illustrator flattens existing layers when opened (pdf)

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
September 6, 2024
1 reply
1511 views

Illustrator version: 28.7.1

but it happened also in previous versions

Bug

This topic has been closed for replies.

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

When editing an Illustrator file, always save as .ai

A pdf is not intended for editing.

If you want to save as PDF and also need to edit the Illustrator file, save a copy or make sure that the "Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities" option is checked.

Just saving as PDF without that option will remove layers and other Illustrator options.

A

Arkadiusz Jas32409061u0tgAuthor

Participating Frequently

We also need pdf with layers for client.

The problem does not affect all PDF files. So far I have only had 3 cases. I have been using illustrator for many years and this has never happened to me. Im always using default settings for saving as PDF

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

I copied the problematic files to the local drive. Unfortunately it didn't help. If we open the same PDF with Adobe Acrobat Pro, all layers are visible. Illustrator only shows one layer

Illustrator only reads it's own layers from the Illustrator part of the file.

Acrobat layers are not really layers, but groups of elements (a single object could be part of many Acrobat "Layers").

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