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Layers are a useful concept for organizing drawings. It is crucial to learn how to work with layers - it will save you a lot of time especially when drafting more complex constructions. This chapter will introduce you into the concepts of layers and show you how QCad lets you manage the layers of your drawing.
Every drawing contains at least one layer: layer '0'. This is the default layer that can never be removed. Additional layers can be created at any time they are required. Usually you will plan a drawing and create all necessary layers with the correct attributes before starting to draft. The number of layers for a QCad drawing is not limited but usually you will not need more than 10 layers. Note that every entity of your drawing is placed on exactly one layer. A layer can contain an unlimited number of entities.
A layer can be frozen to make all entities on it invisible. This way it is easily possible to temporarily hide all dimensions, texts or auxiliary constructions for a print out or to get a clearer overview of a complex drawing.
The current layer is the layer you are currently working on. It is highlighted in the layer list (see Figure 14). Newly created entities are always placed on the current layer.
Layers can be controlled from the layer menu or in the layer list which is usually shown at the right in the QCad application window (see Figure 14).
Figure
14: Layer list.
In Figure 14 the current layer is "construction". The eye icon at the left side of each layer name indicates whether the layer is currently visible or invisible (frozen). In this example, layer "auxiliary" is frozen, all other layers are visible. You can quickly show / hide layers by clicking on the eye icon.
The other icon beside the layer name is a symbol for a lock. In Figure 14, layer "hatches" is locked. Entities on locked layers cannot be selected and therefore cannot be modified or deleted. To quickly lock / unlock a layer, click on its lock icon.
The visibility of a layer can be changed by either right-clicking on it and choosing "Toggle Visibility" from the context menu (Figure 15) or by clicking its eye icon.
Figure
15: Context menu of the layer
list.
Toolbar (Layer List):
Menu:
Layer - Show all Layer - Hide all
Hotkey:
th*, fr*
The two buttons shown above can be used to show (defreeze) or hide (freeze) all layers at once. This can be useful when working with a drawing that has many layers. The same function is also available from the context menu.
Toolbar (Layer List):
Menu:
Layer - Add Layer
This command creates a new layer. The layer dialog is shown where you can specify the name for the new layer and adjust its attributes (Figure 16).
Figure
16: Dialog for creating new
layers.
Toolbar (Layer List):
Menu:
Layer - Remove Layer
You can delete the current layer with this command. Please note that all entities on that layer will be deleted as well. This command, unlike most other commands, cannot be undone. However, if entities have been deleted with the layer, they will reappear on layer '0' if the action is undone. Layer '0' can never be deleted.
Toolbar (Layer List):
Menu:
Layer - Edit Layer
With this command you can trigger the same dialog that you used to create new layers (Figure 16). Use this to change the layer name or attributes. The name of the layer '0' cannot be changed.
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