StewH

Thank you loukash for taking the time to explain this master page stuff again. I can probably work with this convoluted concept on a new document, although I really don't need master pages for anything I do. However is there any way to import an idml exported from InDesign into Designer and somehow set up what you describe easily without having to edit every page? For example I have a 250 page document with 8 layers. It would be nice to be able to reorder the layers, which is the only thing I can't do now that I can use "select same name". I'd be grateful for any advice you can give as I really can't face having to recreate that document from scratch.

Thanks loukash and carl123 for explaining the progression of the "select same name" feature which has culminated in a workable compromise for me now and hopefully others. As explained in a previous post, like many others who have wanted to adopt Affinity Publisher coming from Adobe InDesign, we've been hampered by the lack of global layer support. I have a number of documents that have hundreds of pages with separate layers for different content, such as the original scan of a document on one layer, the transcription of the text on a second layer, an English translation on a third layer etc. I need to be able to switch each layer on and off on all pages across the whole document at once. I've always been able to import the document into Publisher but until now there has been no way I could show or hide each existing layer across the whole document with a couple of clicks. So after over three years of owning Publisher it is only now capable of doing what I need it to do, which is why it is a big deal to me but I understand why others may not be as excited, and of course proper global layer support would be ideal. Using master pages is not a solution that has or will ever work for me. At least now I have a way I can continue to work on my documents from InDesign in Publisher, but I still look forward to the day that we get proper "global layers". To answer your exact question quoted above though: I don't want to change anything on pages globally, each page is unique (different typefaces, sizes, colours etc), which is why master pages are not a solution. However, if I wanted to, having used "select same name" to select all my layers with the same name on every page, I can change properties such as opacity, colour etc. The reason InDesign and other desktop publishing software has "global layers" is to have grouped content across pages that can be switched on and off, reordered and locked/unlocked. Now in Designer I can switch the layers on/off and lock/unlock across the whole document, I just can't reorder the layers globally. Again, this is now a workable compromise for me, and I expect others, until layers finally become truly global.

You're right loukash that the option is there in Publisher v1. I just reinstalled v1 to test it as I either didn't remember the option being there, or didn't think it worked. Sure enough, the option does not work the way I've described for v2 above in v1. It doesn't select the same layer across all pages by name when I tried it, whereas it does in v2. I did a search on the forum for "select same name" and I can see other posts suggesting that the function has changed its behaviour recently in Publisher, although I haven't read all the posts. I'm pleased with the change so I hope it stays! Stewart

A big thank you to Serif for adding the "Select Same Name" option when you right click on a layer in Publisher 2! This works perfectly for me as I can now right click on a layer on one page, choose "Select Same Name" which selects all the layers with the same name across all pages in my document, and I can then click the visibility toggle to hide/show all those layers at once. A great Christmas present, many thanks! Wishing a Happy Christmas/Holidays to all! All the best, Stewart

I'm also disappointed to see that there is still no "Global Layers" support in Publisher v2. I bought Publisher v1 when it first came out and it didn't even cross my mind that DTP software would not have a global layers concept. I was so excited when I heard about the v2 release as I thought global layers would have been included for sure this time. I am a big fan of the Affinity Suite in general and I am very grateful to Serif for providing an excellent and cheaper alternative to Adobe. I switched to Affinity when my CS6 apps would no longer run on macOS when 32-bit support ended. I have some complex documents that have multiple layers that I need to be able to switch on and off across the whole document. Global layers is the one thing I'm missing and then Affinity would be perfect for all my needs. I'd even be prepared to pay double the price for just this feature! Having read the posts on this thread, the Master Pages suggestions just won't work for me unfortunately. So, if it is going to take a long time to implement global layers fully, would it be possible to add the following simple feature... Right-click on a layer in the list on any page and select an option that says something like: "Hide Layers Globally By Name" and "Show Layers Globally By Name". As the titles suggest, this feature would switch on/off all layers in the document that match the name of the one clicked on. This would be fine for my documents, which have imported ok into Publisher with all my layers intact, but I just need to be able to switch the layers on/off on every page with one action as they contain hundreds of pages. If that feature could be quickly added it would really save the day for me as I just can't delay my projects much longer waiting for full global layer support, and I can't afford Adobe or Quark subscriptions. Many thanks, Stewart