PDFzone shows you how to work with layers in a PDF document, and how to preview to determine which portions of the document will print.Adobe PDF files created from some graphics software, including Adobe InDesign CS and Adobe Illustrator CS, may include layers that were built in the original document.
In this article's lesson, you will use the Layers tab to enable and disable certain layers within a brochure that was created using Adobe InDesign CS and exported to the Adobe PDF file format.
1. Download the file newsletter_export.pdf, then open it.
2. Click the Layers tab on the side of the document window or choose View > Navigation Tabs > Layers. Click on the (+) sign next to newsletter_project.indd.
3. Click the Eye icon to the left of the Column 1–English. Clicking on the eye hides it and turns off the layer for viewing and printing.
4. Click the empty box to the left of the Column 1–Portuguese. The Eye icon becomes visible. The elements on this layer are displayed on screen, and will print if the document is printed. You can use layers in your design software to create separate versions of documents, or to control which elements are visible or will print.
5. Click the Eye icon to toggle the Illustrations layer off and click the Eye icon again to make the layer visible. Layers can include both text and graphics.
Note: All the layers in this document were created in the original file before it was converted to PDF. Programs that can export directly to the PDF file format, such as Illustrator and InDesign, can often include more robust information in the PDF document, such as document layers and transparency. Layers and transparency are not preserved when files are converted to PDF by printing using the Adobe PDF printer, nor are they maintained when creating most PDF files using Acrobat Distiller.
Click here to read more about working with PDF layers.
Output Preview
To determine which portions of this document will print on each of the color separations, you will use Acrobat's separation preview.
1. Click the Fit Page icon or choose View > Fit Page.
2. Click the Next Page button or choose View > Go To > Next Page.
3. Choose Advanced > Output Preview. The Output Preview window opens. The Output Preview window shows all the colors that are included in this document for printing. The four subtractive primary colors used in color printing are displayed: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK). Also, any special colors that will print are listed.
These special colors, called spot colors, are printed in addition to the four subtractive primary colors. This typically increases the cost of a print job. Because of the extra cost associated with spot colors, you may want to check PDF files to confirm that none are
used in your documents if you did not intend to use them. The Separation Preview window can be used to confirm the colors used in Adobe PDF files. You can also use the Preflight process, described earlier in this chapter, to check for spot colors in PDF documents.
4. In the Output Preview window, click once on the check box located to the left of the Pantone 300 C color swatch. The check box becomes deselected. All items on the page that would be printed using this color are hidden from view.
Note: The Pantone 300 C color swatch is only used on Page 2. If you are not viewing Page 2, or if you have not opened the newsletter_export.pdf file, you will not see any changes to the file when enabling or disabling this color separation in the Output Preview window.
5. Click to deselect the Process Cyan and also the Process Magenta check boxes in the Separation Preview window. Objects using these colors are then hidden from view.
6. Click the Process Plates check box to display all the CMYK plates.
7. Click the Spot Plates check box for the Pantone 300 C spot color to be displayed on your monitor.
Note: Unless you use a CMS (color management system) with accurately calibrated ICC profiles, and have calibrated your monitor, the on-screen separation preview colors may not provide an exact match of the final color separation output.
8. Click the Close Window button in the upper right corner of the Output Preview window (Windows) or the upper left corner of the window (Mac OS).
In our next article, we'll show you how to work with transparency in layers.
Document Management 
