Showing and hiding PDF layers in PDF by Zaweba

Some PDFs are built in layers, much like a drawing in a design or CAD program. A building plan might keep walls, electrics, plumbing and dimensions on separate layers. A map might separate roads, contours and labels. A brochure might have the same pages in two languages, with one language's text on each layer. PDF by Zaweba lets you show and hide these layers so you see only what you need.

Opening the Layers panel

Choose View > Layers. The panel lists the layers the document contains, each of which can be shown or hidden. Hide a layer and everything on it disappears from the page. Show it again and it comes back. Most PDFs have no layers at all, in which case there is nothing to list. That is normal; layers are something the person who made the PDF has to set up.

There is also an option to show only this page's layers. In a long document with dozens of layers spread across its pages, this cuts the list down to the ones that actually appear on the page in front of you, which makes it far easier to find the one you want.

Reset puts back the default state, the way the document's author set the layers to appear when it opens. If you have been turning layers on and off and lost track, Reset gets you back to the starting point in one click.

Jobs that layers help with

Checking drawings is the classic use. On a busy plan, hiding everything except one service lets you trace a single run of pipe or cable without the clutter. Turning dimensions off gives you a cleaner view to judge the layout; turning them back on lets you check a measurement.

Multi-language documents are another. If a leaflet has its English and French text on separate layers, hide one to read the other without the two overlapping.

Layers are also common in documents with hidden extras, such as watermarks, draft stamps or notes meant only for the screen. Looking through the Layers panel tells you what the author has put there, which is good practice before you pass a document on.

Things to know

Showing and hiding layers here is a way of viewing the document. Use Reset whenever you want to be sure you are seeing it the way it was designed to open.

If you hide a layer and then print, check the print preview first to be sure the sheet shows what you expect.

A layer being hidden doesn't make its content secret. Anyone who opens the PDF in a program with a Layers panel can show it again. If something on a layer must not be seen, it has to be removed, not hidden. PDF by Zaweba has redaction for that job, which takes content out of the file for good.

Where layers fit

The Layers panel sits with the other viewing tools in PDF by Zaweba, such as page boxes, rulers and guides, and the different page layouts. Together they help with technical documents where seeing exactly what is on a page, and why, matters more than reading it from top to bottom.

If you work with drawings from architects, engineers or printers, it is worth opening View > Layers on each new file. You may find the document is far more organised than it first appeared.