Flatten objects in layer

Belongs to

What it does

Removes the selected objects from ALL layers and at the same time removes all empty layers.

You can choose whether or not to remove hidden objects:
  • To keep all objects, regardless of their visibility, select Make all elements visible. All objects (including hidden objects) will become visible after the layers have been removed.
  • To keep all objects based on their default visibility, select Preserve the initial view of the PDF. Objects on layers with default visibility turned on are preserved (and remain visible). All other objects (i.e. by default hidden objects) are removed.
  • To keep all objects based on their current visibility, select Preserve the current view of the PDF. Objects on visible layers are preserved, regardless of their default visibility state. All other objects (i.e. currently hidden objects) are removed.

About PDF layers

Layered content usually comes from applications such as InDesign, AutoCAD or Visio. When converted to PDF, the layers are retained and can be viewed and navigated in Adobe Acrobat. However, if you print a PDF file that contains layers, only the content that is visible on-screen is printed. This may or may not be desired.

"Conventional" layers versus PDF layers

Layers in digital image editing ("conventional" layers) are used to separate the different elements of an image. Each element is drawn on exactly one layer. The different layers are stacked on top of each other, and the order of the layers defines how the image looks like.

Layers in PDF have a different meaning. They are used to hide or show page content:
  • Turning on a layer, all objects on this layer are shown on-screen.
  • Turning off a layer, all objects on this layer are hidden, i.e. they become invisible.
As such, layers are also called "optional content groups": groups of objects that can be selectively viewed or hidden by the author of the document. Objects can belong to different layers, and the order of the layers is of no importance.

To work with layers in a PDF document in Adobe Acrobat, select View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Layers .

For more information, refer to the Adobe Acrobat help.

Related Actions

Flatten layers