{"id":4808,"date":"2016-08-23T06:00:27","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com/blogs\/autocad\/?p=4808"},"modified":"2020-04-07T14:49:13","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T21:49:13","slug":"autocad-layer-groups-tuesday-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com/blogs\/autocad\/autocad-layer-groups-tuesday-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"AutoCAD Layer Groups \u2014 Living in Layers: Tuesday Tips with Dieter"},"content":{"rendered":"

One can only imagine whether Lynn\u2019s vacationing in Vancouver, rollicking in Rio, or lounging in Lucerne. In any case, I\u2019ll take this opportunity to share some more tips with you.<\/p>\n

The AutoCAD engineering team every so often hears that, to save list space, AutoCAD layer names should be expandable into layer subsets. There\u2019s merit to the suggestion. But you\u2019ve already got AutoCAD layer groups\u2014a more powerful, often-overlooked feature for managing large numbers of layers.<\/p>\n

After you create your layers, you can create layer groups based on function. For example, a layer group might include all the interior furniture layers for a single floor of a multi-story building, or all the layers for the pipeline supports in a specific location.<\/p>\n

Creating AutoCAD layer groups is easy. Here\u2019s how they work.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say I have the following layers defined:<\/p>\n

\"AutoCAD<\/a><\/p>\n

To create a layer group, I click this button \u2026<\/p>\n

\"AutoCAD<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AutoCAD<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026 and name the layer group \u201cOdd.\u201d Next, I\u2019ll repeat the action but name this layer group \u201cLow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AutoCAD<\/a><\/p>\n

Both layer groups are empty, so click All to display them. For Low, I click layer 0, press Shift, and then click Layer2. I drag these layers to group Low.<\/p>\n

\"AutoCAD<\/a><\/p>\n

Next, I click Layer1, press CTRL and then click Layer3 and Layer 5, and drag them into layer group Odd.<\/p>\n

\"AutoCAD<\/a><\/p>\n

Now when I click layer group Odd, it displays only those layers in the Layer Properties Manager list, and in the drop-down layer list (including the current layer).<\/p>\n

\"AutoCAD<\/a><\/p>\n

Limiting what\u2019s displayed in the drop-down layer list is a real timesaver when working with complex drawings that have more than 30 layers. It eliminates a lot of scrolling and squinting.<\/p>\n

I can right-click the current layer group to change one of the properties of all the layers in that group. For example, I can lock all the layers in the Odd layer group:<\/p>\n

\"AutoCAD<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, click the Invert Filter checkbox to list all layers except<\/em> the ones in the selected layer group.<\/p>\n

Pretty powerful, if you ask me.<\/p>\n

But wait, there\u2019s more!<\/p>\n

Bonus tip! Nested AutoCAD Layer Groups<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Did you know that you can create nested layer groups? In the example below, I right-clicked the layer group 03 Utilities and created a layer subgroup 1 Electrical. I\u2019m getting ready to create a sub-subgroup under 1 Electrical, perhaps for an alarm system, and so on.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"AutoCAD<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to remember that layers can belong to any number of layer groups. You can create and delete layer groups with impunity\u2014they will never affect the layers themselves. This also means you can add a system of layer groups to existing drawings.<\/p>\n

So any time you find yourself wrestling with a lot of layers, let layer groups come to the rescue!<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Layer group names do not sort into any order. When you create a new group, it inserts itself at the letter G (actually, Group Filter1), which is usually not what you want. So, to ensure new layer groups are always added to the end<\/em> of the list, trust me on this: Name your groups starting with a numeral.<\/p>\n

Bonus tip 2! Absolute control of Layer Order<\/h2>\n

When I create models and illustrations for the Help system or for my home projects, I don\u2019t use nearly as many layers as most of you do\u2014but I am definitely picky about the order of the layers. Here\u2019s the general scheme that I use:<\/p>\n