Defining Layers
Layers are the building blocks of large graphics representing equipment, floors, buildings, facilities and entire campuses. Each layer of a graphic represents a grouping of graphical elements or system objects and has a unique name. Layers are combined and organized in different ways to create all the required views at a page level.
Select the topic related to your task:
When you create a graphic for the first time, a default layer is automatically created and displayed in the Element Tree view. Any elements deposited onto this layer are listed under the layer.
To add more layers to a graphic, do the following:
- You have a graphic open and are in Design or Test mode.
- From the Element Tree, click New Layer
.
- A new layer is created on the active graphic and added to the list of displayed layers in the Element Tree view in the order that it was created.
- Set the following parameters for the layer:
- Use – When checked, the layer will be visible in Runtime mode.
- Visible – When checked, the layer will be visible in Design and Runtime mode.
- Lock – When checked, the layer and all its associated elements are locked and no editing allowed in Design mode. This check box has no effect on Runtime mode.
- To associate a Discipline with the layer, make sure the layer is selected in the Element Tree view, and navigate to the Properties view and expand the Layer tab.
- The Layer properties for the active layer display. For a description of the properties, see the Layer topic for more information.
- Adjust the layer settings and parameters accordingly.
- You can now save the graphic.
- You have a graphic open and want to delete a delete a layer from the graphic.
- In the Element Tree view, navigate to and click the layer you want to delete.
- Click Delete Selection
.
- The selected layer is deleted from the Element Tree list and from the active graphic. Any elements that on the layer, are also deleted.
You can animate the visible property of a foreground layer by defining an object reference in the Evaluations field of the layer.
NOTE:
It is recommended that you only associate a foreground layer with a system object. A system object residing in a specific layer must always be associated with one depth.
- You have created a foreground layer and it is selected in the Elements Tree view.
- Navigate to the Evaluations Editor view.
- Select the Under the Layout properties, type the name of the system object you want to associate with the layer in the Evaluations field.
- The foreground layer is now associated with the system object and the visibility of the layer is determined by the objects current value in the Runtime and Test modes, and the Graphics Viewer.
Each layer in a graphic can have a unique label or name. Once created, the layer name will display in parenthesis next the object label, Layer.
- Navigate to the Element Tree view.
- In the Name section, click the Layer you want to name or rename.
- The Layer Properties display in the Properties view.
- In the Layer Properties view, navigate to the General property.
- Click the Description property and type the desired name for the layer. When you are done typing the name, with the mouse, click anywhere outside the field to save the change.
- In the Element Tree view, you can now see the layer name in parenthesis.
- You have a graphic open with multiple layers.
- In the Element Tree view, press the CTRL key on the keyboard, and with your mouse, select each layer you want to merge.
- The entire Element View menu bar is active.
- Click Merge Layer
.
- The selected layers are now are now combined and merged into one layer.
Several layers can be simultaneously selected with CTRL or Shift mouse click operations. All layers can be selected by pressing CTRL+A.
The selected layer rows are then displayed with a blue background. Most of the above functions, such as delete, also work on multi selected layers, or clicking the visible check box of one of the selected layers will make all selected layers visible or invisible.
