Is there a way to select objects/text frames on the same layer across multiple pages at once?

Forum|Forum|19 hours ago
April 16, 2026
4 replies
42 views

Hi everyone, I’m looking for a way to select all objects or text frames that reside on a specific layer across different pages simultaneously. Currently, selecting them page-by-page is too time-consuming. Is there a built-in feature, a shortcut, or perhaps a script that can achieve this? Thanks in advance!

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

Are the elements controlled through Master/Parent pages? If so then setting them up on a separate layer in the Master/Parent would allow you to delete the layer so that objects or frames that are linked to the Master/Parent would then disappear globally.

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

If you delete that layer, it will also delete all the objects on that layer across all pages.

Mike Witherell

rob day

Community Expert

or perhaps a script that can achieve this?

Hi @Louis.7700 , What are you trying to do to the layer’s objects?

Louis.7700Author

Participant

Ok thank you, I want to select all objects on a specific layer across all pages so I can either move or delete them.

rob day

Community Expert

You can do something to all of a Layer’s objects on every page via scriting. As @Mike Witherell suggests you don’t need a script to delete, just delete the Layer.

Scripting can move all the Layer’s page items—for example this moves every page item on a Layer named “Top” 1” to the left:


//the active document
var d = app.activeDocument;

//set the units to use
app.scriptPreferences.measurementUnit = MeasurementUnits.INCHES;

//a layer named "Top"
var l = d.layers.itemByName("Top")

//move all the page items on the layer 1" to the left 
var pi = l.pageItems.everyItem().move([ 0, 0 ], [ -1, 0 ]);

Before and after: