# Layers: explanations please

**URL:** <https://discourse.softpress.com/t/layers-explanations-please/941>\
**Category:** Freeway\
**Created:** [March 6, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/layers-explanations-please/941 "2008-03-06T12:16:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![David\_Brewster](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@David\_Brewster](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/David_Brewster)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/layers-explanations-please/941/1 "2008-03-06T12:16:46Z")

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I understand the principle of layers but not the way FW5 seems to handle them. Someone may be able to answer:

- why does the ‘layer’ check box appear for some items but not others. It even seems to appear sometimes but not others - apparently randomly.

- similarly, why does the ‘layer’ check box appear for some items when they are selected in the page, but not when the same (parent) item is selected in the master. I seem to have to select each child individually and turn it into a master. Exception is when, occasionally and apparently randomly, the layer checkbox appears for the master item.

- I understand blue border for table and green for css on the small boxes in item view (in the outline view at the left of screen), but what do boxes with no color outline represent? What happens when you click on one of these boxes?

Thanks in advance,  
David

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**Author:** ![Joe2](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/3e96dc/32.png) [@Joe2](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/Joe2)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/layers-explanations-please/941/2 "2008-03-06T14:16:04Z")

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Hi David,

When you have the CSS Layout button in the toolbar _on_ all items you  
draw will be layers. This means they will be on a separate layer to  
the page, anything on the page and any other layers. They will also  
have the Layer checkbox in the Inspector. The time that you won’t see  
the Layer checkbox but _do_ have the CSS Layout button on is when you  
are making an in-flow item (these aren’t layers as they are on the  
same layer as all other in-flow items within the parent but are CSS  
Layout items).

Cheers,

Joe

On 6 Mar 2008, at 12:16, David Brewster wrote:

> I understand the principle of layers but not the way FW5 seems to  
> handle them. Someone may be able to answer:
> 
> - why does the ‘layer’ check box appear for some items but not  
> others. It even seems to appear sometimes but not others -  
> apparently randomly.
> 
> - similarly, why does the ‘layer’ check box appear for some items  
> when they are selected in the page, but not when the same (parent)  
> item is selected in the master. I seem to have to select each child  
> individually and turn it into a master. Exception is when,  
> occasionally and apparently randomly, the layer checkbox appears for  
> the master item.
> 
> - I understand blue border for table and green for css on the small  
> boxes in item view (in the outline view at the left of screen), but  
> what do boxes with no color outline represent? What happens when you  
> click on one of these boxes?
> 
> Thanks in advance,  
> David
> 
> * * *
> 
> Freeway5beta mailing list  
> email@hidden  
> Update your subscriptions at:  
> [http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

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**Author:** ![David\_Brewster](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@David\_Brewster](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/David_Brewster)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/layers-explanations-please/941/3 "2008-03-06T22:18:39Z")

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Thanks Joe - that’s great. I wondered how that button worked.

Excuse the extra question, but what, if any, disadvantages are there to using layers? I assume there would be few if any with modern browsers.

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**Author:** ![Fixx](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/b38774/32.png) [@Fixx](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/Fixx)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/layers-explanations-please/941/4 "2008-03-19T20:24:37Z")

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No real disadvantages as layers are preferred CSS way now to compose page. There are two problems (as far as I see):

- IE6 does not generally render layers similarly to other browsers (but then there are few things is DOES similarly)
- when text items are layers they are not connected any way - it means that if text grows items may move over each other. That is why I often place text & other items I want to stay connected to table and make that table layer. Of course it is also possible to place items within DIV as inflow items but I guess it takes some experimenting to learn how it behaves.

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