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 July 2007

AutoCAD 2008 Layer Stunner

Although the improvements to annotation will long be recognized as the grandest leap in AutoCAD 2008 (see June 2007), I think the very simple (albeit much needed) improvements to the A2008 layering machine are the most stunning.

The most obvious new feature is the ability to specify layer property overrides… by viewport.

Instructions to Specify Viewport-Specific Color Overrides

1. Set a viewport to be current, then open the Layer Properties Manager and you will see several columns that are Viewport-specific.
2. Select all the layers (right-click, then click Select All).
3. In the VP Color column, click a color swatch, then click the color you want for all the layers in that viewport. Click OK to close the Select Color dialog box.
4. In the layer list, select the layer(s) you want to emphasize in that viewport. In this example, I'll emphasize the seating.

5. In the VP Color column for the layers you selected in Step 4, click the color swatch and select a color to emphasize the objects on that layer, then click OK to assign that color to the selected layers.

6. Click OK to close the Layer Properties Manager and in the current viewport, you will see the color assignments you made for those layers!

Q: If you decide against the assignment of an override in a viewport, how do you turn it off?

A: Select the layers for which you want to turn off the override, then right-click and click Remove Viewport Overrides ForSelected LayersIn Current Viewport Only (or In All Viewports).

Key Features in the A2008 Layer Properties Manager

The STATUS Column - The Status column has a new icon to indicate a layer that has an override assignment. A bluish icon indicates a layer containing objects; if the icon is gray, there are no objects on that layer.

Customize Layer Columns - Right-click on a column head to display the list of headers currently displayed in the Layer Property Manager. Toggle On/Off the ones you don't want to see. Click Customize to open the Customize Layer Columns dialog box where you can turn On/Off layers, as well as move them up or down in the list.

Tip: You can now drag column heads to another location… but being creatures of habit, I bet that doesn't last long. (In that case, they've provided us with the option on the shortcut menu to "Restore All Columns To Defaults".)

Layer Settings Dialog Box - At the bottom of the Layer Properties Manager is a button for Setting that opens the Layer Settings dialog box. In addition to the notification settings, you will find the feature that enables you to change the color used when indicating a layer with a viewport override.

Final Note on the A2008 Layer Features - The button to access the Layer States Manager is now on the Layers toolbar!

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