LAYERS: CREATION, NAMING, PROPERTIES MANAGER IN DRAFTSIGHT

8.                  LAYERS: CREATION, NAMING, PROPERTIES MANAGER

Aim

To understand creating and naming layers and properties manager in DraftSight software.

Working with Layers

Working with Layers is analogous to drawing manually using Layers of see-through media.  Parts or portions - these might be functional portions, such as Construction Lines, of one complete drawing are drawn on different 'media' that, imposed on top of one another, form the entire drawing. Layers are useful in separating entities, such as parts or sub-assemblies, or structural components, such as pipe sizes or building materials. They also serve to separate elements such as Construction Lines, Centerlines, Outlines, and Dimensions, or items that are to be placed in a group, such as foliage in an architectural drawing. When you use Layers, you have a clearer construction of the drawing and better control over the drawing.

Layer 0: The Default Layer

The default Layer is called 0. It is automatically generated by DraftSight when a new drawing is created. This is your active Layer which is shown, un-suppressed and unlocked. The color 7 (white on a black background, or black on a white background)  and the Line Style Continuous are automatically established for this Layer.

Layer Properties

Each Layer has a Status, Name, Show, Frozen, Lock, LineColor, LineStyle, LineWeight, PrintStyle Print, and Description associated with it when it is created. Anything drawn on a Layer will be drawn with that Layer's properties. There are other Layer properties that allow you to switch between different states. These are Show/Hide, Frozen/UnFrozen, and Lock/Unlock. The Layer and its properties are saved with the drawing. Layer properties include:

Status: one Layer in each drawing is the active Layer. In the Layer Properties Manager this is indicated in the Status column. All new entities are placed on this Layer.

Name: each Layer has a distinctive name to identify it. Names can contain letters, numbers, or special characters like under scores and dollar signs.

Show/Hide: An advantage of working with Layers is that it aids in visualizing the part or drawing. We can improve the clarity of a drawing by choosing Layer properly and hiding drawing entities. The show icon indicates whether the Layer is shown or hidden. We can turn each Layer on or off independently.

Frozen: These properties control the visibility and the influence of entities within the Layer. A Frozen Layer is invisible and protected and thus impossible to change. A Frozen Layer is not included when you regenerate a drawing. When working with complex drawings, freezing unneeded Layers can increase performance. When you un-freeze a Layer, it becomes visible and you can make changes to it. We cannot suppress the active Layer of a drawing.

Lock/Unlock: You can lock Layers so the entities on the Layer cannot be changed. The locked state prevents unintentional modification. When a Layer is locked, we cannot change, add, or delete entities from the Layer. You must change the status to unlock if we want to work with the entities on this Layer. You can draw new entities on locked Layers, but it is not possible to work with them further. A locked Layer may be designated active, visible or invisible, or frozen or unfrozen.

LineColor: When we start a new drawing, new Layers are automatically assigned the LineColor white. When we create a new Layer, the Layer adopts the LineColor of the new Layer. Entities draw on the Layer appear in the assigned LineColor except those to which you assigned a LineColor with the LineColor command.

LineStyle: A default LineStyle is assigned to a Line. If you do not choose another LineStyle, the LineStyle Continuous is automatically assigned. The chosen LineStyle is displayed in the Properties Palette.

LineWeight: You can set the LineWeight of the entities on the Layer.  LineWeight affect the printed drawing only. The chosen LineWeight is displayed in the Properties Palette.

PrintStyle: You can assign individual PrintStyles to Layers. The chosen PrintStyle is displayed in the Properties Palette.

Print: You can turn Layers on or off for printing / plotting.

Description: We can enter a Layer description.

Manage Layers

Use the Layers Manager icon to create new Layers, designate active Layers, and set Layer properties.

Creating New Layers

We can create a new Layer any time.  For efficiency, it is recommended that plan the Layers to be used in advance and create them in a systematic manner. To create a new Layer using the Layers Manager, click the New Layer icon. Type a Layer name, or press Enter to accept the existing default Layer name.

Changing the Active Layer

To make a Layer active (current), select the Layer name from the Name cell, and then click Activate located at the top of the dialog box. Click OK from the pop-up box.

Renaming a Layer

To rename a Layer in the Layer Properties Manager, double-click the Name cell of the Layer you want to rename. Type the new name, then press Enter.