Repeating objects not repeating?

[WideEyedLife]

Before I spend forever trying to figure this out...

I'm trying to repeat a button across multiple pages. I click the object, right click, repeating object, repeat on all pages. The little star appears on the right of the button. But when I go to the other pages, the button has not repeated. No error. Nothing. The object does not appear in the variants in the layer gallery either.

Is there something obvious I'm doing wrong?

[gwpriester]

Make sure your repeating object is on the mouse off layer.

[WideEyedLife]

Because it is a button, it is soft grouped and spread across mouse off and mouse over. I have mouse over invisible, and am clicking on mouse off. Is there another way I should be doing this?

[gwpriester]

In the Page and Layer Gallery - click the S next to the Mouse Off layer to isolate just that layer (or any other layer) and make sure there is content there.

[Acorn]

Because it is a button, it is soft grouped and spread across mouse off and mouse over. I have mouse over invisible, and am clicking on mouse off. Is there another way I should be doing this?

WEL, you are totally correct.

When you pick a button, all its grouped and soft-grouped shapes/text are selected across MouseOff, MouseOver & MouseDown layers, hidden or not.
Right-click pick Repeating object > Repeat on all pages should work as does Select > Arrange > Repeating object > Repeat on all pages.

On the off-chance, restart your application, running as Administrator. This registers all DLLs properly, in case your install hit a bump.

If you go to another page there may be a small delay while the repeat is added.
It is always on top too so it ought to be visible.

Acorn

[WideEyedLife]

Thanks everyone for helping me through this...

So, as far as I can tell, I'm doing all the things the right way. Still no success. Also, restarted the application running as admin. No success. Closed the other version of Xara I had open, restarted the computer, opened only Xara Pro X/18 as admin. Still no success.

If anyone has time, perhaps they could take a look at the file for me? I'm trying to repeat buttons from Main to the other 2 variants.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gbqp24nzcx...ttons.xar?dl=0

Also, I included a button that I "shared to all variants" that is offset and wonky (I couldn't tell if "variant sharing" of buttons was the right way to share buttons anyway, or if "repeat object" buttons was a better strategy. And then I paused the research entirely when "share to all variants" broke the visualization of the button anyway.) Not sure if that operation "sharing to all variants" is working right, either.

I'd appreciate any feedback!

[Acorn]

WEL, I have yet to check your "wonky" button but the main issue is that a Repeating object cannot be added directly to a Variant.

What you have to do is set it repeating on Main, copy across to each Variant from the first page.
At this point the * may still show on the Variant's button (or NavBar) so you remove the repeat and add it back.
https://helpandsupport.xara.com/xara...g_objects.html

Can you describe what is "wonky"?

Acorn

[WideEyedLife]

OOOhhhh. I think I get it. I've been trying to understand the difference between "repeating objects" and "sharing across variants" and I may have it now. (If anything I state below is incorrect, let me know. )

1. "Repeating objects" are automatically shared across PAGES, and then subsequent changes update across those repeating objects.
2. "Share with all variants" shares with VARIANTS. To a certain extent, changes made in one are reflected across variants.

So, my confusion arose because I wrongly thought of each variant as a page, not a variant. (And, revisiting the file, the repeating objects I'd created were repeating across the pages. But not across the variants. Head slap! Sighs.)

Based on this information, it would appear that I don't want to create "repeating objects" at all, because I don't want the same buttons on all pages, I want the same buttons across variants.

However, if I did want to "transfer" repeating objects from one variant to another [basically, using the original object as a template, nothing more], this would be done by
3. Making the desired object to transfer a repeating object, copying it to the clipboard, pasting it on the variant, removing the repeat status, adding the repeat status back, at which point, the object should repeat across all pages in that specific variant. (No changes in these new repeating objects would [or can] be shared with the "original" repeating objects on the original variant. [Thus my calling it "a template, nothing more."])

[There could be a follow up question: Is there a way to share the same buttons across all pages AND all variants such that they all update across the board at once? But I don't think I need the answer to that question, especially as this may be what NavBars are all about, and I will reread all that documentation if/when the question comes up before fielding questions in this forum.]

As for the question I originally posed at the beginning of this thread, at the risk of being tedious, I will bring together the help files/insights about the original question so they live happily together, where they may help someone else:

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From the in-computer Xara Designer Pro X18 Help File:

REPEATING OBJECTS

It's common to have items like navigation buttons, headers or logos repeating on all pages of your website. Or to have the same logo, header or footer on each page of a printable document.

Xara Designer Pro X provides the ability to repeat any item in the same place across any of your pages in a document. When you update one of the copies, Designer Pro automatically replicates those changes across all pages.

On most of the template designs the main navigation bars are repeating. You can make any object such as a button a repeating object by right clicking it and choosing "Repeating object" > "Repeat on all pages". The object is copied to the same place on all [/pages[/B], displaying the repeating symbol icon in the top right hand corner. If you make any further changes to this item all the copies will be automatically updated.

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From the online help file Acorn shared:

Variants and repeating objects

When repeating objects like navigation bars, headers and footers appear in variants they cannot be shared across the variants. Instead each variant has its own separate repeating set of objects.

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Acorn's instructions:

the main issue is that a Repeating object cannot be added directly to a Variant. What you have to do is set it repeating on Main, copy across to each Variant from the first page. At this point the * may still show on the Variant's button (or NavBar) so you remove the repeat and add it back.

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And now that I've (hopefully) gotten to a point of understanding about repeating objects, I see I'm actually dealing with a different problem than the question I originally posed, that of the wonky buttons.

When I attempt to share any of my buttons across variants, my buttons go wonky. Mouse over and mouse off objects are set off center to each other when shared to variants.

MouseOff only:


MouseOff with MouseOver revealed


Any insights on why this is happening and an easy way to fix it?

[Acorn]

WEL, you have made a big leap forward.
Create a NavBar on Main, copy into Variants, modify for each Variant, and THEN set all to Repeating.

Thank you too for the collation. I am sure others will find that useful.

I see I'm actually dealing with a different problem than the question I originally posed, that of the wonky buttons.
When I attempt to share any of my buttons across variants, my buttons go wonky. Mouse over and mouse off objects are set off center to each other when shared to variants.

MouseOff only:


MouseOff with MouseOver revealed


Any insights on why this is happening and an easy way to fix it?

WEL, if your Buttons are not Soft-grouped (MouseOff with MouseOver text/shapes, when you move the Button with MouseOver hidden, you leave those shapes behind.
Either Soft-group or keep MouseOver visible when shifting the Buttons.

Acorn

[WideEyedLife]

WEL, you have made a big leap forward.
WEL, if your Buttons are not Soft-grouped (MouseOff with MouseOver text/shapes, when you move the Button with MouseOver hidden, you leave those shapes behind.
Either Soft-group or keep MouseOver visible when shifting the Buttons.

Acorn

I'm 99% certain the original buttons [on "main"] are soft-groups. Clicking on them activates both the parts in MouseOff and MouseOver at the same times, and they move as a unit.

The replications of the buttons also show up as soft-groups and move as a unit.

The problem is that the buttons don't replicate properly. Rather, they replicate in an oddly offset manner, by which I mean that the text is not properly oriented over the buttons.

ie., the offset happens without my touching them; it is how the new buttons appear when I share the original (correct looking soft-grouped) buttons across all variants.

In a previous post above I have a link to the webpage I'm working on; that file contains one example of the oddly replicating button problem. Perhaps that can help with troubleshooting the problem?