LayersPanelOpen

New

Creates new layers with the generic name "NewLayer1". The new layer that is created copies the properties of the currently selected layer.

Delete

Deletes layers, except for the following, which cannot be deleted:

• 0
• Any layer with entities

Purge

Purges layers from the current drawing, except for the following ones, which cannot be purged:

• 0
• The current layer
• Any layer with entities

See the Purge command.

Settings

Displays the Layers Settings dialog box:

• Hide xref layers - when on, hides layers that came from externally-referenced drawings
• Apply layer filter to layer toolbar - when on, shortens the list of layers displayed, according to the conditions of the filter. When off, displays all layer names.
• Indicate layers in use - when on, displays icons in the Current column that indicate whether the layer has entities assigned to it; unused layers can be purged:

- Layer is not empty
- Layer is empty of entities

• Show row numbers - toggles the display of the number at the start of each row.

Toolbar Controls toggles the display of controls in the toolbar:

• Search Layers - toggles the display of the Search field on and off
• Layer States - toggles the display of the Layer States droplist
• Layer Filters - toggles the display of the Layer Filters droplist

OK - applies the changes and exit the dialog box

Cancel - exits the dialog box without applying the changes

Filters the names of layers to shorten longer lists of layers. As you type characters, the program displays the layer names containing the text.

Any layers containing the sequence of characters are listed, no matter where in the layer name the sequence is located. For example, entering "do" returns layers named DOOR and WINDOW.

Layer States Explorer

Displays the Layer States section of the Drawing Explorer. See the LayerState command.

Layer States Used

Lists the layer states available in the drawing. Choose one from the droplist. See the LayerState command.

Layer Explorer

Displays the Layer section of the Drawing Explorer. See the Layer command.

Filter Used

Displays the current layer filter, if any are defined in the current drawing. Click the down-arrow button to choose a different layer filter

The program creates the following layer filters automatically:

• All - the only layer filter that appears in all drawings, and displays all layers
• Viewport Overrides - you've overridden the properties of a viewport layer
• Xref - the drawing has externally referenced drawings attached
• 'xref name' - the name of each xref'ed drawing (note that layers from xref'ed drawings are prefixed automatically with the drawing's name)

Invert Filter

Inverts the content of current filter, so that the dialog box displays all layers not included in the filter.

For example, to see all layers not in an xref'ed drawing, choose the Xref filter, and then click Invert Filter.

Specifies the current working layer. Only one layer can be current at a time.

When the Indicate Layers In Use option is turned on, then these additional icons are displayed:

• - Layer is not empty
• - Layer is empty

In paper space layouts or viewports (model space with floating viewports), the following icons indicate that viewport overrides exist:

• - Viewport overrides exist and layer is current
• - Viewport overrides exist and layer is not empty
• - Viewport overrides exist and layer is empty

Layer Name

Specifies the name of the layer.

In long lists of layers, you can type a character to jump to the first layer starting with that character, such as 'd' for DOORS.

To sort the layer names from A to Z, click the Layer Name header; to reverse the order from Z to A, click the header a second time.

To rename a layer:

Description

(optional) Describes the content of the layer. Click the field, and then type.

On/Off

Toggles the selected layers between on and off. To change the status, select one or more layers, and then click a lightbulb icon:

• On - displays entities on the layer
• Off - hides entities from view; entities are included in the calculation of extents

Freeze

Toggles the selected layers between frozen and thawed. To change the status, select one or more layers, and then click a sun/snowflake icon:

• Thaw - displays entities on the layer
• Freeze - hides entities from view; entities are excluded in the calculation of extents, and are not exported with commands such as WBlock

Locked

Toggles the selected layers between locked and unlocked. To change the status, select one or more layers, and then click a padlock icon:

• Unlocked - allows entities to be edited
• Locked - prevents entities from being edited; entities are still visible

Color

Specifies the color of the layer. The default color is white (black). To change the color:

1. Choose one or more layers

2. Click a color square to display the Select Color dialog box; see Color command

3. Choose a color, and then click OK

Linetype

Specifies the linetype of selected layers. The default linetype is "Continuous." To change the linetype:

1. Choose one or more layers

2. Click a linetype sample

3. Choose one from the droplist

To load additional linetype definitions:

1. Click the Load option.

2. In the Load Linetypes dialog box, choose a linetype, and then click OK.

See Linetype command.

Lineweight

Specifies the linetype of selected layers. Default is "Default." To change the lineweight:

1. Choose one or more layers

2. Click the lineweight sample

3. From the droplist, choose another lineweight

See the LWeight command.

Transparency

Sets the transparency of entities on the selected layer(s) between 0 (fully opaque) and 90 (fully transparent); the default is 0. To change the transparency:

1. Choose one or more layers

2. Click the transparency number

3. From the droplist, choose another number

The 2DWireframe visual style ignores this setting; instead, use the TRANSPARENCYDISPLAY variable to control the level of transparency.

Plot Style

Specifies the plot style of selected layers, if plot styles are enabled in the current drawing. The default is "Color_7." To change the plot style"

1. Choose one or more layers

2. Click a plot style name

3. From the droplist, choose another style name

By default, plot styles are not enabled in drawings. To add plot styles to the drawing, see the PlotStyle command.

Plot

Toggles selected layers between being printed and not printed. To change the status, select one or more layers, and then click the printer icon:

• Print- prints the layer
• No Print - does not print the layer

Some layers created by the program also do not print by default, such as DefPoints.

New VP

Specifies whether the layer is visible (thawed) or invisible (frozen) when you make a new viewport (VP) in a layout tab. To change the status, select one or more layers, and then click a sun/snowflake icon:

• Thaw - displays entities on the layer in the new viewport
• Freeze - initially hides entities from view when the viewport is created

See the MView command.

Material

Specifies the material of selected layers. The default is material is name "Global." To change the material assigned to one or more layers:

1. Select one or more layers.

2. Click the Material field.

3. Click again to display the droplist, containing the materials available in the drawing.

4. Select a material in the list.

When you need to add more materials to the drawing, see the Materials command.

VP Freeze

Freezes the layer in the current layout; overrides the freeze/thaw setting in model space

Specifies the color of entities on this layer in the current layout; overrides the color setting in model space

Specifies the linetype for entities in the current layout; overrides the linetype setting in model space

Specifies the lightweight in the current layout; overrides the lightweight setting in model space

Specifies the transparency of entities on this layer in the current layout; overrides the transparency setting in model space

Specifies the plot style name in the current layout; overrides the plot style setting in model space