Autodesk AutoCAD 2010: Basic 2D Concepts Tutorials
Setting Up Model Tab (Modelspace) / Locking Layers
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Subtitles of the Movie (Autodesk AutoCAD 2010: Basic 2D Concepts / Setting Up Model Tab (Modelspace) / Locking Layers)
OK. We're looking at Locking Layers in our AutoCAD drawing this time. Now, you'll notice we're back in our completed AutoCAD drawing again, so you'll notice everything's been drawn properly. We've got Hatching, we've got Dimensions, we've got Objects, we've got Blocks, and so on. If I go to the A3 Landscape tab here you'll see that we've also got a nice Title Block all ready to go. Now, what we're going to do here is we're going to set some settings whereby we Lock Layers so that people cannot accidentally change the settings of those Layers. Let's do that in the Model tab first of all. So, in the Model tab here, the Layers that we're going to Lock are going to be the Building Line, our Walls Layer, our Hatching Layer, and also our Windows Layer. The rest of it we will leave as is. So, let's do that. Let's have a look at these Layers. Now, I can Lock Layers in two ways. Let's go to the Layer Properties Manager first, up here on the Layers Panel, as you can see. There's the Layer Properties Manager. At the moment all of the Layers are on, but I'm going to Lock the Layers that I want to be locked off so that people can't change them. So, my Building Line Layer, I'm going to Lock it by clicking on the little Padlock there. You'll see that the Padlock goes yellow and locks. I'm also going to Lock the Hatch there; there's the Hatch, I'll Lock that as well; and I'm also going to Lock my Windows and my Walls, which are down here. So I'll Lock those two as well. Now, I'm going to close the Layer Properties Manager now and watch. Can you see a difference in the drawing there? You'll see the Building Line is slightly less bright on the drawing. That's because it's been faded, and also, if I hover over it, can you see the little Padlock Symbol telling me that that Layer is locked? So, if I click on it there I can still click on it, but notice there are no Grips. If I go to change, say, the Linetype there to Continuous, AutoCAD will tell me it's on a Locked Layer and it cannot be updated. It'll also remove it from the Selection Set so when I close the object is not selected any more. Now, that Fade is very useful. You can see the objects that aren't on Locked Layers are brighter than the objects that are. That again is in your Layer Properties Manager, here. We've covered it briefly before; it's this little Spanner Symbol here, your Settings, and in here we've got the Settings for Layers not Isolated, so we Lock and Fade. I'm going to fade them a little bit more Ð I'm going to take that down to say, 40 percent, like so Ð so I changed that Setting, I OK it, and those Locked Layers have faded a little bit more. Now, what you'll notice there is the Unlocked Layers, or as we see, the blue open Padlock, so I can work on those at any time. If I close the Layer Properties Manager, though, I can also manage these Layers here on the Layer Pull-down. So, if I click on the Building Line and unlock it by clicking on the Padlock you'll see it goes brighter. If I unlock the Hatch, you'll see it goes brighter. If I come down now to my Walls and Windows here, watch the Walls and Windows, as I click on them, again, they go brighter, and everything now has the same vibrancy of color in the drawing. Again, it's a visual thing. So, let's have a look now at our Layout tab here, our A3 Landscape tab. Again, you might want to lock the Viewports Layer for example. You don't want anybody changing your Viewports. So, if I go here now, and scroll down the list in the Layer Pull-down, there are my Viewports there, I lock that off. It's locked off. Notice the Viewports fade. So, let's go now to Titleblock. I don't want anybody changing my Titleblock anymore; it's all set and ready to go. I click there, and you'll see it all fades because that whole Titleblock is an AutoCAD Block on the Layer Title Block, so it all fades. Again, if I unlock them by clicking on the Padlock again, you'll see they go brighter, indicating that they are not on a locked Layer. So, as you can see, Locking Layers is useful. It locks things down. It stops things being changed that you don't want to be changed on your drawing. So, utilize your Layers. If you've got anything that you don't want anybody changing, lock the Layer that the objects are on.
Tutorial Information
| Course: | Autodesk AutoCAD 2010: Basic 2D Concepts |
| Author: | Shaun Bryant |
| SKU: | 34013 |
| ISBN: | 1-935320-56-4 |
| Release Date: | 2009-07-03 |
| Duration: | 7.5 hrs / 107 lessons |
| Work Files: |
Yes |
| Captions: | No |
| Compatibility: |
Vista/XP/2000, OS X, Linux QuickTime 7, Flash 8 |
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