Michael’s Corner

Michael's Corner is a monthly publication written by Michael E. Beall, Autodesk Authorized Author and peripatetic AutoCAD trainer. Michael travels all over the USA, bringing his fantastic experience and great understanding of AutoCAD to his clients. Michael's Corner brings together many of the tips, tricks and methods developed during these training sessions for the benefit of all users.

Michael's Corner provides something for every AutoCAD user. Every month, a number of articles cover a wide range of topics, suitable for users at all levels, including "The Basics" for those just starting out. Essentially, the aim of Michael's Corner is to help all AutoCAD users work smarter and faster.

This month…

From the Vault

Originally published April 2005

Saving and Restoring Layer States

A named layer state is essentially a snapshot of the condition of all the layers of the current drawing at a specific point in time. You can save a layer state when all the layers are on, or when some are on and some are off, or when the layer colors are all set to Black (or White), or any number of arrangements. Here's how it works (depending upon your version).

Instructions to Save a Layer State

1. Open the Layer Properties Manager and do what you need to with the layers.

Tip: It's always a good idea to create a layer state of the "original" condition of a drawing when you receive it. Especially if you are just "looking around" among the layers and will need to return to that original condition.

2. In AutoCAD versions before A2005, click the Save State button. In A2005 and A2006, click the Layer States Manager button.
3. In A2005+, click the New button and enter a name. In all other versions, just enter the name in the text edit box.
4. Make sure all of the boxes are checked in the dialog box. All of 'em. Now click OK or Close. You have effectively captured the current layer condition and saved it by name. Cool.

To test your state, stay in the Layer Properties Manager and turn off half of the layers. Now restore the "original" layer state.

Instructions to Restore a Layer State

1. Open the Layer Properties Manager.
2. In AutoCAD versions before A2005, click the Restore State button. In A2005/A2006, click the Layer States Manager button.
3. In all versions, select the name of the layer state to restore, then click the Restore button.

This is great for drawings with lots of layers and you need to quickly switch to a condition where, for example, you need to see all the topographic lines and structures, but not the construction notes. Or if you had a large floor plan and wanted to switch between the layers for the electrical plan to all the layers for the furniture plan.

Also, please note that these layer states are by drawing only but in all versions, there is an import feature which enables you to create a .LAS file that can be imported in another drawing with a like layer collection.

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