On PHPBuilder.com there's a new tutorial on layouts in Zend Framework applications. The tools the framework gives you makes things much simpler when it comes to changing layouts and updating the general structure of your site.

Gone is the need to devise strategies for important tasks such as maintaining page headers and footers, separating the bulk of a page's logic from its interface, and managing the code repeatedly used throughout the site to carry out special formatting actions. Instead, you can just embrace the framework's conventions and move on to the next battle. This article introduces you to some of the fundamental concepts behind managing layouts within your Zend Framework-driven applications.

He shows how to enable the layout management tools and how to create a sample layout to ensure it's working. You can also switch layouts, disable them and use a few of the helpers that come with the tool to make it simpler for you and make your development time faster.