Move selected objects to separate layers

An Adobe Illustrator JS script that, given a selection of objects in an active document, separately moves them to new layers.

Whether you’re a tidy and clean designer or not, it might be the chance that — once you’re quite satisfied with your current project — your Illustrator artboard is quite messy. You know: a bit of hurry, deadlines approaching, the creative process — stuff like that. This piece of code helps you clean it up.

Just select the objects you want to keep and run this script: they will be put on top of your layers stack (each of them inside its own new layer), keeping their original Z-order.

It comes particularly handy when you need to prepare you .ai file to be imported into some other Adobe Creative Suite software (i.e. After Effects — all the pieces of art you want to animate will be ready for the useful AE Composition option for importing layers.)

Pre-requisites

Requires moveToNewLayers.jsx, getEmptyLayers.jsx, deleteEmptyLayers.jsx and deleteNotMovedLayers.jsx in the /helpers folder

Initial scenario

An active .ai document with one or more objects selected.

Usage

It couldn’t be easier:

1. Create a new document or open an existing one
2. Design your art
3. Select the objects you want to move to separate layers
4. Run this script

Additional options

This script comes with two additional “cleaning” options:

• Delete empty layers — the above moving process can generate some little garbage (i.e. an empty layer, in case you choose to move the only object which is inside a layer). Check this box to automatically get rid of them.
• Keep the selected layers only — if you’re in a “drastic-cleaning” mood you can choose to delete all the layers except the one you select. Check the related box before running the script.

Credits

deleteEmptyLayers.jsx is inspired by this Ai Scripts example.