Hello, let me try to explain what I’m doing. I’m creating a site plan for a landscape in Layout, with layers for raised beds, property lines, neighbors homes, as well the house and other stuff. I want to export each as a layer, so I can port them to photoshop instead of having to isolate for the visibility of each layer before I export to a PDF.
Is there anyway to do this?
Thanks
There’s an PDF export option to create PDFlayers from LayOut layers but you can’t create separate PDFs for each layer automatically. If you want separate exports for each layer you would manually choose which layer is visible for each export.
You could export PNGs for each layer instead.
Thank you. Is there a way to export the layers as separate pngs automatically or is it manual?
Also when I clicked export to PDF I didn’t see an option to select the layers. Did I miss something?
Still manual.
You misunderstood. There is an option to export the LayOut layers as PDF layers. From there it seems to me that you should be able toutilize those layers when you import the PDF.
I see. If it’s possible to utilize the layers within a PDF, that would solve my issue. I’m dragging and dropping the PDF Into photoshop, but it’s all consolidated as one layer. Do you know how I can import the PDF and ‘pdf’ layers’?
Thanks
Sorry. I don’t use Photo Shop. What happens if you import or open the PDF rather than dragging it in?
To my knowledge, LayOut’s Layers (now called Tags in recent versions of SketchUp) do not translate to PDF ‘Layers’. As you can see below, the Layers pane (in Acrobat DC) is blank after exporting a site plan.
How many Tags (ie layers) does your model have? I’ve found it’s quite simple to duplicate a page in LayOut, then with the viewport selected, use the Tags panel to turn off/on what you want to see. Then repeat the process and export all to PDF at once.
The model I’m working on now has 15 tags and would take just a few mins to set up a scene for each (certainly less time than typing this post and recording a gif jus6 took) 
My understanding is that it’s LayOut’s layers, not SketchUp’s tags that get exported as PDF layers.At least that’s the way it works in Acrobat Reader. Layers on the left are the same as the layers in the LO file.
And turning off their visibility makes the entities on those layers disappear.
Photoshop allows the import of PDF pages (you have to check each one in the opening dialogue or else it will only open one, but these aren’t actual layers. They would come into the program as separate pages.
To do this though you would need a multi page PDF to begin with. Not the one click action you’re hoping for.
Ok, I was able to find the layers in Adobe Acrobat (as you showed). I have not tags. I’m working with a super simple sketch at the moment to try and figure this out. I tried to drop the PDF in photoshop and it was able to import as a smart object, but it wasn’t able to convert the layers to photoshop.
Thank you for all your time and help.
I’ll attach a photo of the sketch in the next post, I can’t put 2 embeds in one comment right now.
Ok, the more streamlined it can be, the better. Doesn’t have to be one click. Is there a way to separate the layers as pages on a pdf?
I may have mis-understood the ask. Glad to see so many smart people jumping to the rescue here.
Layout Layers (paper space layers, not the model tags) do not export as PDF layers on Mac. That appears to be a Windows only feature, the option is missing on the Mac export options dialogue.
Sigh. 
Another reason I’m glad I use SketchUp on a PC.
I haven’t delved into Layout properly yet, so I honestly have no idea, but someone else will.
As far as photoshop PDF import goes, (forgive the photos, I’m not in a good position to screenshot) once you have a multi page PDF, you just open it from its save location and then you will be presented with the pages menu. Shift click to get a linear selection, or ctrl click for non-linear selections, and grab all the pages you want. Be sure to look over all the options, color and whatnot. Then they will open each as an individual file and you can do what you will with them from there.
Yes this is definitely closer to what I’m going for! I pulled up the a similar menu when I dragged and dropped the PDF on the file. Is it possible to import all pages at once? It would only import one at a time for me.
The ctrl/shift click isn’t working for this option.
Thank you for your help.
You’re not actually opening PDFs, you’re opening smart objects, which is another whole level of information import. Smart objects when opened on mass have a tendency to kill computer efficiency… Which is why photoshop doesn’t convert layers to smart objects automatically. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the option to open multiples from dragging was never implemented.
Copy that. The smart objects work well for my use case. I’m wondering what the best way to create this work flow would be. Work backwards from Sketchup, porting the model to Layout and then creating pages and layers, and then sending it to photoshop? Or creating a site & property plan in Layout and then sending it to Sketchup?
Also, importing a PDF might work well, I’m wondering if there’s a way to ‘stack’ the pages so everything shows up on one, meaning, when I work on one pager (using it as a layer, say it’s the vegetation layer) I can see it overlaying the building page (used as another layer)
Thank you
I’m thinking I’ll have to do what you’re saying, just selecting the visible layers and exporting it individually. I asked something else this, so I’m pasting it here.
I’m wondering what the best way to create this work flow would be. Work backwards from Sketchup, porting the model to Layout and then creating pages and layers, and then sending it to photoshop? Or creating a site & property plan in Layout and then sending it to Sketchup?
Also, importing a PDF might work well, I’m wondering if there’s a way to ‘stack’ the pages so everything shows up on one, meaning, when I work on one pager (using it as a layer, say it’s the vegetation layer) I can see it overlaying the building page (used as another layer)
Thank you
I can do some trouble shooting tomorrow. 
