Layer

Layer

Layers are comparable to transparent sheets. Each sheet can contain lines, dimension chains, texts, etc. (i.e., plan elements). When all sheets are stacked, all plan elements are visible. However, individual sheets can be removed at any time. The plan elements of those sheets are then no longer visible, although they remain part of the plan. In the CAD field, the term 'layer' has become established for these 'sheets'.

The layers have the following properties:

• Every plan element must belong to a layer. Therefore, the Standard layer is always created and preselected automatically. However, any number of custom layers can be created. For this reason, at least one layer must always exist.

• A plan element can belong to exactly one layer. Only in this way is the assignment of properties such as 'line type', 'line weight', and 'color set' (see below) unambiguous.

• If a layer has been assigned plan elements, that layer can be deleted, but the associated plan elements are also deleted. For this reason, there is a confirmation prompt when deleting to verify whether the layer should really be deleted.

• Layers can be turned on and off. The elements of a turned-off layer are not visible on the screen and are not printed.

• One of the layers is always the 'current' layer. All newly created elements then belong to that layer. The current layer can be set both in the layer dialog box (button 'A') and in the drop-down list in the icon bar. The current layer is always displayed there.

• A layer always consists of a name and settings for line type, line weight, and color set. Individual plan elements (lines, texts, dimension chains, etc.) can have their own color set or inherit the layer's color set. If they inherit the layer's color set (Color set = FROM LAYER), this has the advantage that changing the color set at the layer automatically changes the color set of all plan elements on that layer. Plan elements that belong to the same layer but have their own color set (e.g., color set = red) do not change; they retain their color set.

The same applies to line type and line weight. This makes it possible to change the line weight of all elements of a layer at once. Individual elements can still have their own line weight if the option 'FROM LAYER' is not selected for them.

• Each view window has its own layers. Thus, you can turn off a layer in one view window if, for example, you do not want to see the dimension chains there. In another view window the same layer (with the same name) can remain turned on because the dimension chains should remain visible there. Therefore, you may need to select the desired view window with the function 'Window -- Current' before making settings.

As soon as a layer is turned off in the layer dialog box (button 'E' is not checked), the elements that belong to that layer are turned off. You see the effect immediately on the screen without having to close the dialog box. Additionally, you can enable the preview. As soon as you click a layer name in the dialog box, the corresponding elements are highlighted in magenta.

With the 'Add Element' button you can add one or more plan elements to the selected layer. Since plan elements always belong to exactly one layer, the assignment to the old layer is automatically removed and the elements are assigned to the new layer.

All selection functions are available for selecting drawing elements (lines, dimension chains, texts, etc.).

The 'Clean Layers' button deletes all layers that contain no plan objects. This allows a long list of layers to be cleaned up at the push of a button and empty layers to disappear.

Layers can be sorted alphabetically at the push of a button, or you can manually move the selected layer to any position using the arrow buttons.

Save and Manage Layers

As in almost all other dialog boxes of the system, there is the option to save the layer list. For this purpose there is a row above the list with a drop-down list and the usual save icon to its right. As soon as you click this floppy-disk icon, you can enter a name and the current layer list will be saved under that name. Using the manage icon to the right, you can delete saved lists or change the order in which the lists are displayed in the drop-down. Additionally, you can assign the lists to a group. This group only helps to keep the list of layer lists more organized and has nothing to do with the layer groups that are explained in the next chapter.

As soon as you select a setting in the drop-down, you are given the option to trigger various actions via three buttons. The buttons are labeled in such a way that their functions should be understandable. It is important to note that selecting a different layer list can delete existing layers. The program prevents this only if a layer still contains objects. Those layers cannot be deleted and the program indicates this with a message.