Adobe InDesign CS5 - Illustrated Unit F: Working with Layers

Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to: Objectives Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to: Place an object on a layer Change layer options Create a new layer Duplicate a layer Lock and hide a layer Move an object to another layer Change layer order

Placing an Object on a Layer New InDesign documents Start out with an empty layer, named Layer 1, on the Layers panel Placed as a page item on Layer 1 Each additional item is placed on Layer 1, but on one level higher than the last Expanding layers Allows you to view all objects and the order they are stacked

Placing an Object on a Layer Figure F-1: Viewing the rectangle frame on Layer 1

Placing an Object on a Layer Figure F-2: Layers panel

Changing Layer Options Layers on the Layers panel Each has a unique selection color assigned to it Selection color is the color of the bounding box that appears around selected objects on that layer Naming layers Layer names can be changed Helpful to describe a layer’s content

Changing Layer Options Figure F-3: Layer Options dialog box

Changing Layer Options Figure F-4: Selecting the map image

Two ways to create new layers: Creating a New Layer Two ways to create new layers: Click Create new layer button on the Layers panel Click Layers panel list arrow Then click New Layer New Layer dialog box Identical to Layer Options dialog box

When you have more than one layer in an InDesign document Creating a New Layer When you have more than one layer in an InDesign document Arrange commands are applied only to page items on the currently active layer Send to Back, Bring to Front, Send Backward, and Bring Forward

Creating a New Layer FIGURE F-5: Viewing the Current Store Locations layer FIGURE F-6: Location of first green circle

Creating a New Layer Figure F-7: Copying the green circle Figure F-8: Four current store locations

Duplicating a Layer Duplicating a layer Duplicated layers Choosing a layer in the Layers panel and creating an exact copy of the layer and the objects on it Duplicated layers Can be renamed and objects can be removed, modified, or added Will have the same name as the layer that used to create it, followed by “copy” Also assigned the same selection color

Duplicating a Layer Figure F-9: Duplicate layer on Layers panel

Duplicating a Layer Figure F-10: Repositioned circle

Duplicating a Layer Figure F-11: Positioning the dark blue circles

Locking and Hiding a Layer You can lock and hide an entire layer or individual page items Locking protects the layer or items from being moved, selected, or deleted Objects on locked layers cannot be selected Hiding can help focus on one layer without being distracted by others Also helps to see what the document would look like without the objects on that layer, without having to delete them

Locking and Hiding a Layer Figure F-12: Hidden Future Store Locations layer

Locking and Hiding a Layer Figure F-13: Locking the map item on the United States Map layer

Locking and Hiding a Layer Figure F-14: Viewing the locked page item

Moving an Object to Another Layer Existing page items can be moved from one layer to another To move an object to a new layer: Select the object on the page Drag the Indicates select items icon in the Layers panel to a new layer Merging layers Objects on each of the layers that are merged become objects on a single layer

Moving an Object to Another Layer Figure F-16: Selected circle

Moving an Object to Another Layer Figure F-17: Moving the <circle> page item to the Flagship Store Locations layer

Moving an Object to Another Layer Figure F-18: Viewing the Flagship Store Locations layer

Order of layers on the Layers panel Changing Layer Order Order of layers on the Layers panel Identical to vertical stacking order of InDesign objects on the page Top layer represents top object(s) Bottom layer represents bottom object(s) To change the order of layers, drag the layer to a new location in the panel Release the mouse button when a black line appears above the layer you are dragging to

Paste Remembers Layers command Changing Layer Order Paste Remembers Layers command Located on Panels options menu Used to paste layers into a document Useful if you plan on using the same layer structure in another document

Changing Layer Order Figure F-20: Figure F-19: Moving the Opening layer Figure F-19: Placed starburst graphic

Changing Layer Order Figure F-21: Repositioned starburst

Changing Layer Order Figure F-22: The finished map