Hi Glenn,
I think you may be misunderstanding the use of Layers in Opus Pro 05. They are there so you can work in the editor much easier, especially when the page is cluttered with objects on top of each other. You can simply select an object/s without inadverantly selecting others. This is done by moving what objects you want to a created layer for the ease of working/editing in the workspace.
Follwing is an excerpt from the 05 HELP FILE....
"Layers are a way of organising a page in your publication so that it is easier to work on separate elements without affecting anything else.
Layers can be thought of a sheets of glass on which objects can be placed and manipulated independently of object on any other layer. For example all the menu elements of a page could be in one layer and the background details in another. It is then simple to hide the menu layer and work on the background without the menu items getting in the way."
Hope this helps!