Beginning AutoCAD 2017. Cheryl R. Shrock

To access the following options you must use the Layer Properties Manager.

      You may also access the options listed on the previous page within this dialog box.

      To open the Layer Properties Manager use one of the following.

      Ribbon = Home tab / Layers panel /

       or

       Keyboard = LA <enter>

       HOW TO DELETE AN EXISTING LAYER

      1. Highlight the layer name to be deleted.

      2. Select the Delete Layer tool.

       or

      1. Highlight the layer name to be deleted.

      2. Right click and select Delete Layer

       PLOT or NOT PLOTTABLE

      This tool prevents a layer from plotting even though it is visible within the Drawing Area. A Not Plottable layer will not be displayed when using Plot Preview. If the Plot tool has a slash the layer will not plot.

       LAYER COLOR

      Color is not merely to make a pretty display on the screen. Layer colors can help define objects. For example, you may assign color Green for all doors. Then, at a glance, you could identify the door and the layer by their color.

      Here are some additional things to consider when selecting the colors for your layers.

      Consider how the colors will appear on the paper.

      (Pastels do not display well on white paper.)

      Consider how the colors will appear on the screen.

      (Yellow appears well on a black background but not on white.)

       How to change the color of a layer.

LINEWEIGHTS

      A Lineweight means “how heavy or thin is the object line”.

      It is “good drawing management” to establish a contrast in the lineweights of entities.

      In the example below the rectangle has a heavier lineweight than the dimensions. The contrast in lineweights makes it easier to distinguish between entities.

       LINEWEIGHT SETTINGS

      Lineweights are plotted with the exact width of the lineweight assigned.

      But you may adjust how they are displayed on the screen. (Refer to #4 below)

      IMPORTANT: Before assigning lineweights you should first select the Units for Listing and Adjust Display Scale as shown below.

      1. Select the Lineweight Settings box using one of the following:

       Keyboard = Iw <enter>

       or

      Status Bar = Left Click on the Lineweight button down arrow

      and then left click on Lineweight Settings.

       Note: These settings will be saved to the computer not the drawing and will remain until you change them. You may have to shut down AutoCAD then restart for the changes to take effect.

       ASSIGNING LINEWEIGHTS

      Note: Before assigning Lineweights to Layers make sure your Lineweight settings (Units for listing and Adjust Display scale) are correct. Refer to the previous page.

       ASSIGNING LINEWEIGHTS TO LAYERS

      1. Select the Layer Properties Manager using one of the following:

      Ribbon = Home tab / Layers panel /

       or

       Keyboard = LA <enter>

      2. Highlight a Layer (Click on the name)

      3. Click on the Lineweight for that layer.

      4. Scroll and select a Lineweight from the list.

      5. Select the OK button.

       Note:

      Lineweight selections will be saved within the current drawing and will not effect any other drawing. The images above show lineweight sizes for the inch-helper.dwt. Metric sizes will appear if you are using the metric-helper.dwt.

TRANSPARENCY

      Each layer may be assigned a transparency percentage from 0 to 90 percent. 0 would not be transparent at all and 90 would be 90% transparent.

       ASSIGNING TRANSPARENCY TO LAYERS

      1. Select the Layer Properties Manager using one of the following:

      Ribbon = Home tab / Layers panel /

       or

       Keyboard = LA <enter>

      2. Highlight a Layer (Click on the name)

      3. Click on the Lineweight for that layer.

      4. Scroll and select a Lineweight from the list.

      5. Select the OK button.

       Controlling Transparent display

      You may toggle the display of Transparent objects ON or OFF by selecting the Transparency button on the Status bar.

      Note: