there MUST be a better way - (pasting in layers in the correct location HOW ???)

[TheeeDragon]

so - now that I am BEGINNING to understand layers
I want to paste something (text, photo, whatever)
I place the cursor in the layer gallery exactly where i want it to go
(eg photo on a shape that I already made a shadow and feather etc
and hit ctrl V
and BAM = it goes on top of the list of all the items in the gallery
and I have to drag it down
(often several scrolls are included)
I have tried every paste and sub-option in the menu

I even put a dummy shape in the exact location,
then selected it, then said paste (replace selection)
which it did perfectly
BUT it still gets listed in the gallery at the top of the list
this can not be the correct process

HELP

thanks

[gwpriester]

I am not sure if I understand the question but in the layer gallery the top layer in the listing is above all the other layers and so forth on the way down.

So if you paste something on the top layer in the gallery, it will appear above anything else on the page.

You can reposition layers by dragging the title bar up or down.

[handrawn]

I don't think it is possible to paste into a given location in the stacking order [stacking order being the order in which the objects in the layer appear, one above an other]; as far as I know xara always pastes at the top of the layer stack

That said, I think if you have a group object and you open that group object to paste in, and then save the group object, it will hold position even when you ungroup, which may be useful to you...

You can insert layers easily enough in between other layers, but in an exixiting structure that may not be helpful

[TheeeDragon]

I am not sure if I understand the question but in the layer gallery the top layer in the listing is above all the other layers and so forth on the way down.

So if you paste something on the top layer in the gallery, it will appear above anything else on the page.

You can reposition layers by dragging the title bar up or down.

sorry if my OP was not clear
yes - I do know that the layers have visual authority over the layers below
I was (am still) complaining as to why all items are entered INTO a layer AWAYS at the top of the list of the given layer

[TheeeDragon]

argh -
what you say is what I am experiencing
it would sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better
if you could click a spot in an existing layer in the gallery and say
INSERT HERE
guess I will learn to live with it
ps
before some asks = why I want this
here is an example
numerous text blocks - (like paragraphs on a page)
and then go back and add a photo or a line to separate the text sections
and you want to group them (lines, photos, text and headers, etc) together, but they are stacked at the top of the layer
and you have to drag them all into place

[handrawn]

can you use a soft group, which will group objects without them having to be in the same place

[Acorn]

TD, you could create a clutch of Layers and select one with Solo Mode and build up a collection of objects therein.

Later you want to copy from one layer so do that and select the required layer before pasting.

Or select the required layer, select something in right click on it in the gallery and pick Move to current layer.

Or for your issue select all the items by marquee drag then press Ctrl+F and Group or Ctrl+ and Group.
This brings then together at the top or the bottom.

You can even shuffle layers.

Acorn

[TheeeDragon]

TD, you could create a clutch of Layers and select one with Solo Mode and build up a collection of objects therein.

Later you want to copy from one layer so do that and select the required layer before pasting.

Or select the required layer, select something in right click on it in the gallery and pick Move to current layer.

Or for your issue select all the items by marquee drag then press Ctrl+F and Group or Ctrl+ and Group.
This brings then together at the top or the bottom.

You can even shuffle layers.

Acorn

understand all
thanks
all tedious

I tried the solo one as a test
when I drug a photo from explorer - it warned was getting pasted into a nonvisible layer

I am SURE my suggestion is great for the developers
can someone send to a wish list somewhere for future development

thanks all for feedback

[handrawn]

The hack using a group does appear to work, I felt sure I had used it back in the day, so i checked

if the object you want it pasted above is a group then select this, right click, and then click open group - paste your object here in the group, and save the group - if you do not want it to remain in the group you can simply drag it out in the gallery - you can use the gallery locate button to find the selected group in the gallery; and so you avoid all the scrolling...

if the object is not a group you can select it and press ctrl+G to make it one, xara is quite happy to group an object all by itself - and then you proceed as above, using ctrl+U to ungroup at the end

this is probably a lot easier than scrolling through many many objects, once you get the hang of it

[Acorn]

The hack using a group does appear to work, I felt sure I had used it back in the day, so i checked
if the object you want it pasted above is a group then select this, right click, and then click open group - paste your object here in the group, and save the group - if you do not want it to remain in the group you can simply drag it out in the gallery - you can use the gallery locate button to find the selected group in the gallery; and so you avoid all the scrolling...
if the object is not a group you can select it and press ctrl+G to make it one, xara is quite happy to group an object all by itself - and then you proceed as above, using ctrl+U to ungroup at the end
this is probably a lot easier than scrolling through many many objects, once you get the hang of it

handrawn, Group-working is very useful apart from the UI.
If you double-click an element in the Group, it will open the Group and you can re-arrange and add new shapes.
The exception is when the clicked-element is a single self-grouped Box. You can always right-click and pick Open Group but it always throws me.

Next is the use of Save, Ctrl+S or even close the Edit Inside <filename> Tab.
You have to use one of these, even with no change.

It scared me rigid when I accidently clicked into such a Group and most things had vanished from the Page & Layer gallery.

Inside a Group you can Soft-Group or even Group.
From outside the Group, you cannot tell or select these. All you get is a single element with a Status line showing 'inside'.

If you have Most recent attributes ticked, this does not carry across into a Group. Red Fill outside, Black Fill inside.
Red Fill inside, Save and come back in Black Fill.
A change to the QuickFill Number of Sides does come across.

It is also only in recent versions that text is kept as text. Prior grouped text became an image.

Grouping and Layering are commendable high-level skills that you need to be very comfortable with.

Acorn