In this article, you will learn
- which prerequisites are required for this Fixup, and
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
The Fixup Remove unused and/or hidden Layers is available in the Workflow. The purpose of this Fixup is to remove all unused layers, layers that contain no objects, as well as hidden layers.
2. General
The Fixup Remove unused and/or hidden Layers can be used to reduce the content of Print Items to visible objects only, thereby removing unnecessary layers.
Use this Fixup to minimize the complexity of print data and to avoid potential errors in an Imposition. Imposition errors can occur when different Print Items are imposed on a single page and share identical layer names with different visibility states. Only when all files in an Imposition contain visible layers exclusively can an error-free Imposition be ensured!
You can find this Fixup on the tab Data Preparation of an Article, Order or Production Job by:
- entering the name of the Fixup in the area Filter,
- activating the option Layer in the area Category,
- activating the option Delete in the area Action.
3. Description
This Fixup removes empty or hidden layers, thereby reducing the Print Item to visible and used layers only.
3.1. Prerequisites and Functionality
For the Fixups to perform as intended, the following requirement must be met:
- The file contains empty and/or hidden layers that are not required for printing.
The Fixup Remove unused and/or hidden Layers consists of two individual Fixups combined into one dialog.
Figure 1: The dialog of the Fixup Remove unused and/or hidden Layers
The following options are available to removing unused and hidden layers:
3.1.1. Remove Empty Layers
This Fixup is activated by default, as indicated by the checkbox [1]. It removes all unused Layers – e.g. Layers that contain no objects – from the Print Item. If you do not want this Fixup to be applied, you can deactivate it by deselecting the checkbox [1].
No further options are available.
3.1.2. Remove Hidden Layers
This Fixup is activated by default, as indicated by the checkbox [2]. It removes all hidden layers from the document, while layers that are visible remain. If you do not want this Fixup to be executed, deactivate it by deselecting the checkbox [2].
No further options are available.
3.2. Before/After
To experiment with this function, refer to the sample file "Sample_Remove unused Layers.pdf". The file contains two hidden layers and one empty layer with no Print Items.
After applying the Fixup, the file "Sample_Remove unused Layers_End.pdf" is created, in which all unused and hidden layers have been removed. Both Fixups were activated in the dialog. Applying the Fixup does not produce any visible changes, as the objects on the hidden layers were not visible before or after deletion. Consequently, the file size of this small file is only marginally reduced.
Figure 2: Left: Original file; Right: Edited file in which all unused and hidden layers have been removed
Article update: Workflow 1.20.0 – 03/2025