D is the only one I have is

Thank goodness we can get rid of these layers. I know of no one who liked them, we did just fine for years without them. Maybe there is some specialized use for them - so if you can fix it so those folks can turn them on fine. For the rest of us graphic design folks, default no layers. I got here because I noticed some of the new Adobe features and training videos weren't using them and I googled to see if they had been eliminated - Yea. I think Adobe will pick up more new customers once they find they don't have to be so frustrated with those blooming layers. I think the only ones who like them are the younger crowd who never learned any other way. But terrific high quality design work was done for years without them. There have been many wonderful new design improvements made - personally layers isn't one of them. Plus trying to teach newbies those things was a nightmare. So Adobe, thank you for allowing us to work without layers if we choose to do so.

Please put the layers panel and grid section it highly needed. Thanks

Thank you too.

People who voted on this may be interested in adding your thoughts to https://adobexd.uservoice.com/forums/353007/suggestions/12980076-smarter-simpler-layers-view-instead-of-huge-layers-list -- that is a good approximation of the direction we're planning to go with XD's Layers panel feature.

lol what?

I agree - I need a reusable / linked "SmartObject" method far more than layers.

I can see the thinking behind this and the comment about never needing layers in Indesign is true. I've used Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator for UI work and Indesign (and Quark Xpress) also for many many years in print design. I have used layers for print work, but not very much. When using Indesign for UI work, I do use layers, a lot. But ended up going to PS simply because the layer management and layer effects helped speed me up. I loved working in Indesign for the ability to distribute, import images, scale and crop etc. So many good things. Surely we can take the best and most useful aspects of all three of the big three Adobe Graphics software and make XD super efficient. I think layers is an important – but if using them or not was an option… even better!

I assume there will be an option to turn them off, so if you don't like them just get rid of them.

Layers are needed.

@Gareth I would have to say that I would highly disagree. I can't tell you how many times that I have, already, lost layers because it would get stuck behind something else. If you don't want a layer panel just undock it from your sidebar that way, those who would prefer it can have one. This would make everyone happy.

I can see the argument for no layers and leaving them out, but that really hurts the UI designers as well as exporting assets for development (zeplin or other). Layers helps us organize our work as well as name it in an easy convention for export and dev as well.

I agree. However, use a new rethought type of layers.

I'd like to see them left out for the time being. I have used layers for years in Photoshop, and sometimes I use them in Illustrator for complex artwork or for background and grids but have found it refreshing to not have them in XD. When 'master symbols' come to XD vs. objects on a per art board basis that will be interesting to see what we can then do without layers. Along with this if exporting and selecting of similar assets can be done easily that will also help negate the need for layers.

Of course, as the previous commenter writes, there well be a need/requirement at some point but I'd like to see how far we could go without them. I'm sure there are other ways we can evolve our interactions and our thinking.

I don't think referencing the DOM or £d in Photoshop are viable comparisons personally.

I also don't think this is about 'a select group of users not wanting them' for me it's more about looking at how, through innovation, we could circumnavigate this legacy technique if possible.

Ultimately it may not be possible and Adobe have already said they have started work on layers, so it may well be that they have decided that is the case. I still say let's try without, as I have not missed them at all yet. Have a good day chaps.

Of course they're needed. How would you reasonably suggest designing stateful interfaces on an artboard with no layering? XD is of *very* limited use to me, and presumably many on here, until it can minimally support layer management of some kind.

Shall we create 20 artboards to illustrate what could be accomplished on a single artboard with layer management?

If you think about how an interface is going to be implemented from a development perspective, layers can effectively translate to DOM elements. Imagine developing a web app without the Inspector to view the DOM tree! That would be ludicrously difficult.

With Xd The art board interaction is well done I don't need layers to organize or to find objects

I think in a previous post concerning exporting assets in regards to naming each asset would be very useful - with a input on the right-hand side when selecting an object you can rename it there - in addition you can multiple select objects and see in a vertical list on the right-hand side to check the name conventions of each asset.

I think that would do the trick guys.

One use of layering solves an issue that may need to be looked at from a different perspective.
- How to access objects under objects.

Most of the time I need to use layers to access underlying 'objects'.
If I could right-click on the 'object on top' and see a 'list' of all objects underneath I could then access the object '3 layers' deep.

Plus: It is frustrating to need to click an object to discover where it is in the layers list and then move the mouse to the layers panel to access an object. Contextual is faster.

I don't think it's ok to leave out a feature just because a select group of users have no need for it. Lots of people want layers, and it would help in some cases of organizing and stacking objects.
By that logic you present, I guess photoshop doesn't need 3D capabilities, as I've never touched them. Flawed reasoning.

Right, I use InDesign since its the first release to design books of hundreds of pages and, recently, apps and websites. Never needed layers!