Lock a layer automatically

In Acrobat you can set the .locked property of the OCG (but not in Reader).

For example here's a script that finds a layer called "skyline" and locks it - you could run the script from a menu item, but you'll need to pass it a reference to the current document in the cDoc variable:

var ocgArray = cDoc.getOCGs();
for (var i=0; i < ocgArray.length; i++) {
if (ocgArray[i].name == "skyline") ocgArray[i].locked = true;
}

To run it on the debug console, change "cDoc" to "this". Read the Acrobat SDK documentation if you need to know about adding menu items or tool buttons.

Thanks UVSAR. I've just checked and nothing happened. I've replaced "cDoc" with "this" but no success. I've tried to add "pageNum" after "this.getOCGs(pageNum);" but no success.

Do you know what could be wrong? Is it working on a yours with a layered PDF?

Thanks,
Bruno

Yes, it works for me in the Acrobat X Pro JS console, using "this.getOCGs()".

OCG names are case-sensitive and you can't refer to the "group" parents if there are any, only the OCGs themselves.

Check your layer names by adding the line

console.println(ocgArray[i].name);

above the "if..." line, so the names appear on the console.

Actually, I have Acrobat Pro 9 not X, so it might the problem.

Otherwise, here's the message I receive everytime:

SyntaxError: syntax error
1:Console:Exec
undefined

That means you've entered it wrong, or you're not selecting the entire script and running it as one operation - in the console you must highlight all four lines and press CMD+ENTER, or it'll only execute the current line.

We have a console tutorial here.

OK, got it to work thanks. I didn't know indeed I had to select all four lines in order to execute the script.

Thanks for your help and patience.

No problem - happy to help!

Hello:

I am new to pdf and java scripting.
I am looking for something simmilar: I have a PDF with a layer called "Logo" for the user to decide whether it displays its contents (a logo) or not using a button and then being able to distribute it locked, for the recipient not being able to make that layer visible again.

I tried your script, but I still can make layers visible or invisible and when accessing to that layer's properties the "Locked" checkbox is unchecked both on Adobe Acrobat Pro and Reader.

Thank you in advance.

Greetings from Mexico.