Invisible layers/objects

[Bartłomiej27657636fsp5]

I got a printable PDF. The file was in Adobe Illustrator. When I open it in Corel, I see several layers that are not visible when I open it in Illustrator. Is there an option to hide layers? Why can't I see all layers/objects in Illustrator but in Corel I do.

[Monika Gause]

Are you referring to layers? Or to objects? Not everything in the Layers panel actually is a layer.

Can we perhaps see screenshots of those layer panels?

On top of that: If you have a PDF for printing, then use Acrobat respectively appropriate tools to actually print it.

[Bartłomiej27657636fsp5]

Same pdf opened in corel and illustrator.
Corel shows a layer with colored rectangles, illustrator does not. 
Is it hidden somewhere? Blocked? If it's saved in the pdf then why can't I see it in illustrator?
1.jpg Corel
2.jpg Illustrator

[Monika Gause]

Which one is correct? What does Acrobat show?

When Illustrator saves a PDF, it can embed an AI file into it. Obviously that hasn't happened, because in the Illustrator layers panel you see the typical clipping mask construction. You could open the mask and see if there are hidden elements inside of it, but I don't think that will be the case.

Maybe CorelDRAW can do the same. And then you have actually opened that embedded file.

[Bartłomiej27657636fsp5]

Acrobate show the same as Illustrator.

But if corel still sees some layer, why isn't it anywhere in illustrator? 
I thought maybe someone made it hidden/blocked/invisible.

[Monika Gause]

A PDF can be created in many applications. In which application has this been created?

[Bartłomiej27657636fsp5]

Adobe Illustrator 27.5 (Windows)

[Monika Gause]

In which version of Illustrator are you opening it? 

[Bartłomiej27657636fsp5]

I'm 26.0, do you think that's the problem here?

[Bartłomiej27657636fsp5]

In version 27.4 there is the same problem.

Someone created this graphic in illustrator and generated a PDF for printing. 
I received this PDF and when I open it, it does not show. Who could hide/block it?

[Monika Gause]

When opening the file, do you get a message that there are issues with opening?

Please open the preferences first and reset all warnings.

[Monika Gause]

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@Bartłomiej27657636fsp5  schrieb:

I'm 26.0, do you think that's the problem here?

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That could indeed be a problem.

So it seems like that person saved the file with "Illustrator editability". CorelDRAW can actually open that Illustrator content and obviously does. 

[Bartłomiej27657636fsp5]

When opening, I have the standard choice of which pages 
I want to open and whether I want the pages of the document to be imported as links.
There is nothing in the file's error log.

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

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@Bartłomiej27657636fsp5  schrieb:

When opening, I have the standard choice of which pages 
I want to open and whether I want the pages of the document to be imported as links.
There is nothing in the file's error log.

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That is the standard for importing a PDF. When you open a PDF that has an embedded AI document (has been saved with Illustrator editability) with the same or a newer version of Illustrator, you shouldn't get that dialog.

So to sum it up: your customer should not save their PDF with "Illustrator editability" turned on when sending a file to print in order to prevent this kind of stuff from happening. But also: PDFs should better not be printed using Illustrator or CorelDRAW.

Here's how Illustrator files work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpDh8Y7q8yE 

[Bartłomiej27657636fsp5]

This is a ready file for printing, I send it to the printing house.
I was just wondering why the source program in which the file was created does not see the layer that is in COREL. 
I thought Illustrator had some option to hide the layer or something.

And now the question. If someone created this file and there was this layer that is in COREL, how did they save the file that it can't be seen? 
What do you have to do to create something like this? Is there any option for this?

[Monika Gause]

When you send a PDF to the printing house, make sure you do not save it with "Illustrator editability". 

Please watch the video so you understand what this option does.WHen you open a PDF with Illustrator, Illustrator first searches for that embedded AI document. If it finds one, it checks if it has the same or lower version. If so: it opens that part. If not, it will import the PDF.

CorelDRAW is the only third party vector application that can actually import AI files. All the other applications import the PDF that is usually embedded in AI files. Obviously what happened here is that CorelDRAW also saw that AI file embedded in the PDF and opened it.

You can only be sure to print the right thing when you send a PDF that doesn't have an embeeded AI file.

[Bobby Henderson · Accepted solution]

Are you having to do further editing to the artwork in the PDF? Is that why you're importing it into CorelDRAW? Otherwise it would seem like an unneccessary step prior to printing. I'll usually view customer provided PDFs in Adobe Acrobat to see how the artwork is supposed to look before I attempt importing it into Adobe Illustrator.

Generally speaking, there are lots of pitfalls with importing artwork from PDF files and it's even more dicey making further edits to a PDF using a vector drawing application. All sorts of unpredictable things can happen when opening/importing the file. I've been using both Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW for a long time. Even the latest versions of CorelDRAW can have a difficult time importing PDF or Illustrator AI files accurately. This depends on features and effects baked into the artwork. The file version used also matters. A PDF layout may look one way when viewed in Adobe Acrobat (or the free Acrobat Reader app). Then it looks different when imported into CorelDRAW, sometimes really different.

Some of the same problems can happen when opening PDF files in Illustrator. Like Monika said, a PDF created in Illustrator with Illustrator editing capability preserved should open like any AI file since the PDF has Illustrator AI data appended to it. But a PDF created without Illustrator editing capability preserved or a PDF generated by any other application (such as CorelDRAW) can turn into a mess when opened in Illustrator. There will be lots of clipping masks (and nested masks within masks). I'll also see lots of invisible duplicate paths containing no stroke and no fill.

I often rely on Astute Graphics' Vector First Aid plug-in for Illustrator to help clean-up issues with imported PDF artwork. It can be a huge time saver. The alternative is isolating different objects in the layout on layers and then hunting through the object tree in the Layers palette to deal with unnecessary clipping masks, clipping groups, invisible duplicate objects, unclosed paths, etc. It can be a real time vampire.

[Bartłomiej27657636fsp5]

I opened the PDF because I wanted to check if the bleeds were properly prepared. 
And I accidentally saw that COREL opens a file with a preview of the finished product 
for graphics and Illustrator does not do it. And I didn't know why this was happening.

[Bobby Henderson]

When CorelDRAW is installed it can take over File>Open associations with all sorts of file formats, such as EPS and PDF. I've seen it do the same thing with AI files. Thankfully it's not difficult to restore the proper associations. CorelDRAW isn't the only offender. For instance, Affinity Designer pulls the same stunts. It likes taking over file associations for AI, EPS and PDF files. For some reason Microsoft's Edge Browser likes grabbing the file association for SVG files. I always have Acrobat DC set as the default application for opening PDF files. But Illustrator is my first choice for importing PDF files to do things like grabbing vector logos or other elements.