Create a new layered PDF from existing PDFs

Revu makes it simple to create a layered PDF from a group of existing PDFs, each of which will be a separate layer in the layered PDF.

When building a layered PDF, Revu only considers the content layer of the existing PDFs.  This means items like unflattened markups and hyperlinks are not brought over to the layered PDF (flattened markups, however, are brought over, as flattening them makes them part of the content layer).

  1. Go to File > Create > Layered PDF.
    • If there are no files open in Revu, the Open dialog appears. Navigate to at least one file you'd like to create layers from (you can add more later) and select OK. The Create Layered PDF dialog appears with your selections listed.
    • If there are files open in Revu, the Create Layered PDF dialog appears directly.

  2. To add files currently open in Revu, select Add Open Files. All files currently open in Revu are added. To remove one, select the file and select .
  3. To add a file from a local or networked drive that might not be open in Revu, select Add and navigate to the desired file.

    Files currently open in Revu can be added this way, as well. In some cases, for example when there are many files open in Revu and only a few are desired, this might be a preferable method.

  4. To specify the page or pages of a PDF that should be included in the layered PDF, select it and select Modify, then select the desired page range from the Pages menu and select OK. The page range options are:
    • All Pages: Sets the range to all pages.
    • 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.

  5. Select any of the desired Options:

    • Include Bookmarks: Add any bookmarks from the selected PDF files.
    • Include File Attachments: Add any file attachments from the selected PDF files.
    • Merge Document Properties: Combine the document properties of the existing and selected PDF files.
    • Merge Layers: Keep all layer information in the PDFs. If not selected, the layers will be removed, but the content and markups in the layers will remain in the combined PDF.
    • Use file name as Layer name: By default, each layer of the layered PDF is named after the source PDF's page label. Select this to use the file names instead.
  6. Select OK.