Adobe InDesign CS4 - Manual (Page 88)

80 USING INDESIGN CS4
Layout
Set a layer as nonprinting
1 Select the layer in the Layers panel.
2 Choose Layer Options from the Layers panel menu.
3 To prevent the layer from being printed, deselect Print Layer, and then click OK.
Note: When you print or export to PDF, you will still have the option of printing hidden and nonprinting layers.
Lock or unlock layers
Locking is useful for preventing accidental changes to a layer. A locked layer displays a crossed-out pencil icon in the
Layers panel. Objects on locked layers cannot be selected or edited directly; however, if objects on locked layers have
attributes that can be edited indirectly, they will change. For example, if you edit a tint swatch, objects on locked layers
using that tint swatch will reflect the change. Similarly, putting a series of threaded text frames on both locked and
unlocked layers will not prevent text on locked layers from recomposing.
❖ Do any of the following:
• To lock or unlock one layer at a time, in the Layers panel, click a square in the second column from the left to show
(lock) or hide (unlock) the crossed-out-pencil icon for a layer.
• To lock all layers except the target layer, choose Lock Others in the Layers panel menu. Or, Alt-click (Windows) or
Option-click (Mac OS) the layer you want to remain unlocked.
• To unlock all layers, choose Unlock All Layers in the Layers panel menu.
Delete layers
Remember that each layer is document-wide—it appears on every page of a document. Before deleting a layer, consider
hiding all other layers first, and then turn to each page of the document to verify that it is safe to delete the remaining
objects.
❖ Do any of the following:
• To delete a layer, drag a layer from the Layers panel to the Delete icon or choose Delete Layer [layer
name] from the Layers panel menu.
• To delete multiple layers, hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) while you click the layers you want to delete.
Drag the layers from the Layers panel to the Delete icon or choose Delete Layers from the Layers panel menu.
• To delete all empty layers, choose Delete Unused Layers in the Layers panel menu.
Merge layers in a document
You can reduce the number of layers in a document without deleting any objects by merging layers. When you merge
layers, objects from all selected layers are moved to the target layer. Of the layers you merge, only the target layer
remains in the document; the other selected layers are deleted. You can also flatten a document by merging all layers.
Note: If you merge layers containing a mix of page objects and master items, the master items move to the back of the
resulting merged layer.
1 In the Layers panel, select any combination of layers. Be sure to include the layer you want to target as the merged
layer. If you’re flattening the document, select all layers in the panel.
2 Click any selected layer to make it the target layer, indicated by the pen.
3 Choose Merge Layers in the Layers panel menu.
Updated 18 June 2009