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

[Eduard Buta]

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 ]

[pixxxelschubser]

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 Buta]

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

[hhas01 · Accepted solution]

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.

[Eduard Buta]

This worked great for me. Full code below for those that come after, with hidden layers remaining hidden:

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

var doc = app.activeDocument;

unlockLayers(doc.layers);

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

 Thank you very much!

[pixxxelschubser]

Ok.

@hhas01  Good finding.

The script was posted in 2017. And the switch to the new forum software has broken many of the good old scripts (mostly a counter in square brackets is missing - like in this case, too).

[pixxxelschubser]

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 Buta]

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]

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]

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 Buta]

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]

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 Buta]

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]

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