Layer Manager

The Layer Manager does just what is says, it lets you manage your layers such as making them visible/invisible, locked/unlocked etc.

For explanation on what layers are, click here.

For help with managing layers for specific Views, click here. 

Using the Layer Manager 

1

On the HOME menu, click the 'Layers' button and then 'Layer Manager'. 

2

The Layer Manager dialog box will now appear as shown below. See below for an explanation of each option available.

Name:

This column lists all of the layer names. To edit a layer name, click on the name and a cursor will appear for you to start editing. You can also click on the Edit Selected button.

Colour:

This column sets the colour of the layer, which means that any entities on this layer are set to this colour.

NOTE: The entities on this layer must be set to Colour by LAYER for them to show as the layer colour. For help on this click here.

Style:

This column sets the Line Style of the layer, which means that any entities on this layer are set to this Line Style.

NOTE: The entities on this layer must be set to Style by LAYER for them to show as the layer colour. For help on this click here.

Light Bulb:

This column of tick boxes sets whether the entities on a layer are visible/invisible on your screen. If the layer is ticked then the entities on that layer are visible on-screen, if it is unticked then entities will be invisible on-screen.

Padlock:

This column of tick boxes sets whether the entities on a layer are locked/unlocked. If the layer is ticked then the entities on that layer are locked, meaning that you will not be able to select those entities, if it is unticked then entities will be unlocked and selectable.

Plot (printer icon):

This column of tick boxes sets whether the entities on a layer will be printable or exportable. This option is very useful when you need to see entities on-screen all the time but do not want those entities to print/export. An example of this could be a Notes layer where you have particular notes always on-screen but they should not be printed/exported.

Note: If the the Light Bulb option is UNticked and the Print option is Ticked then the Light Bulb column overrides the Print option, meaning that the entities on that layer will not print/export even though print is ticked.

Add Button:

Click this button to Add a new layer.

Click here for help with Creating a New Layer

Select All:

Click this button to select all of the layers.

Edit Selected:

Click this button to edit a selected layer(s). The following box appears:

Name : This is the Layer Name, it must be unique. If you hover over the 'i' icon next to the name, this will tell you what entities are on that layer.

Group : Select or type a group name to group this with other layers.

Colour : Select the colour for the layer. This will change the colour of the entities on this layer unless those entities colours have been explicitly changed.

Style : Select the line style for the layer. This will only change the appearance of entities that contain lines, circles or arcs such as stand outlines.

Visible : Set the layer visibility. Whether this layer is shown on-screen or not.

Locked : Set the layer locking. If locked, all entities on this layer cannot be selected.

Plot : Set the plot option. When ticked, any entities on this layer will be printable and exportable UNLESS the layer is also set to not Visible. Use this option when things need to be shown on-screen but not printable/exportable, such as adding notes for yourself.

Delete Selected:

Click this button to delete a selected layer(s). Layers that are not empty cannot be deleted.

Purge Unused:

Click this button to remove any layers that are empty and not in use.

Find:

Click this button to find a layer. This is particularly useful when you have a large amount of layers.

Use Alias:

When this option is ticked an additional column is shown in the layer list (shown below). In this list you can add a user friendly name instead of re-naming the layer name itself. The reason you may want to do this is if you have received a drawing from the venue that has layers which are not in your language for example. Not only this but some venues require that you do no rename their layers.

Use Groups:

When this option is selected it groups all of the layers into their set groups. The group name is set using the Edit button as described above. Once the layers are grouped it can make finding and editing mutiple layers much easier and faster.

The Plus and Minus buttons below the Use Groups option expand and collapse the groups.

Current Layer:

This is the layer that is currently active, meaning that anything you draw will be created on this layer. To change the current layer, select one from the list and click the Set Current button.

Once you have finished managing your layers, click the OK button.