
You will find that there are different properties available for each object type that you can also pre-set, depending on the kind of object that your custom tool is going to insert. Even if that Layer does not exist in the current drawing.įor extra control, right click over the tool in the tool palette, and choose ‘Properties’. A custom tool will be created that not only creates the Geometry or Annotation, but creates it on the right Layer.

Now simply drag and drop the object from the drawing onto the palette. Create your Geometry or Annotation on the correct Layer and save the drawing file (you could do this in your template file, before you save it as a DWT). To create a custom tool, first set up your standard Layers and Annotation styles. Tool palettes are often used as a Block management and insertion tool, but did you know that you can also create custom tools for Annotations or Geometry? But you can easily automate this task, to make sure that your Blocks, Annotations and Geometry end up on the right Layer, even if that Layer doesn’t exist in your drawing. Remembering to use the company Layering standard can be a chore. Tip : Start the ‘SetbyLayer’ command, and choose ‘Settings’ at the command prompt to pick individual properties to change. You can clean up the whole drawing at once, or pick out individual items. The SetbyLayer command strips out property overrides. If you receive a drawing that has a lot of property overrides, you can clean them up using the ‘SETBYLAYER’ command. If you want some of your geometry to plot differently, change the Layer it is on – don’t change its properties!Ĭhanging the individual properties of an object ‘Hard codes’ the property to that object, which means you can no longer change the plotting properties of geometry in your drawing globally. I recommend that you set up your plotting standards by Layer. Here is a good article on Wikipedia that will help you get started Set by Layer Once you have a standard you can begin to automate your processes. What matters is that you agree on a standard between you and that you stick with it. It doesn’t matter if you follow Bob’s preferred Layering standard or Bill’s.
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In terms of increasing your productivity, it doesn’t matter whether you follow the AIA or ISO Layering standards. If you don’t have Layering standards set up at your company, then I suggest that you get to work on it! If you work in an Architect’s office, I am sure that you already have standard Layers as part of your CAD standards. Your Layer control is now accessible no matter which Ribbon Tab you have current.īut this article is about the tools you can use Instead of using the Layer control – so let’s move on… Layering Standards

To do this, simply click over the Layer control and chose ‘Add to Quick Access Toolbar’. My quick tip here is to add the Layer control to the QAT (Quick Access Toolbar). One of the few problems I have with the Ribbon UI is that you need to switch to the ‘Home’ tab every time you want to change Layer. If you haven’t tried the AutoCAD ribbon yet, I highly recommend it – Give it a whirl.

In particular, I want to highlight a number of AutoCAD’s tools that will help you to speed up creating objects on the right Layer, without having to constantly reach up to the Layers pull down to change which Layer is current. In this post I want to concentrate on Layers. Using Polylines, Groups, Blocks, Xref’s and Layers will really help you to create and edit your geometry in an efficient fashion. If you are creating AutoCAD drawings which contain a lot of geometry, I highly recommend that you concentrate on keeping your geometry organised as you go along.
