Thread Content
When learning CAD, a skill that must be mastered from the beginner to advanced levels is making good use of layers. Next, I’ll introduce to you the role of layers in the HaoChen CAD drawing software! 1. Graphic organization and management utilize layers to group graphics, making them easier to identify as well as enabling bulk selection and processing within complex graphics. 2. Control the display and printing properties of graphics by assigning different colors, line types, and line widths to various layers in order to regulate the style of display and printing. The settings for the printing style are generally determined based on the colors of different layers; different printing properties are assigned to each color, so that the printed drawings have clear layers. In HaoChen CAD 2020, the [Auto Layer] function is one of the drawing assistance tools, grouped together with well-known drawing aids such as ortho mode, object snap, and polar tracking. Automatic layers are objects created using specified drawing commands, and they are automatically assigned to the designated layer at the time of creation; if such a layer does not exist, it is created anew. In this way, there is no need to frequently switch the current layer when drawing different objects, or to move the graphics to various layers after drawing is complete. The specific steps are as follows: 1. Right-click on the icon for [Enable Auto Layers], select Settings to open the Auto Layers panel. Check “Enable automatic layer”, then click [Create a new layer setting], and enter the full English name of the command to be set; do not use just the shortcut name (for example, the line command must be entered as “line”, not just “l”). Then enter the name of the layer where the graphic object is to be placed. 2. Set layer properties, including layer color and line type/width. The setting method is the same as that in the Layer Properties Manager. 3. If there are multiple commands to set, repeat steps 1 and 2. Finally, click OK to complete the automatic layer settings. After making the settings, enter the shortcut key “l” to draw several straight lines; it can be seen that the drawn shapes are automatically placed on “Layer 1”. As can be observed from the Layer Properties Manager on the left, when the line command is used, the software automatically creates a layer named “Layer 1”, which is then set as the current layer temporarily. When we use other commands that have not been set up, the graphics drawn will appear only on the software’s default current layer. The above settings can also be exported and imported; once others have made the necessary settings, they can simply import them, which saves time and effort and helps to promote consistent drawing standards within the organization. So, have you learned how to use automatic layers? HaoChen CAD 2020 has many other extremely useful features – have you noticed them? This article is reprinted from the Haochen CAD official account.