Using Layers to Arrange Elements - Intergraph Smart 3D - Reference Data

Intergraph Smart 3D 2D Symbols

Language
English
Product
Intergraph Smart 3D
Subproduct
2D Symbols
Search by Category
Reference Data
Smart 3D Version
12.1 (2019)
SmartSketch Version
10.0(2018)

Layers and display settings can help you group elements so that you can manipulate them more easily on a drawing sheet. Layers and display settings also make it easier to keep track of different types of elements. Each drawing sheet in a document can contain several layers.

When you draw an element, it is assigned to the active layer. To see which layer is active, or to change the active layer, you can use Layers on the Main toolbar.

Controlling the Display of Elements and Objects

After assigning an element or object to a layer, you can set display criteria to control the way items appear in a window by using Display Manager on the Tools menu. With this command, you can set display criteria for any sheet and its associated layers in the current document. The display settings can include the color or line type and line width of elements or objects.

If two windows are open for the same document, the display settings that you select with the Display Manager dialog box affect every window view of the drawing sheet.

Displaying Layers

To view elements on specific layers, you can turn on one or more layers by selecting Layers. When you turn layers off, you cannot see the elements assigned to the layers on the drawing sheet. For example, you can assign lines to one layer and closed elements to another layer. Then, if you turn off the layer for closed elements and turn on the layer for lines, you see only lines on the drawing sheet.

You can still see relationships between elements that are assigned to different layers on a drawing sheet. For example, suppose a line and a circle are tangent and they are assigned to different layers. If the line's layer is displayed and the circle's layer is hidden, you can still see the tangent relationship handle on the line. If the line's layer is hidden as well, the tangent relationship handle is hidden.

With Display Manager on the Tools menu, you can control the way elements appear on sheets or layers by changing settings, such as the line type or color. You can also create custom colors for the display.

Layers and Layer Groups

While layers provide a way to control the display of elements on a drawing sheet, layer groups give you another way to control the display of elements on drawing sheets. You can use Layer Groups on the Tools menu to define layer groups.

Creating New Layers

You can create new layers using Layer Groups, or by typing a new layer name on the ribbon. You cannot give the same name to two layers on the same drawing sheet.

Assigning Elements to Layers

Although you can assign an element to only one layer, you can change the layer to which an element is assigned. You can find out which layer an element is assigned to by selecting it and using Properties on the Edit menu.

See Also

Display Manager Command
Layers Command
Control the Display of Elements in a Window
Create a Layer
Change the Layer of an Element
Change the Name of a Layer or Layer Group