AutoCAD Platform Customization. Ambrosius Lee

have the option to turn the layer off or to freeze it in the current viewport when using layiso in a floating viewport. Click OK (Windows).

      • At the command prompt, enter layiso and press Enter. Use the Settings option and specify the mode to use (Windows and Mac OS).

      Evaluating and Reconciling New Layers

It is not uncommon to need a new layer here and there that deviates from your company's CAD standards, but new layers can affect the way a drawing is plotted or printed based on how that layer was defined. AutoCAD on Windows and Mac OS has a feature known as New Layer Notification, but it works slightly differently on the two platforms. On Windows, when the New Layer Notification feature is enabled and a new layer has been added to a drawing, a notification balloon (see Figure 2.8) is displayed, and a new layer filter named Unreconciled New Layers is created in the Layer Properties Manager. By default, the notification of new layers happens when an external reference is being attached, when a drawing is opened, when an xref is attached/reloaded, and when a layer state is restored.

Figure 2.8 Unreconciled layer notification balloon

      On Mac OS, the feature is disabled out-of-the-box, so it must first be enabled. The notification balloon is not available on Mac OS, but the Unreconciled New Layers filter is created in the Layers palette when the feature is enabled and the correct conditions are met.

      You can modify the settings of the New Layer Notification feature from the Layer Settings dialog box (see Figure 2.7) in AutoCAD on Windows, or with the following system variables on both Windows and Mac OS:

      layereval Controls whether the layers in a drawing should be evaluated only when an xref is attached, or when a new layer is created in addition to when an xref is attached.

      layerevalctl Disables or enables the New Layer Notification feature.

      layernotify Specifies which drawing editor events display an alert message when layerevalctl is set to 1.

      To reconcile a layer in AutoCAD on Windows, you need to perform the following steps:

      1. On the ribbon, click Home tab ➢ Layers panel ➢ Layer Properties.

      2. On the Layer Properties Manager, select the Unreconciled New Layers filter from the Filter Tree located on the left side. (If the Filter Tree is not displayed, right-click in the Layers list and click Show Filter Tree.)

      3. In the Layers list, select the layers you want to reconcile and then right-click. Click Reconcile Layer.

      4. Save the drawing. If saving a drawing is one of the events that triggers the Unreconciled New Layers notification, the balloon will be displayed each time a drawing is saved if you do not reconcile (or remove) all of the offending layers from the drawing.

      Reconciling a layer in AutoCAD for Mac OS requires actions similar to those used on Windows. You can reconcile a layer on Mac OS using the following procedure:

      1. Click Format menu ➢ Layers.

      2. In the Layers palette, expand the Unreconciled New Layers filter from the Layers list. If the filter is not displayed, click Display Settings in the lower-right corner of the Layers palette and click Show Layer Groups; the option should now be checked. To make sure Unreconciled Layers is also checked, click Display Settings ➢ Show Automatic Groups ➢ Unreconciled Layers.

      3. In the Layers list, select the layers you want to reconcile and right-click. Click Reconcile Layer.

      4. Save the drawing.

      For more information on the New Layer Notifications feature and reconciling layers, see the AutoCAD Help system.

      Controlling the Layer Properties Manager and Ribbon Controls (Windows Only)

      There are several settings that you can use to alter your experience with the Layer Properties Manager and the Layer list on the ribbon. These settings can be found under the Dialog Settings section of the Layer Settings dialog box (see Figure 2.7). The settings that can be changed:

      Apply Layer Filter To Layer Toolbar (or Layer Drop-Down List on the Ribbon) This option aligns the list of layers displayed in the Layer Properties Manager with the Layer control on the Layer toolbar or Layers panel of the ribbon. This is helpful when working with drawings that contain hundreds of layers.

      Indicate Layers In Use Use this option to control whether the icon in the Status column is updated to reflect if at least one object is placed on that layer in the drawing. This option can also be controlled with the showlayerusage system variable.

      Viewport Override Background Color This option enables the highlighting of layers with viewport overrides in the Layers list of the Layer Properties Manager, or those in the Layer drop-down list on the Layer toolbar or Layers panel of the ribbon.

      In addition to the settings under the Dialog Settings section of the Layer Settings dialog box, you can right-click the Layers list of the Layer Properties Manager to control the display of the Filter Tree and whether filters appear in the Layers list. You can also right-click a column heading in the Layers list to control which columns are displayed, or click and drag a column heading to reorder the columns. Clicking and dragging between columns adjusts the width of the column to the left.

      Controlling the Layers Palette (Mac OS Only)

      The Layers palette in AutoCAD for Mac doesn't have as many settings that control its behavior as the Layer Properties Manager in AutoCAD on Windows, but there are a few settings that can improve your experience. These settings are available from the Settings menu, which you can display by clicking the Display Settings button located in the lower-right corner of the Layers palette. These settings are available on the Settings menu:

      Show Layer Groups This option controls the display of layer groups within the Layers list. You can also control where the layer groups are displayed: at the top or bottom of the Layers list.

      Show Empty Groups Use Show Empty Groups to display or hide layer groups that do not have any layers in them.

      Show Xref Layers This option controls the display of layers from attached xrefs in the Layers list.

      Show Automatic Groups Show Automatic Groups controls the display of auto-generated layer groups based on specific criteria: all used layers, attached external references, layers with viewport overrides, and unreconciled layers.

      View Options This option controls which columns are displayed in the Layers list.

      You can also right-click a column heading to control which columns are displayed, or click and drag a column heading to reorder the columns. Clicking and dragging between columns adjusts the width of the column to the left.

      Grouping and Filtering Layers

      Filters in the Layer Properties Manager (Windows) or Layers palette (Mac OS) allow you work with groupings of layers much like you would an individual layer. AutoCAD creates a few layer filters dynamically based on events that happen in the drawing window, such as attaching an xref or creating a viewport override on a layer. You can also create one of two types of layer filters based on your own conditions:

      Group Filter Using a group filter, you can create a static grouping of layers that are manually selected.

      Dynamic or Property Filter Using a dynamic or property filter, you can create a grouping of layers defined by the properties they have in common.

      You can create a group filter and add layers to it by taking the following steps:

      1. Do one of the following:

      • On the Layer Properties Manager, click New Group Filter (Windows).

      • On the Layers palette, click New Layer Group (Mac