Creating layers

Create layers using the insertion, drag and drop, or drawing technique. Once a layer is created, use the Layer palette to select it, nest it inside another layer, or change its stacking order. See Layer palette.

Default layer properties (tag, visibility, height and width, and so on) are specified in Layer preferences. To change the default settings, choose Edit > Preferences and select Layers. See Layer preferences.

By default, Dreamweaver creates layers with the DIV tag and inserts layer code at the cursor position, or when drawing layers, at the top of the page, just after the BODY tag. If you create a nested layer, Dreamweaver inserts the code inside the tag that defines the parent layer.

When creating layers, to prevent layers from overlapping each other, turn on the Prevent Overlaps option in the Layer palette or choose View > Prevent Layer Overlaps. See Preventing layer overlaps.

To create a layer, do one of the following:

	To insert a layer, place the cursor in the document window where you want to position the layer and then choose Insert > Layer.
	To drag and drop a layer, click the Layer button in the Object palette and drag the layer to the Document window. The layer is placed at the position where the mouse is released.
	To draw a layer, click the Layer button in the Object palette, release the mouse button, and then use the cursor to draw a layer in the Document window.
	In the Document window, a layer marker appears at the top left of the page in the Document window. If the layer marker isn't visible, choose View > Invisible Elements. See Invisible Elements preferences.
	In the Layer palette, the layer name appears in the Name column. As you create additional layers, layers are displayed as a stacked list—the most recently created layer appears at the top of the list. See Changing the stacking order of layers.