Read the layers — a vector file's layers are its manifest

kerfmaster pin list · The spec — what we build to

rulingA decision by Aristide or Jordan. True because it was decided; it can be superseded, but it cannot be stale.

Content last changed 2026-08-09 — computed from the item itself, not typed.

Ruling (Aristide, 2026-08-09): intake of any layered vector file (.ai/PDF OCGs, DXF layers, SVG groups) must ENUMERATE every layer — name, visible/hidden state, item count, content summary — and DOCUMENT the list before any geometry decision is made. The default-visible rendering is not the file; it is one view of it.

• Hidden layers are not empty layers. The worked example: the MVT option-C teaching file carries four layers and only one is ON. The three OFF layers hold the cut nest's mounting design (template + never-seen metal + fixing zones), the chaser map, and the assembled color reference — the shop's whole answer. The file was handled repeatedly with those never opened; this rule exists because of that miss.
• Layer names and colors are intent, same doctrine as [[art-adaptation]]'s read-preservation and the stroke-color forward note: green = template/jig, black on a setup layer = never-seen metal, an OFF layer named for hardware (Washers) is a map, an OFF layer named for an option is a reference. State what each layer is FOR; where a name doesn't settle it, it's a question with a proposal.
• The record requirement: what we can read we must PROVE we read — the layer table (with per-layer counts and a render of each layer alone) goes in the job record, like the unit-detection statement. A reader that silently flattens or drops hidden layers fails intake.