InDesign

Create a layered PDF in Adobe Illustrator

You can save an Illustrator graphic as a layered PDF and control the visibility of layers in InDesign. Adjusting layer visibility in InDesign lets you vary an illustration depending on context. Rather than create multiple versions of the same illustration, say for a multilanguage publication, you can place the same illustration where needed and adjust the visibility of the layers as appropriate.

You can transform a PDF as a single object (you can rotate or resize it, for example), but you cannot edit the paths, objects, or text within the illustration.

Note: Don’t place layers in nested layer sets if you want to adjust layers in InDesign.
  1. In Illustrator, choose File > Save As.
  2. In the Save As dialog box, type a filename and choose a location for the file.
  3. For Format, choose Adobe PDF (.pdf), and click Save.
  4. In the Adobe PDF Options dialog box, choose Acrobat 6 (1.5) or later for Compatibility.
  5. Select Create Acrobat Layers From Top-Level Layers, and click Save PDF.