Inspiring

Answered

[ Branched ] Unlocking layers and sublayers and objects [JS]

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
November 25, 2020
6 replies
1114 views

More than 3 years later and I still couldn't find a Javascript solution for this yet. Thank you guys for all your work! Any chance you could adapt this to JS?

[ branched from Unlocking sublayers - Applescript to Illustrator forum by moderator ]

[ title changed by moderator ]

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer hhas01

Your script is buggy.

  layer = layers;

should read:

  layer = layers[n];

Here is a more idiomatic implementation, which also unhides any hidden layers on the assumption OP wants to make everything editable:

function unlockLayers(layers) {
	for (var i = 0; i < layers.length; i++) {
		var layer = layers[i]
		layer.hidden = false
		layer.locked = false
		unlockLayers(layer.layers)
	}
}

var doc = app.activeDocument

unlockLayers(doc.layers)

If OP wishes the hidden layers to remain hidden, then delete the `layer.hidden = false` line. (Layers that are hidden and locked will still unlock, mind.)

To unhide and unlock all page items after all layers have been unhidden and unlocked:

for (var i = 0; i < doc.pageItems.length; i++) {
	var item = doc.pageItems[i]
	item.hidden = false
	item.locked = false
}

It’s a little more complicated if some layers remain hidden as AI doesn’t like you modifying the contents of locked/hidden layers, so you would need to catch those errors and continue to the next item. But I’ll leave that as an exercise to the reader.

pixxxelschubser

Community Expert

These are not layers and sublayers!

Those groups and deep nested groups and objects within you could unlock with the two lines of code that I have already posted.

@pixxxelschubser wrote:

"… Try to add these two lines at the end of the script:
app.executeMenuCommand("unlockAll");
app.redraw();
If that works for you

have fun …"

Can you upload a sample document to a host of your choice and link here?

Regards

pixxxelschubser

Community Expert

No.

Without to see the code you've changed and screenshots of your file with opened Layers Panel, or better an example file - no, I can't. Sorry.

Eduard ButaAuthor

Inspiring

Thank you for your reply.

First thing's first, I've taken the entirety of the code above and dropped it in a notepad file which I then saved with a .jsx extension.

var doc = app.activeDocument;

var unlockLayers = function (layers) {
  var n = layers.length, layer;
  while (n--) {
  layer = layers;
  layer.locked = false;
  layer.layers.length && unlockLayers(layer.layers);
  }
}
unlockLayers (doc.layers);

I wasn't aware that layers need to be in a certain way for this to work. I am looking for a solution that I can run and unlock all the layers within a specific document, no matter how they're stacked and nested. Let me know if that's where I was missing some info. See a test I've tried below:

I am running Illustrator 24.3

pixxxelschubser

Community Expert

Welcome in your own new thread.

😉

Try to add these two lines at the end of the script:

app.executeMenuCommand("unlockAll");
app.redraw();

If that works for you

have fun

😉

Eduard ButaAuthor

Inspiring

Apologies for the late reply. I've been away until this time.

It still doesn't seem to work for me. I get an Error 1302: No such element on Line 8: layer.layers.length && unlockLayers(layer.layers);

Do you have any idea what might cause this? Thank you in advance!

pixxxelschubser

Community Expert

Ok.

At first: I didn't wrote this script. It was written by @Loic.Aigon

Second: This script was written to (only) unlock layers and sublayers

Third: You have new requirements. Let me move our last answers into a new thread.

pixxxelschubser

Community Expert

That's why I added the post again (cleanly) in my answer.

And I tested it too. It still works the way it was intended back then.

Please note: It only unlocks layers and deep nested sub-layers - but not the objects in the layers!

Eduard ButaAuthor

Inspiring

Got it. Thank you, I'll make it work for sure then.

It's been a number of years since you've written this, have you found any type of solution that also works with objects? Or is that simply a limitation of Illustrator that code can't bypass? I'm curious now, since you definitely know your stuff. 🙂

pixxxelschubser

Community Expert

Hi @Eduard Buta

Why not read the whole topic first?

See post #1 here in the same thread by

@Loic.Aigon wrote:

"Here is a JS approach :

var doc = app.activeDocument;

var unlockLayers = function ( layers ) {
  var n = layers.length, layer;
  while ( n-- ) {
  layer = layers;
  layer.locked = false;
  layer.layers.length && unlockLayers ( layer.layers );
  }
}
unlockLayers ( doc.layers );

HTH

Loic"

Have fun

😉

Eduard ButaAuthor

Inspiring

Hi @pixxxelschubser

I have read the whole post, and I have tried using that Script. I got some sort of error, and I just thought it might be deprecated since the final answer for the question was laid out in the section I've replied to earlier.

I might have to try that one out again, and see what exactly didn't work out. Being a designer and not a coder also doesn't help, so fingers crossed that I'll make it work. Thank you for your time nonetheless

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