New objects always add to MouseOff layer

The Web Designer tutorial says to create a new layer, highlight it in the Layer Gallery and then any object from the design gallery will be added to the new layer via drag and drop.

That does not happen for me. I uninstalled and re-installed Web Designer and still get the same results. The new object is added to the mouseOff layer, not the new layer.

I checked both boxes in front of the new layer and highlighted the layer in the LAYER GALLERY before dragging an object from the DESIGNS GALLERY, but the object gets added to the MouseOff layer.

I can select the object and MOVE it to the new layer, however the tutorial says the object should be added to the new layer via drag and drop.

Am I doing something wrong, is there a glitch in MY install of Web Designer or is there a bug in the program?

Thanks for any help!:D

Welcome to TG Forum AO,

If you are dragging objects from the design gallery which already have MouseOff/MouseOver layers themselves (such as the Web Icons/Buttons) - they will always be located in the correct layer for their type other wise they will not show on your page.
The MouseOff layer is the default page layer where objects will show on the exported page.
Any other layer must have an action applied via an object already on the Mouseoff layer in order for objects therein to show up.

Any object without layers already applied (like an imported photo ect) can be placed on your newly created layer, but to have it show - you must create a trigger object to that it will display on mouseover or mouseclick (popup).


Which tutorial are you following by the way?

I am using the tutorial from Xara at this page: webdesigner.xara.com/more.htm

That is a link directly from the INTRODUCTION page (bottom of page 5) from the XARA Design Gallery that teaches you how to use Pop-up layers.

If I follow the steps exactly, that is drag "bubble 5" from the Speech category of the Designs gallery, to the new highlighted layer, it ALWAYS get put on the mouseOff layer, not the new layer.

Give it a try and see if you get the same results that I get.

I find it strange that the instructions at the official tutorial page do not work!

Yeah - by the tutorials, it would seem to work the way you want it to, but this has been a noted issue for folks for a while. With the speech bubbles, it's actually only another two clicks to correct it, but with the buttons and such (items that have mouseover states) it gets a little more complicated. If you have xtreme pro 5, the expanded layer gallery makes it much easier to deal with because you can simply drag the objects from one layer to another.

In XWD, with a single layer item from the gallery (like bubble 3), do as the tutorial suggests but modify as follows:

• Create a new layer for the popup. Select that layer.
• Drag Bubble 3 to the page. Let go of the mouse and without moving the mouse, left click, which will select the bubble you just dropped there.
• Click on the Move button in the layer gallery. This will cause the selected item to be moved to the selected layer - so now the bubble is on the popup layer where you want it.

So there's the two-click way around this.

Does that help? (at least until Xara acknowledges and corrects this issue)

Yes, this helps, Thank You! I thought I was doing something wrong.

The Xara Web Designer embedded operating instructions have been out at least since March so one would think that a new user could expect them to be correct. Adding an object to a new layer seems to be a pretty basic operation. Creating correct program operating instructions by a manufacturer is even more basic.

NOTE to XARA: If I had downloaded the trial instead of buying the program, I would have canned the program as soon as it was obvious that the XARA embedded instructions did not work with their own program.

Once again, Thanks to sledger and slavelle for your help.

Nobody's perfect. Xara is not a giant company such as Adobe or Microsoft and they have limited resources.

On the other hand, you will get a good answer to your question here for free a heck of lot faster than with most companies.

We are all beginners here. Just some of us began a little earlier than others.

Hi Gary,

What you say is true. I have only really been on one other site that responds as well as this one and it had to do with wood working.

All the moderators, Xara experts, developers, programmers...etc. deserve a good round of praise from all that have ever been helped by them.

Thanks a bunch guys, this site makes anything almost possible in Xara....whatever version you may have.