Add layers to a PDF

This process adds a blank layer to the active PDF. This layer will be completely empty.

1. Go to Window > Panels > Layers or press ALT+Y to show the Layers panel.
2. Select one of the following options from the Add Layer menu on the Layers panel toolbar:
   • Add Before: Creates a new layer before the selected layer. If no layer is selected, the new layer is added to the top of the layers list.
   • Add After: Creates a new layer after the selected layer (default). If no layer is selected, the new layer is added to the bottom of the layers list.
   • Add Child: Creates a new layer as a child The terms "parent" and "child" are used to describe the hierarchical relationship between elements (in this case layers). This relationship is similar to most file systems, with their directories and sub-directories. A parent may have multiple children, but a child only has one parent. Some functions, when performed on a parent layer (for example, isolating), will also affect their children. of the selected layer. If no layer is selected, this option is not available.
3. Enter a name for the layer and select OK.

This process creates a new layer for the active PDF out of the content layer of a source PDF or imports the Layers from a source PDF and creates duplicate layers in the active PDF.

1. Go to Window > Panels > Layers or press ALT+Y to show the Layers panel.
2. Select one of the following options from the Add Layer from Page menu on the Layers panel toolbar:
   • Add Before: Creates a new layer before the selected layer. If no layer is selected, the new layer is added to the top of the layers list.
   • Add After: Creates a new layer after the selected layer (default). If no layer is selected, the new layer is added to the bottom of the layers list.
   • Add Child: Creates a new layer as a child The terms "parent" and "child" are used to describe the hierarchical relationship between elements (in this case layers). This relationship is similar to most file systems, with their directories and sub-directories. A parent may have multiple children, but a child only has one parent. Some functions, when performed on a parent layer (for example, isolating), will also affect their children. of the selected layer. If no layer is selected, this option is not available.

   The Layers dialog appears.

   

   • When layers are added from another PDF, they are automatically assigned a default color, layer name, position, and so on. Select Edit Defaults to review or change these default settings. See Editing Default Layer Settings for more information about the available default settings.
   • If there are no other PDFs currently open in Revu, the Open dialog appears immediately after the Layers dialog. Navigate to and double-click the desired PDF, and the Add Layer dialog opens. Skip ahead to Step 5.
3. To add the PDFs currently open in Revu, follow these steps:
   1.  Select Add Open Files.

      All PDFs currently open in Revu are added. To remove one, select it and select .

   2. Select a PDF and click Modify. The Add Layer dialog appears. Skip ahead to Step 5.
4. To add a PDF from the workstation or a networked drive, select Add.

5. In the Add Layer dialog:

   

   1. The PDFs currently open in Revu are listed in the Source dropdown menu. Select one to use it. Otherwise, select to the right of the Source menu and navigate to the desired PDF.

   2. Select a page range from the Pages dropdown menu to determine which pages of the source file will be added.

      • All Pages: Sets the range to all pages.
      • Current: Sets the range to the current page only. The current page number will appear in parentheses, for example, Current (2) if page 2 is the current page.
      • Selected: Sets the range to the current selection. This option only appears if pages were selected prior to invoking the command.
      • Custom: Sets the range to a custom value. When you select this option, replace any text left in the field with the page or pages to be printed directly. To enter a custom range:
        • Use a dash between page numbers to define those two pages and all pages in between.
        • Use a comma to define pages that are separated.

        For example: 1-3, 5, 9 will include pages 1, 2, 3, 5 and 9.

   3. Select one of the Layer options:
      • To create a new layer from the source PDF, select Create New and enter a name for the layer in the field to the right.
      • To add the source PDF to an existing layer, select Use Existing and select the desired layer.
      • To import the layers of the source PDF as duplicate layers, select Use Source Layers.
   4. Select the Color to choose a color to which this layer is to be converted.
   5. The Background can be changed to a range of colors but is set to transparent as a default. If you choose to change this to a solid color to block out any underlying layers, make sure to change the Blend mode to Normal.
   6. Define the Opacity to set the transparency of the content in the layer. 100% (fully opaque) is the default.
   7. Select a Blend mode to determine how the color of overlapping elements will be treated. For example, the "Darken" option will cause elements that overlap on different layers to be combined into a third, darker color.
   8. To choose a specific region of the source page, select Select Region and define the desired region by selecting the points of the shape or by dragging a rectangle.
   9. The Position options allow you to fine tune the layers if they are not perfectly scaled or if they are slightly skewed (please note that while you can manually adjust Layers with these settings, it is generally recommended that you use the Align Points function described below when possible):
      • Rotation allows you to rotate the layer between 0 and 360 degrees.
      • Scale allows you to make the layer larger or smaller, where 1.00 is equal to 100% (so, for example, a 75% scale should be entered as .75 while a 125% scale should be entered as 1.25).
      • Offset X & Y allows you to move the layer left/right or up/down.
   10. Select OK.

6. If the drawings are not identical in terms of scale and position on the page (for example, if you are comparing scans or a scaled drawing to an original), align points.

   1. Select Align Points. A dialog opens explaining how to align points. Select OK to dismiss it.

   2. On the first drawing, select three points that will act as anchor points between the drawings. It is recommended to use points near the edges of the drawing.

      Enable Snap to Content on the Status bar to help you get a precise definition.
   3. On the second drawing, select the three points that are analogous to the ones you select on the first drawing. You must select them in the same order you did in the first. The alignment is set when you select the third point.
   4. To redo the alignment, select Clear Alignment and start again.
7. Select OK.

You can assign one or more markups to an existing layer or create a new Layer and assign the selected markups to it at the same time.

To assign markups to an existing layer, right-click the desired markup, or, in the case of multiple markups, multi-select them and right-click one of them, then go to Layer and select the desired Layer.

To create a new layer and assign a markup to it at the same time, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the desired markup, then go to Layer > Create New Layer.

2. In the Add Layer dialog, enter a name for the new layer and select OK.

You can flatten markups to an existing layer or create a new layer and flatten markups to it automatically.

1. Go to Document > Flatten.
2. Select Flatten to Layer and select a Layer from the associated dropdown list or enter a new Layer name in the field manually.

   If the PDF has no Layers, Revu will automatically populate this field with the name Markups. You can keep this name or change it, as desired.

3. Select Flatten.