What a layer is
A transparent film to lay your objects on. Put walls on the wall layer and dimensions on the dimension layer, and you can show, hide or recolour them all at once.
LA / the Layer panel
Type LA → Enter (it opens from the ribbon as well).
- Click a row = it becomes the current layer (the sheet the objects you draw next will sit on).
- The eye = show or hide (the current layer cannot be hidden).
- The padlock = lock (a guard that prevents both selecting and editing).
- Colour = click for the colour shelf. Linetype = click for the linetype shelf.
- Weight = the line weight in mm (the screen is honest about zoom; on paper these are true millimetres).
- + = a new layer. Type the name into the field within the panel and press Enter (renaming works the same way — the name's place turns into the field). Esc = give up. Clicking outside the field means “accept”.
- Double-clicking a name also opens the renaming field = the same habit as correcting text by double-clicking it. 改名 (Rename) is still there too, so use whichever is easier to reach.
- × = delete. Empty or carrying objects, it always asks once. Layer 0 and the current layer cannot be deleted (the same rule as the original).
The three layer commands
- LAYCUR = move the selected objects to the current layer.
- LAYMCUR = make the selected object's layer current (the object does not move; your own footing moves instead). It is the shortest way to “I want to draw more on the same layer as this wall”.
- SETBYLAYER = strip off individual colour and linetype tags and let the layer decide. It is the cure for “I changed the layer colour and nothing happened”.
All three are in the right-click menu.
Linetypes
- LT DASHED = change the linetype of the current layer. LT ? = what is available.
- LTS 10 = the dash spacing (the multiplier). LTS 自動 (auto) = keep the pitch on paper true to the scale, and leave it to us.
- The 【破線】 (dashed) field on the Linetype / Dimension / Text bar (under the ribbon) takes the same figure on the spot (◀▶ = half and double; 自動 = paper-based. It says how many mm that is on paper, at the top right).
- LTDEF 名前 12,-3,0,-3 = register a linetype of your own (+ = draw, − = rest, 0 = a dot; this example is a chain line). Your own linetypes are kept in the settings store and appear on the shelf of every drawing.