[Scribus] Flatten layers at export time.

[John Culleton]

On Friday 18 April 2008 02:28:23 pm Gregory Pittman wrote:
> John Culleton wrote:
> > On Friday 18 April 2008 11:08:29 am D. R. Evans wrote:
> >> Gregory Pittman said the following at 04/18/2008 08:48 AM :
> >>> John Culleton wrote:
> >>>> Apparently Scribus does not (yet) have a flatten layers
> >>>> function. If I export in pdf 1.3 format does that flatten the
> >>>> output pdf?
> >>>
> >>> There are layers and there are layers.
> >>> Layers in the sense of collections of objects of all sorts on
> >>> different levels on that layer are all flattened in the PDF.
> >>>
> >>> Layers in graphic images is a different kind of layer, which
> >>> Scribus is beginning to be able to work with. These too will be
> >>> flattened in the PDF.
> >>>
> >>> Then there are layers in PDFs, as in PDF 1.5, which is just
> >>> beginning to be implemented in development versions, not in
> >>> 1.3.3.x.
> >>
> >> Somebody probably needs to write this up in a bit more detail.
> >>
> >> Your explanation confused me (for one).
> >>
> >> I do know, for example, that when I export to PDF 1.4 and then
> >> view the resulting file with acroread, I can see the reader
> >> putting the layers up on the screen one at a time (and these
> >> layers appear to be the same as the layers in Scribus); so at
> >> least in some sense the file isn't flattened. I believe that
> >> that is what the OP is talking about.
> >>
> >> Exporting to PDF 1.3 instead of PDF 1.4 causes the reader to put
> >> the information on the screen all at once (i.e., I can't see
> >> individual layers being displayed to build up the resultant
> >> image).
> >>
> >> So in some sense it seems to be true that PDF 1.3 is flattened,
> >> but PDF 1.4 is not. Which I think is what the OP was after.
> >> Maybe.
> >>
> >>   Doc
> >
> > Exactly so. Some POD printers (e.g. LSI) want everything set to
> > PDF X/1:2001 which is more or less pdf 1.3.  They can't handle
> > layers and they can't handle transparency. But with Scribus it
> > seems that we can handle them :<)
>
> I've just experimented with this a bit. Exporting to PDF 1.4 and
> lower will not give you the ability to see layers in Adobe Reader,
> and 1.4 is as far as you can go with Scribus 1.3.3.12svn.
>
> Greg


I just saved as pdf 1.3 an ebook with layers in the cover using 
1.3.3.11. They show up OK on my Linux version Adobe Reader 8.1.1, and 
print out OK in grayscale on my PostScript 3 laser printer. 
-- 
John Culleton
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