Hello, new guy here.. thanks to the community for all I've gleaned so far without having to ask.

It seems one of the most basic tools is eluding me.. In advance I must say that I have searched the forum and not found the answer.. and also that I have a reasonably proficient understanding of layers.

Why is it that when I create new layers in an existing document, there seems to be no functional control of new layers? I've got all layers unlocked. Using the Layers dialog, I can not show or hide layers, I can not copy and paste between layers, I can do absolutely nothing. My created layers are right there in the list, and I can see all available commands and click the buttons, but the canvas behaves as though there is a single (base) layer. When I attempt to move or copy an object either up or down, I even get the message "cannot go past last layer".

What am I not getting? Sorry for the numbskull question. Thanks

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

I can't answer your question directly, but I think it may be related to either the Inkscape version, and/or operating system. Would you please report those, in case those who know the answer will need them? I know of one bug related to show/hide layers, but the other details I haven't heard (read) before, so I'll be interested to learn about it. I've searched Launchpad (https://launchpad.net/inkscape) but didn't find anything that fits all the symptoms. That doesn't necessarily mean it's not a bug though