PDF Layers for printing over multiple art boards

[taxiforblack]

Hello

I am creating a document with layers for printing. It is a sewing pattern and each layer is a size. I have successfully created the layers and when the PDF is opened in acrobat reader the layers are there.

The problem I am having is the the design is very large. It is 44 pages so that it can print in a4. I did this by putting the design over 44 art boards. Instead of being able to select the layers on and off for the whole document in acrobat reader I have to go and select it for all 44 pages separately. With other sewing patterns I have used you simply select the size layer once and it selects that size over the whole document. (It creates a layers panel for each page rather than the whole document even though its all one layer in designer)

Am I missing something or am I going to have to create my documents in a different app?

[lacerto]

2 hours ago, taxiforblack said:

Am I missing something or am I going to have to create my documents in a different app?

You are not missing anything. Affinity "Layer" layers unfortunately are page-wide and not document wide, unlike OCG layers that are created by other apps, which are "global", document wide. 

I do not know a tool that could just merge page-specific layers within one and same PDF so that they become global, but using a tool like PDF-XChange Editor (Windows Only) you can extract and import layers across PDF documents, and combine layers, like this:

 

[taxiforblack]

Thank you so much for the reply, at least I can stop looking for an answer now. Unfortunately I am on Mac.

I worked for weeks on this so I hope that I will not have to start again in another app

 

[lacerto]

You're welcome. Unfortunately I do not know if there is something similar on mac that could process OCG layers. It might be possible to create an Acrobat JavaScript that shows and hides all page-specific layers in one go (you could then have specific Show/Hide Size commands added as menu commands performing these tasks).

If you do have InDesign or some other page layout app, you could export your artboards so that only one size layer per artboard is exported at a time, and then place each such PDF on a separate global layer in InDesign and finally export one combined PDF that has true PDF global PDF layers.

[lacerto]

I checked, and you could add JavaScript to toggle visiblity of Affinity page-wide layers, using code like this:

Here JavaScript code has been attached to buttons on the first page to allow toggling the visibility of layers with the same name across the whole documnet. I am not sure if JavaScript commands can be executed from a menu or sidebar [ED)T: They can, from the Toolbar as actions or a custom Tool, but probably not as document-generated features, but just locally], but at least it would be possible to add such controls on the first page of the document (any graphic or text object can be made as a button for executing JavaScript commands, to it is not necessary to use standard controls for running scripts).

AffinityLayers_withscript.pdf 

[taxiforblack]

Thank you very much. Does that go in acrobat reader or affinity?

 

[lacerto]

8 minutes ago, taxiforblack said:

Thank you very much. Does that go in acrobat reader or affinity?

You would need a PDF editor that supports creating forms (and attach JavaScript to form controls). Adobe Acrobat Pro (DC) does support this, but is of course quite pricey. The already mentioned PDF-XChange supports this, too, but is sadly Windows-only. I am pretty sure that there is a low-cost PDF editor also for macOS that can do this.

[taxiforblack]

Ok, thank you.