You can use layers to
control the visibility of objects and to assign properties to objects.
Layers can be locked to prevent objects from being modified.
You
can reduce the visual complexity of a drawing and improve display
performance by controlling how objects are displayed or plotted.
For example, you can use layers to control the properties and visibility
of similar objects, such as electrical parts or dimensions. Also,
you can lock a layer to prevent objects on that layer from being
accidentally selected and modified.
Control the Visibility
of Objects on a Layer
You
can make drawing layers invisible either by turning them off or
by freezing them. Turning off or freezing layers is useful if you
need an unobstructed view when working in detail on a particular
layer or set of layers or if you don't want to plot details such
as reference lines. Whether you choose to freeze layers or turn
them off depends on how you work and on the size of your drawing.
- On/Off. Objects
on turned-off layers are invisible, but they still hide objects
when you use HIDE. When you turn layers on and off, the drawing is
not regenerated.
- Freeze/Thaw. Objects
on frozen layers are invisible and do not hide other objects. In
large drawings, freezing unneeded layers speeds up operations involving
display and regeneration. Thawing one or more layers may cause the
drawing to be regenerated. Freezing and thawing layers takes more
time than turning layers on and off.
In a
layout, you can freeze layers in individual layout viewports.
NoteInstead of turning
off or freezing a layer, you can fade the layer by locking it. See
“Lock the Objects on a Layer” below.
Control Transparency on
Layers
Set
the transparency of layers and layout viewports to enhance drawings
by reducing the visibility of all object on specific layers as needed.
Set layer (or layout viewport) transparency in the Layer Properties Manager.
After you apply transparency
to a layer, all objects added to that layer are created at the same
level of trasparency. The transparency property for all objects
on the layer is set to ByLayer.
Assign a Default Color
and Linetype to a Layer
Each
layer has associated properties such as color, linetype, and transparency that
are assumed by all objects on that layer when the setting is ByLayer.
For example, if the Color control on the Properties toolbar is set
to BYLAYER, the color of new objects is determined by the color
setting for the layer in the Layer Properties Manager.
If you set a specific
color in the Color control, that color is used for all new objects,
overriding the default color for the current layer. The same is
true for the Linetype, Lineweight, and Plot Style controls on the
Properties toolbar.
The BYBLOCK setting should
be used only for creating blocks. See Control the Color and Linetype Properties in Blocks.
Override Layer Properties
in a Layout Viewport
Some
layer properties can be changed using overrides on a viewport basis
in layouts. Using layer property overrides is an efficient way to
display objects with different property settings for color, linetype,
lineweight, transparency, and plot style. Layer property overrides
are applied to the current layout viewport.
For example, if you want
objects on the Electrical layer to display prominently in one of
two layout viewports, you set a Color override on the Electrical
layer for each of the two viewports. By setting the color red for
one viewport and gray for the other, you easily accomplish this
objective without changing the global color property assigned to
the layer. See Override Layer Properties in Viewports for
more information.
Lock the Objects on a Layer
When
a layer is locked, none of the objects on that layer can be modified until
you unlock the layer. Locking layers reduces the possibility of
modifying objects accidentally. You can still apply object snaps
to objects on a locked layer and perform other operations that do
not modify those objects.
You can fade the objects
on locked layers to make them appear more faint than other objects.
This serves two purposes:
- You can easily see what objects are on
locked layers.
- You can reduce the visual complexity
of a drawing but still maintain visual reference and object snapping
capabilities to those objects.
The LAYLOCKFADECTL system variable
controls the fading applied to locked layers. Locked layers that
are faded are plotted normally.
When you lock a layer
that contains transparent objects, the visibiltiy of those objects
is further reduced by the specified locked layer fading value.
NoteGrips are not displayed
on objects that are on locked layers.
To copy an object to another
layer
- Select the objects you want to copy.
- Press Enter.
- Select an object on the layer where you
want the copied object to be placed.
- Do one of the following:
- Specify a base point, and then specify
a second point for the location of the object on the destination
layer.
- Enter the displacement in the form of
a Cartesian, polar, cylindrical, or spherical coordinate value.
At the prompt for the second point of displacement, press Enter.
To turn the Always Show
option on or off in the LayerWalk dialog box
- In the LayerWalk dialog box, Layer list,
double-click the layer you want to set to Always Show. To select
more than one layer, press SHIFT and double-click the additional
layers.
An asterisk (*) is displayed
to the left of each layer that you set to Always Show. These layers
are displayed in the drawing regardless of whether or not they are
in an active filter.
- Click Close.
To display selected layers
while turning off all other layers
- Select an object on the layer you want
to isolate.
- Press Enter.
The selected layer is
isolated.
NoteTo restore layers
to the layer state before you isolated them, use the
LAYUNISO command. Any
layer settings you changed are preserved.
To copy properties from
one layer to other layers
- Select the object whose layer you want
to change. Press Enter.
- Select an object on the layer where you
want the object to move.
The object is moved to
the selected layer.
To assign a color to a
layer
- Click Home tab
Layers
panel Layer
Properties 
- In the Layer Properties Manager, select
a layer. Click the color icon.
- In the Select Color dialog box, select
a color.
- Click OK.
To change the properties
of more than one layer
- Click Home tab Layers
panel Layer
Properties
- In the Layer Properties Manager list
view, use one of the following methods to select the layers:
- Hold down Ctrl and select layer names.
- Right-click. Click Show Filters in Layer
List to display a check mark, and then select a layer filter.
- Click the icons for the properties you
want to change.
- Click OK.
CommandsCLASSICLAYER
Opens the legacy Layer
Properties Manager.
COPYTOLAYER
Copies one or more objects
to another layer.
LAYCUR
Changes the layer property
of selected objects to the current layer.
LAYDEL
Deletes all objects
on a layer and purges the layer.
LAYER
Manages layers and layer
properties.
LAYERPALETTE
Opens the modeless Layer
Properties Manager.
LAYFRZ
Freezes the layer of
selected objects.
LAYISO
Hides or locks all layers
except those of the selected objects.
LAYMCH
Changes the layer of
a selected object to match the destination layer.
LAYMCUR
Sets the current layer
to that of a selected object.
LAYMRG
Merges selected layers
into a target layer, removing the previous layers from the drawing.
LAYOFF
Turns off the layer
of a selected object.
LAYON
Turns on all layers
in the drawing.
LAYTHW
Thaws all layers in
the drawing.
LAYUNISO
Restores all layers
that were hidden or locked with the LAYISO command.
LAYWALK
Displays objects on
selected layers and hides objects on all other layers.
System VariablesLAYERDLGMODE
Sets the flavor of the
Layer Properties Manager that is defined for the use of the LAYER
command.
LAYLOCKFADECTL
Controls the amount
of fading for objects on locked layers.
