Editing Document Layers in a PDF File

Now that Acrobat 6 supports document layers created in programs such as AutoCAD, Microsoft Visio, and Microsoft Project, you may one day find yourself staring at a PDF document with the new Layers palette overflowing with layers, just like the one shown in Figure. Fortunately, Acrobat makes it a breeze to select, move, edit, delete, and even merge and flatten document layers. Note that you can view document layers in either the Standard or Professional versions of Acrobat 6. If you want to edit document layers, you must have Acrobat 6 Professional version.

The good news is that Acrobat treats visible text and graphic objects on document layers in exactly the same way as regular objects in PDF documents. This means that even though a portion or even a whole object may reside on different document layers, Acrobat views the object as a single item for selection and editing. Because of this seamless view of document layers, you can apply the same tools and editing techniques to document layer objects that have been described in previous sections of this chapter. For example, you can use the TouchUp Object tool to select, move, or edit a layer object. Figure shows the selection of all the visible chair components in the drawing using TouchUp Object tool, even though some of the furniture is drawn on different layers.
You might occasionally encounter a locked layer in a PDF document. You’ll know because a padlock icon appears next to a layers name in the Layers palette in the Navigation pane. These layers were locked by the author of the original AutoCAD, Visio, or Project document and are visible for informational purposes only. You can edit the Layer name in these cases by right-clicking the layer in the Layers palette and choosing Properties on the context menu. In the Layer Properties dialog box, enter a new name in the Layer Name text box and click OK.