Layers Tool

Description

Display and manage layers and layer groups.

Access

Home / Tools / Layers

Controls

Control	Description
	Manage the visibility and the locked status of the selected layers. All On - Turn all layers on, including layers that are not displayed in the list. On - Turn selected layers on. Off - Turn selected layers off. Invert Visibility - Toggle the visibility of selected layers. Lock - Lock selected layers. Unlock - Unlock selected layers. Plot - Include objects from the layer when printing or plotting. Don't Plot - Exclude objects from the layer when printing or plotting.
	Manage layers. New - Create a new layer. See Create or Edit a Layer. Edit - Edit the attributes of the selected layer. See Create or Edit a Layer. Delete - Delete the selected layers. All objects on the deleted layers will be deleted. Locked layers cannot be deleted. Prefix/Suffix - Edit the layer name by inserting or removing a prefix or suffix. All selected layers are renamed. See Add or remove a layer name prefix or suffix. Template - Click to select a layer to be used as the basis for all newly created layers.
	Manage layer groups. New - Create a new layer group. Edit - Edit the selected layer group's general attributes or the layers in the group. Delete - Delete the layer group. Layers belonging to the group and objects in these layers will not be deleted. Isolate - Turn on visibility for all layers in the selected group and turn off visibility for all other layers. Auto Isolate - Automatically turn on visibility for all layers in the selected group and turn off visibility for all other layers.
	Selects objects of a specific type or source that reside on the selected layers. Select one of the following object types from the list: All - Select all objects on the selected layers Points - Select all points on the selected layers Lines - Select all lines on the selected layers. Polygons - Select all polygons on the selected layers. Shapes - Select all shapes on the selected layer. Text - Select all text on the selected layers. Images - Select all images on the selected layers. Tables - Select all tables on the selected layers. Table References - Select all table references on the selected layers. Terrain Models - Select all terrain models on the selected layers. Alignments - Select all images on the selected layers. Source - Select all objects on the selected layers originating from the selected source. To select specific object types on all visible layers, see Select All Objects
	Do one of the following: Click to move the drawing order of a selected layer up one place. Press and hold Shift then click to move the drawing order of a selected layer to the first position.
	Do one of the following: Click to move the drawing order of a selected layer down one place. Press and hold Shift then click to move the drawing order of a selected layer to the last position.
Filter	Use this to: Restrict the layers displayed in the list. Select a layer group to edit. Control the visibility of all layers with Auto Isolate. Select an item from the Filter list: < All Layers > - All layers used by the project. < Ungrouped Layers > - Layers that do not belong to a layer group. < Used Layers > - Layers that do contain data. < Unused Layers > - Layers that do not contain any data. < All Local File Layers > - Layers defined in the current project. < All Reference File Layers > - Layers defined in the reference file. Data on these layers is not editable. < Block Definition Layers > - Layers that contain objects used in block definitions. < Drawing Template Layers > - Layers that contain objects or viewports in drawing templates. < Drawing Layers > - Layers that contain objects or viewports in drawings. < Current View Layers > - Layers that contain objects in the active drawing or model. < Model Layers > - Layers that contain objects in the model. Local Layer Group Name - Layer group defined in the current project. Reference File Layer Group Name \| Reference File Name - Layer group defined in reference file.

List Columns

Column	Description
	Click to select a layer. Use the Ctrl key to select multiple layers. Double click to edit the properties of a layer. Click to select all layers in the list. Right click to access the shortcut menu: On - Turn selected layers on. Off - Turn selected layers off. Invert Visibility - Toggle the visibility of selected layers. Lock - Lock the selected layers. Unlock - Unlock the selected layers. Plot - Include objects on the selected layers when printing or plotting. Don't Plot - Exclude objects on the selected layers when printing or plotting. Activate - Make the selected layer active. Edit - Edit the properties of the selected layer. Select All (Ctrl A) - Select all layers. Select None (Ctrl D) - Deselect all layers.
Active	- Indicates the layer is the active layer. Select the box to make the layer active. Click the Active column header to group the active and inactive layers in the list.
Visible	- Indicates the layer is visible. Click to make the layer invisible. - Indicates the layer is invisible. Click to make the layer visible. Click the Visible column header to group the visible and invisible layers in the list.
Lock	- Indicates the layer is unlocked. Click to make the layer locked. - Indicates the layer is locked. Click to make the layer unlocked. Click the Lock column header to group the locked and unlocked layers in the list.
Plot	- Indicates the layers objects will be plotted. Click to exclude the layers objects when plotting. - Indicates the layers objects will not be plotted. Click to include the layers objects when plotting. Click the Plot column header to group the layers whose objects will be plotted in the list.
Name	Click in a Name cell then edit the name of the layer. Click the Name column header to order the layers list alphanumerically by name.
Description	Click in a Description cell then enter a description for the layer. Click the Description column header to order the layer list alphanumerically by description.
Draw Order	Click the Drawing Order header to order the layer list by drawing order.

Notes

Newly created objects are placed on the active layer.
Imported objects are placed on the active layer if the objects layer is not specified in the imported file or lookup tables.
Copied objects are placed on the same layer as the original object.
Only objects on visible layers can be selected.
Objects on locked layers can be selected, viewed and examined, but not deleted or edited.
The value of a text object on a locked layer may change if the geometry of the object it is linked to changes.
To add a layer to a group, edit the layer then select the group name from the Group tab.
Use filters to reduce the number of layers listed.
The < All Layers >, < Used Layers > and < Unused Layers > filters includes reference file layers, layers containing objects in block definitions and layers containing objects or viewports in drawing templates.
The < Model Layers >, < Drawing Layers > and < Drawing Template Layers > filters excludes layers containing objects in block definitions.
You cannot edit a reference file's layer, layer group or draw order.
You cannot make a layer from a reference file the active layer.
A reference files layer name is in the form Reference file name | Layer name.
Auto Isolate updates the visibility of each layer whenever a layer group is edited or selected in the Filter list.
A viewport can have its own unique:
- set of visible layers.
- layer display settings for objects.
When a viewport is being edited, only some of the layer options are available.
Ensure the Plot control for the viewports layer is set to to plot the viewport and it's objects.

Possible errors

Message	Description	Action
The layers being deleted contain objects in the following locations. Continuing will delete objects from the above locations. Do you want to continue?	The layer you are deleting contains objects. OR Unselectable objects that are contained in the project may be linked with a layer. For example, objects included in a block definition or a drawing template. The locations where the objects are used is listed.	Select Yes to continue to delete the layer. Objects linked to the layer will be deleted from block definitions, block instances and Cad templates. Select No, to retain the layer.