Layers
Every line on the plan is on a layer, and the layer sets its colour, lineweight and linetype. Show or hide a layer, lock it, leave it off the print, and give it to a discipline: architectural, structural, interior, civil and site, or services.
Every property, and what it does
Open the Layers tab (LAYER, LA) and these are each layer's rows.
A layer
One row per layer in the Layers tab.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Active | The layer new drawing goes on. | One layer at a time |
| Show, Hide | Shows or hides everything on the layer. | On or off |
| Lock | A locked layer is seen but cannot be selected or changed. | On or off |
| Whether the layer goes on paper. | Print, Skip print | |
| Name | What the layer is called; click to rename it. | Any name |
| Colour | The colour of everything on the layer drawn By layer. | Red, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Magenta, greys, or any colour |
| Weight | The pen width of everything on the layer drawn By layer. | Default, or 0.05 to 2.11 mm |
| Linetype | Solid, dashed or chained. | Continuous, Dashed, Hidden, Center, Dot, Phantom |
| Trade | The discipline that owns the layer. | Architectural, Structural, Interior, Civil and site, Services, Unassigned |
| Delete layer | Removes the layer. The only layer cannot be deleted. | One click |
By layer
What a drawn line takes from its layer.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Colour, Lineweight, Linetype | Each line draws with its layer's pen unless it is given its own. | By layer, or its own |
| Own layers | Gridlines, beams and braces go on layer S, the structure's own, made the first time one is drawn. | Made for you |
How layers work
Open the Layers tab
In the side panel, or type LAYER (LA).
Add a layer
Give it a name, a colour, a weight and a linetype, and the trade it belongs to.
Make it active
New lines go on the active layer and draw with its pen.
Show, lock or skip
Hide a layer to work without it, lock it to keep it safe, skip it on the print.
Layer questions, answered.
Do my layers come out in DXF and DWG?
Yes. Layers go out with their names, colours, lineweights and linetypes, and imported files keep theirs.
What are trades for?
Each layer belongs to a discipline, so a project's architectural, structural, interior, site and services drawing can be shown, hidden and owned apart.
Read on
- Draw Tools: Lines, arcs, circles and hatches.
- Import and Export: DXF, DWG, SVG and PDF.
- Drafting tools docs: Every drafting command and its alias.