To start using layers click on Layers on the menu bar and then on Layer Management (fig. 1), or click directly on the toolbar command (fig. 2).
(fig. 1)
(fig. 2)
By default the elements inserted in the project are assigned to Layer 1. To create a new layer select the option Modify to be able to use all the available functions that otherwise remain deactivated (fig. 3).
(fig. 3)
Click on Options or make right click inside the window. From the drop-down menu click on New Layer (fig. 4) to add a new layer (fig. 5).
(fig. 4)
(fig. 5)
Select the new layer with a click and rename it as you wish. Alternatively, you can make right click and select Rename from the drop-down menu (fig. 6). If you are designing a flat, for example, you can create a layer to be assigned to any room or space to make designing faster and more comfortable. If you click on Current in the line of the selected layer, the elements you insert will be assigned to that layer (fig. 7).
(fig. 6)
(fig. 7)
The current layer is the active layer, therefore it can neither be hidden (Column “On”) nor frozen (Column “Freeze”). By clicking on the light bulb symbol in the column “On” it is possible to temporarily switch off a layer (except for the current layer), that is to say to hide elements previously assigned to that layer in real time (fig. 8.1 and 8.2).
(fig. 8.1)
(fig. 8.2)
By clicking on the sun symbol in the column “Freeze” it is possible to temporarily freeze a layer (except for the current layer), that is to say that all elements assigned to that layer in the project can be seen but they cannot be selected (fig. 9.1 and 9.2).
(fig. 9.1)
(fig. 9.2)
As already mentioned, the elements inserted in the project are automatically assigned to the current layer (that is the current layer in that moment). However, it is always possible to assign one or more elements to a certain layer: in plan or elevation view select the elements to be assigned, then select the layer clicking on Layer Management or on the toolbar command , in the end click on the option Assign Layer to selected (fig. 10).
(fig. 10)
Moreover, it is possible to create sublayers, namely secondary layers within one main layer . Click on Options or make right click on the selected layer, then click on New Sublayer from the drop-down menu that appears (fig. 11).
(fig. 11)
For example, you can create a main layer called Living zone and then within it 2 sublayers called Solution 1 and Solution 2 (fig. 12). This is useful when it comes to hiding/visualizing alternatively design variants of the same room.
(fig. 12)
Once you have created a sublayer, it is possible to change it and make it a main layer through the command Move Layer to root available clicking on Options or making right click on the selected layer (fig. 13 and 14).
(fig. 13)
(fig. 14)
If you would like to check to which layer an element has been assigned, just double click on the element to visualize “Element Properties” and the assigned layer. From the drop-down menu, it is also possible to assign the object to another layer (fig. 15). Alternatively, from the Layer Management you can click on the option Select Elements Layer that mark all elements that have been assigned to a certain layer and that can be selected automatically in the project (fig. 16).
(fig. 15)
(fig. 16)
Please note that when you insert constraints (electric sockets, plumbing, switches ), by default these are assigned to the layer “Constraints” that is automatically created by the program.