2018

DOCUMENT CONSTRUCTION
A Guide to QuarkXPress 2018 | 319
U
nderstanding layers
A
QuarkXPress layer is like a clear overlay that covers every page in a layout. You
can put almost anything on a layer, including picture boxes, text boxes, lines,
tables, interactive objects, and any other kind of QuarkXPress item.
Layers can be useful in many different ways:
You can put all pictures on a one layer and all text on another layer, allowing•
you to work more easily with boxes should they overlap.
You can put different translations of a document on different layers, and thus•
s
tore all language versions of the document in the same layout. When you print
the layout, you can hide all of the layers except the one that contains the
language you want.
You can put different versions of a design on different layers, so that you can•
easily switch back and forth among variations on the design theme when
showing a design to a client.
You can use layer locking to prevent accidental changes to layers containing•
page elements that should not be altered. For example, if you’re going to be
printing on stock that is preprinted with a letterhead and background graphic,
you can include that letterhead and background graphic in a layer so that you
can see what the finished printed piece will look like, and then you can lock that
layer and omit it from printing.
If you have used image-editing applications such as Adobe Photoshop, you may
already be familiar with the concept of layers. However, layers have some
implications in QuarkXPress layouts that they do not have in image editing:
Even if a front layer is showing, you can “click through” any empty portions of•
that layer and select items on underlying layers, without having to manually
change the active layer.
Each layer exists on every page in a QuarkXPress layout, rather than being•
specific to a page or spread. This makes it easy to control the appearance of every
page in a long layout.
Text in a rear layer can run around objects in a front layer.•
Creating layers
To create a layer, click the New Layer button in the Layers palette. The new layer
is added to the Layers palette, in front of the active layer. The new layer is active by
default, which means that any items you create will be placed on that layer.
To create a new item on a particular layer, first click the layer’s name in the Layers
palette to activate that layer. Then use any of the standard item creation tools to
create items on the layer.
Selecting layers
The active layer is identified in the Layers palette by the Edit icon . The active
layer is the layer where any new items you create will be put. You can set the active
layer in two ways: