[Q] PDF layers?

[jenskutilek]

Is it possible to add layers to a PDF with prawn?

I would like to have some text that doesn't print, and it seems the way to do it is to put it in a layer and set its state to "Never Prints" (that's what it's called in Acrobat).

[gettalong]

It is possible to do this manually but there is nothing built-in. With "manually" I mean you can manually create the necessary PDF objects (see e.g. here for an idea on how to do this) and also manually insert the necessary PDF operators into the content stream.

For details see the PDF 2.0 specification section 8.11 "Optional Conent" (this is what layers are called in the PDF spec).

For a simple example and maybe inspiration have a look at this HexaPDF example.

As it is not planned to implement this in Prawn proper (as far as I know) I will close the issue. Feel free to add comments and I will try to respond.