Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
the layer list to sort the layer names in alphabetic order. (You can click the Name button again to
reverse the order.) To select those layers for processing, click the first layer name that starts with
C
, and then scroll down the list until you find the last layer of the group and A-click it. All the
layers between those layers are selected. If you want to deselect some of those layers, hold down
the F key while clicking the names of the layers you don't want to include in your selection.
Another option is to F-click the names of other layers you want selected.
The Color and On/Off column icons at the top of the list let you sort the list by virtue of the
color or linetype assignments of the layers. Other column icons sort the list by virtue of status:
Freeze/Thaw, Lock/Unlock, and so forth. (See the sidebar “Freeze, Lock, Transparency, and
Other Layer Options” later in this chapter.)
Now try changing the layer settings again by turning off all the layers except Wall and
Ceiling, leaving just a simple rectangle. In this exercise, you'll get a chance to experiment with
the On/Off options of the Layers palette:
1.
Click layer 0 in the layer list; then right-click and select Set Current.
2.
Click the top layer name in the list box; then A-click the last layer name. All the layer
names are highlighted.
Another way to select all the layers at once in the Layers palette is to right-click the layer
list and then choose the Select All option from the shortcut menu. If you want to clear
your selections, right-click the layer list and choose Clear All.
3.
F-click the Wall and Ceiling layers to deselect them and thus exempt them from your
next action.
4.
Click the On/Off column icon of any of the highlighted layers.
5.
A message appears, asking if you want the current layer on or off. Select Keep The
Current Layer On in the message box. The On/Off column icons turn black to show that
the selected layers have been turned off.
6.
The drawing now appears with only the Wall and Ceiling layers displayed. It looks like a
simple rectangle of the room outline.
7.
Select all the layers as you did in step 2, and then click any of the black On/Off column
icons to turn on all the layers at once.
In this exercise, you turned off a set of layers by clicking the On/Off column icon. You
can freeze/thaw, lock/unlock, or change the color of a group of layers in a similar manner by
clicking the appropriate layer column icon. For example, clicking a color column icon of one of
the selected layers opens the Color Palette dialog box, in which you can set the color for all the
selected layers.
