drawing "by block" not "by layer"

for some reason when i select a layer and draw a line (lets go with blue) it draws a white line, though in layer manager it says i'm drawing a blue line. when you click, then rt click the line, go to properties it says the line is drawn "by block" once i switch it to "by layer" the proper colors come up. I am altering a drawing so its easier for me to draw in a different color to see what i've done and what was already there. any help with this issue would be greatly appreciated. thank you in advance

Dr.Drake

Make sure that the colors pop-up list is visible (Properties toolbar) and select the current color as "By Layer" - seems that now the current color is "By Block".

Regards,

Mircea

Yes, it is. I may not have been clear before. What I'm saying is this: Once going into the properties menu and changing from "By Block" to "By Layer," it shows the color of the lines I had selected while in the menu. If I were to continue drawing, it would still draw the lines in "By Block." I am asking how to set it to stay in "By Layer." Sorry about the misinterpritation of my problem. Hope that cleared it up a bit.

Yes, it is.

This means that the current color is "By Block" or "By Layer"?

Also, are you talking about AutoCAD or Inventor? You listed Inventor in your Profile, but the thread is posted in AutoCAD area.

Regards,

Mircea

Then change it in the drop down list.

No, wait. I'll wait to see if you are in inventor, and if it has a properties toolbar.

I am working in AutoCAD right now but primarily use Inventor. I change the color from by block to by layer. it changes the linework that is selected but doesnt change the future linework for some reason.

Yes, it is. I may not have been clear before. What I'm saying is this: Once going into the properties menu and changing from "By Block" to "By Layer," it shows the color of the lines I had selected while in the menu. If I were to continue drawing, it would still draw the lines in "By Block." I am asking how to set it to stay in "By Layer." Sorry about the misinterpritation of my problem. Hope that cleared it up a bit.

The properties menu only changes the objects selected at the time. You have to have the "By Layer: set globally. In AutoCad, one way this is done is how msasu explained it above, but I'll leave it up to an inventor person to explain how.

I am working in AutoCAD right now

So, please paste this in AutoCAD's command line (presuming that you are using full version) and write back here what it return:

(getvar "CECOLOR")

Regards,

Mircea

so, i figured if i knew the shortcut to the properties menu, then i could pull it up without selecting anything (rightmouse is set to 'enter' when no objects are selected). i did this (ctrl+1) and it said nothing selected so i changed the color from "by block" to "by layer" and it seems to have fixed my problem...for now anyway.

That' true - when there are no selected entities, the properties poup-up lists show the current settings: Layer, Linetype and Color. Those are the properties that are applied to each new draw entity.

Another way to list / set those is by calling the system variables: CLAYER, CECOLOR and CLTYPE.

Regards,

Mircea

Thank you Mircea! I appreciate the help! Also, thank you Dana. Big Help!!!