Layer Me This – Illustrator Script for Auto-Splitting Objects to Layers

“One script to split them all.”

This is a time-saving Illustrator script that splits all selected objects into their own top-level layers — complete with smart naming, stacking order preservation, and optional layer cleanup.
Whether you're building a UI kit, prepping files for animation, or exporting assets for developers, this script removes the grunt work and keeps your workflow clean and professional.

Features:

• Works with paths, groups, compound shapes, and text
• Creates new top-level layers for each selected item
• Auto-names layers with a custom prefix (icon, BG-, Layer 7, etc.)
• Automatically adds _ after your prefix when needed
• Preserves stacking order (top-to-bottom)
• Deletes the original layer only if it becomes empty
• Quick input dialog — no dockable panel required

Perfect For:

• UI/UX Designers prepping icon sets
• Animators splitting artwork for After Effects
• Developers needing asset separation
• Anyone tired of dragging objects into new layers manually

Installation:

Just drop Layer Me This.jsx into your Illustrator Scripts folder or run it manually via File > Scripts > Other Script…. Full instructions in the included README.

Licensing:

You’re free to use this script for personal, educational, and commercial work.
Just don’t resell or redistribute it.