Layers are logical levels on which the elements of the model or drawing are created. Also they are a way of managing, tidying and also controlling the visual layout of a model/drawing.
 e-Learning Material:A friendly set of e-Tutorial videos on drafting has been created and is available on the Customer Care Corporate site (e-Learning home page), including the usage of layers. Take a look at the list of the available educational documents on drafting here: e-Learning: Drafting. Enjoy your lessons! |
A layer can be thought of as a large piece of transparent sheet of glass, as infinitely large as the Graphics Area in the think3 application. When drawing, everything is drawn on the default layer (named 0) which is set current. Only the objects you are drawing are visible on the layer, the layer itself can never be seen - it is invisible.
The objectives of layers are:
Layers can be thought of as being similar to the transparent sheets you may have used in overlay-drafting when creating technical drawings manually. In much the same way these sheets were used in manual drafting, layers are often used to separate parts that logically belong to different categories but still form an essential part of the whole object. For example, when creating a car engine, you might create the electrical and hydraulic systems on different layers.
In the think3 application, you can use up to 1024 layers (numbered 0–1023). The visibility of each layer can be toggled on and off. When the visibility of a layer is turned off, any elements on that are hidden from view, although they continue to form part of the model. As you work on a complex model/drawings, you may find it useful to turn off some of the layers so that the display is not quite so cluttered. Since you do not necessarily need to view some parts while working on others, turning off selected layers is an easy way to clear the screen of parts that you are not currently working on. For example, if you are modifying a part of the fuel injection system of an engine, you can turn off all the layers containing the electrical system and the engine itself, both to enable you to focus on the fuel injection system itself, and so that you do not accidentally make changes to one of the other systems.
In addition to toggling layers on and off, you must designate one layer as the current layer. When a layer is set as current, all new entities that you create are placed on that layer. After you create an entity, you can move it to any other layer. You can designate any layer as the current layer and change the active layer at any time. Only one layer can be active at a time.
When a turned off layer is set as current, the program warns you when you are about to do this, and offers to make the layer visible.
Each layer can also be identified with a text-based description, making it easier to find specific layers when your document contains a large number of layers.
| Using the Layers commands inside other command It is possible to use the Layers commands while another command is active. Suppose, for example, you have started the Parallel Line command: once you have selected the reference line, you can change the current layer so that it will be applied to the resulting parallel line, which will be drawn on the new Current Layer you chose. |