select any part of a soft group the other parts are also selected, even if they are
on hidden or locked layers. The
PAGE & LAYER GALLERY will show all selected items
highlighted in blue, but in the case of soft groups these items may be on other layers
that you've not expanded, and so are not immediately visible.
See the section on Soft Groups (on page 123) in the Object Handling chapter to find
out more.
Layer Operations
Clicking the LAYERS button on the top of the Page & Layer Gallery (or right clicking in
the gallery and choosing
LAYER MODE) will display only the layers on the current page.
This is a mode - the Layers button stays depressed. While in layers mode, as you
move to different pages the layers for the current page are always shown and all other
page nodes are collapsed. Click the
LAYERS button (or right click and choose LAYER
MODE
) again to turn off layers mode.