ellen finkelstein logo

Ellen Finkelstein.com
AutoCAD PowerPoint About Links
       

Over 130 AutoCAD tips and tutorials!

AutoCAD Tips
AutoCAD Tips Blog

Get free tips!
Sign up for our monthly tips newsletter. Free, bonus e-booklet!


RSS: What is it? Why do I want it? How do I get it?

Add to My Yahoo!
Subscribe with Bloglines

Buy a Book

E-mail This Page 
to a Friend

Submit a tip! If you include your name and I post your tip, I'll give you credit.

AutoCAD Tips & Tutorials

Manage layers with LAYWALK

Do you need to know which objects are on which layers? Count your layers? Hide objects on other layers? Layer Walk (the LAYWALK) command does all this and more. It was once part of Express Tools, but has become part of core AutoCAD.

Layer Walk is quite a powerhouse and pulls together capabilities from several other commands into one dialog box. You can access it by choosing Format> Layers> Layer Walk. In AutoCAD 2009, go to Home tab> Layers panel (expanded)> Layer Walk. Of course, you can just type laywalk. The LayerWalk dialog box opens.

As you can see, you get an immediate list of all of your layers, plus a layer count.

In the text box/drop-down list at the top, you can enter a wildcard and press Enter to filter the layer list. If you have saved filters, you can choose one from the drop-down list.

By entering t*, I can display only layers starting with the letter "t." I can easily display all of the layers again, by unchecking the Filter check box to the right.

The best feature is that you can click any layer on the list to display only objects on that layer, hiding everything else. For example, I can easily click the 0 layer and make sure that nothing is on that layer, if my CAD standards say nothing should be on layer 0. Here you see the hatch layer selected, so only the hatches appear. You can select multiple layers using the usual techniques of Ctrl+click to select additional individual layers, or click, then Shift+click to select contiguous groups of layers.

With any layer or layers selected, you can right-click in the dialog box and choose Invert Selection to display the other layers and hide the selected layers.

If you select a layer that has no objects on it, you can click the Purge button to purge the layer.

Right-click and choose Inspect to display the Inspect dialog box, which shows you the total layers in the drawing, the selected layers, and the objects on those layers.

By default, the Restore on Exit check box is checked, which returns you to your previous display when you close the dialog box. However, you can uncheck that check box to turn off undisplayed layers after you close.

All-in-all, a nice multi-purpose tool for managing your layers.

 

 

Back to main tips menu for more tips

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape


Books by Ellen

New!
AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD LT 2009 Bible

This is the 9th edition of this book! Completely updated to conform to the new interface and, of course, it covers all the new features, such as the ribbon, Quick View, ShowMotion, the View Cube, the SteeringWheel, and more.

AutoCAD 2008 and AutoCAD LT 2008 Bible
Learn the great new features with wide application to all disciplines. Get the most comprehensive book on AutoCAD! DVD contains a 30-day trial of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. Thorough exercises guide you through each feature.

AutoCAD 2007 and AutoCAD LT 2007 Bible 
Discover the 2007 features, especially the radically improved 3D tools. CD has AutoCAD 30-day trial, 3rd-party software, and drawings for exercises.

AutoCAD 2006 and AutoCAD LT 2006 Bible 
Understand and use the 2006 features, including dynamic blocks and the new method of customizing menus and toolbars. CD-ROM has AutoCAD trial, software, and drawings for all exercises.


AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 Bible
Fully explains latest 2005 features:  tables, fields, and sheet sets. For the first time, covers AutoCAD LT! CD-ROM comes with software and drawings for all exercises.


AutoCAD 2004 Bible

Covers all features in detail. Hands-on exercises. Over 1300 pages + CD-ROM with software and drawings for all exercises.

                                  Home  |  AutoCAD  |  PowerPoint  | E-StoreAbout  | Links | Contact | Site Map
Copyright Ellen Finkelstein, Inc.