Creating layers for the whole document?

[Jessica Linefors]

I want to make layers in publisher for the whole document, but it seems that the layers always are just for one page. Is it possible to make for the whole document like you could in indesign?

[R C-R]

Have you considered using Master pages for this or will that not work for what you want?

[Jessica Linefors]

yes I have but this is not working for me i seems. I want to be able to add content free in all pages and group the in "text" "pictures" "basic drawings" etc and turn them off and on on all pages. I have the same problem in affinity designer...

[MickRose]

Hello @Jessica Linefors Global Layers is a much requested feature but it doesn't exist yet in Publisher. There are various workarounds but none have the simplicity of InDesign layers.

[Jessica Linefors]

thank you for your answer, do you have a prefered workaround that i can try?

[MickRose]

To be honest I would always use Indesign for anything that needed global layers. If you search the forum for global layers you will find discussions about workarounds.

[thomaso]

2 hours ago, Jessica Linefors said:

workaround that i can try?

This wouldn't help today but hopefully in future: You could add your vote to existing feature requests and bump there threads up this way. In particular the 2021 thread were Serif/TonyB asked users about attributes/features of Global Layers. – And/Or you create a new request for V2 (since this existing maybe 'hidden' in the archive area) and link in the first post to these existing threads.

[Pšenda]

5 minutes ago, thomaso said:

And/Or you create a new request for V2

Serif has pointed out many times that there is no need to create duplicate threads, as the V1 requirements are still valid and up-to-date.
Regardless of the fact that these requirements are already in the forum for version V2.

 

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, Pšenda said:

Serif has pointed out many times that there is no need to create duplicate threads, as the V1 requirements are still valid and up-to-date.
Regardless of the fact that these requirements are already in the forum for version V2.

Thank you for pointing me there! – And sorry, I even haven't noticed before the subtle note in the forums overview below the larger info "closed … now complete". It may confuse or mislead especially new V2-only users that these threads are separated in an area called "[ARCHIVE]" but also called "still valid".

If these requests (or any feedback threads) are still valid, then why archive them at all? It might be less ambiguous if only those threads that have been done (realized, implemented) in the meantime were archived or separated, regardless of their date or app version.

The creation date of threads and posts can indicate their original app version anyway (...as do the still valid threads in the separate "Pre-V2 archive" of this "Questions…" forum, with no need or benefit for archiving/hiding them in a separate section, especially if the forums by default show up sorted by date anyway).

[Pšenda]

23 minutes ago, thomaso said:

but also called "still valid".

It could certainly be described more clearly and unambiguously. As far as I know, Serif has declared that if any "archive" discussion is lively and beneficial, he will move it to V2.

[loukash]

On 11/25/2024 at 9:26 AM, Jessica Linefors said:

Is it possible to make for the whole document like you could in indesign?

Create the layers on your "base" Master Page. Then apply this Master Page to all pages in the document.
(Also remember: Every page can contain as many master pages as you want, and you can also nest master pages into other master pages. It's a highly flexible concept, based on the same underlying technology as Designer's Symbols and Photo's Linked Layers.)

• To edit individual objects or move them inside a "global" layer on a particular page, you will have to edit the Master Page layer on a page as "Detached".
• To edit existing objects globally or enable/disable the "global" layers, you will have to edit the master layer as "Linked".
• You may want to assign keyboard shortcuts to both commands.

Here a quick example:

It's a different workflow than InDesign, and it's not exactly obvious at first glance. But as far as my needs is concerned, I'm getting essentially the same results (and then some…)

[loukash]

7 hours ago, Jessica Linefors said:

I have the same problem in affinity designer...

If you're using artboards, nest the artboard hierarchy via the Layers panel. Layers don't necessarily need to exist inside an artboard object. Create e.g. a "Master Artboard" containing all your other artboards both hierarchically as "layer objects" as well as containing them on the canvas. In the Layers panel, the "global layers" can then live inside the "master artboard" but still outside/above the other individual artboard objects.

[loukash]

Some more on the same topic:

[thomaso]

42 minutes ago, loukash said:

On 11/25/2024 at 9:26 AM, Jessica Linefors said:

Is it possible to make for the whole document like you could in indesign?

Create the layers on your "base" Master Page. Then apply this Master Page to all pages in the document.  (…)

(…) I'm getting essentially the same results

To answer @Jessica Linefors' question: No, it is not possible like in ID.

@loukash, I think you know that ID also has master pages, in addition to its Global Layers, which are completely absent in Affinity. From that perspective, it's not quite relevant whether the features have similarities – they ARE two different things and require very different workflows while the OP, who knows both options from ID, was asking about one, not the other. In Affinity, even the master page handling is more cumbersome than in ID, where you can release a master page object simply with a modifier key when you select the object, without any prior selecting & detaching of the parent master layer.

Regarding "same results": Most of the features in APub don't enable us to create a design that we couldn't create with AD or APh. Instead, APub is primarily a tool for increasing workflow efficiency. From that perspective, it seems odd to recommend a workflow that is more cumbersome than the requested on the grounds that it might achieve the same result. 🙄

[loukash]

52 minutes ago, thomaso said:

require very different workflows

1 hour ago, loukash said:

It's a different workflow than InDesign

[HCl]

.

[thomaso]

Wow. Does anyone have an idea how to set up such a catalog layout – before starting the setup of the Layers States functionality like in this tutorial?

@loukash, note, the master page layer is empty 😉

@Return, ... which makes me wonder how they create the 4 main groups (text / image | winter / summer) on each spread of the catalog?

And am I understanding this correctly: Each individual text frame layer has to be custom named? – If so, wouldn't it be more efficient to work with two different documents instead, and potentially apply layout changes to both (winter/summer) documents? (and the Japanese version after finishing the English one)

[HCl]

.