Setting Design Layer Properties

Once created, the design layers display on the Design Layers tab of the Organization dialog box, where various properties can be set and edited.

 

To edit design layers:

1.	Select Tools > Organization. Alternatively, click the Layers button on the View bar.

The Organization dialog box opens.

2.	Select the Design Layers tab.

A list of the current layers in the drawing displays in their stacking order. Depending on which view option is selected at the top of the dialog box, either details or visibilities of the design layers display. Stacking order, drawing area visibility, and active layer can be changed in Details view. The visibility of layers in viewports and in saved views can be changed in Visibilities view.

Layers that are imported from another file for workgroup referencing display in italics.

3.	To change other layer properties, select one or more layers and click Edit to open the Edit Design Layers dialog box.

 

Parameter	Description
Name	If one layer was selected, displays the layer’s name, which can be edited if necessary
Scale	Sets the scale for the selected layer(s); see Setting the Design Layer Scale
Stacking Order	Changes the stacking order of the layer(s); see Changing the Design Layer Stacking Order
Z, Delta Z	Specifies the base elevation height and the default height of walls for the selected layer(s); see Setting the Design Layer Z and Delta Z Values
Opacity / Transfer Mode	Opacity and Transfer Mode control how the selected layer(s) and other visible layers display; see Setting the Design Layer Opacity or Setting the Design Layer Transfer Mode
RenderWorks Background	When RenderWorks is installed, select the RenderWorks background to use for the selected layer(s) from either the default resources or the current file’s resources; see VectorWorks Fundamentals Default Resources and Creating Layer Backgrounds
Colors	Specifies the default layer color for the selected layer(s); see Setting the Design Layer Color
Saved Views	Specifies the visibility settings for the selected layer(s) in each saved view; see Setting Visibilities
Viewports	Specifies the visibility settings for the selected layer(s) in each viewport; see Setting Visibilities

Setting the Design Layer Scale

To set the design layer(s) scale:

1.	From the Organization dialog box, select the Design Layers tab. Select one or several layers, and then click Edit.

The Edit Design Layers dialog box opens.

2.	Click Scale.

The Layer Scale dialog box opens.

Alternatively, to access the Layer Scale dialog box for the active layer, right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Macintosh) in the drawing area to access the document context menu, and then select Active Layer Scale. Or, if the layer scale is displayed on the View bar, click the Layer Scale button.

3.	Select the desired scale.

Select All Layers for the new scale to apply it to all layers in the drawing. Select Scale Text to scale the text along with the layer.

4.	Click OK to close the Layer Scale dialog box.

Changing the Design Layer Stacking Order

Design layers are viewed and printed in “stacking order,” the top-to-bottom order in the Layers Setup dialog box. Initially, layers are “stacked” in the order in which they are created, but their order can be changed at any time.

To change the stacking order of design layers:

1.	From the Organization dialog box, select the Design Layers tab in Details view to see the current stacking order. The # column to the right of the layer name indicates the layer’s current position in the stack, with 1 being the top layer.

2.	Use one of the following methods for changing the design layer stacking order:

If the list is not currently sorted by stacking order, click the # column heading to change it. Then click the # column of the layer(s) to be moved, and drag it up or down the list (the # column must be the current sorting column). A horizontal line indicates where the layer(s) will be inserted in the current order.

Select the layer(s) to move, and then click Edit (or double-click a layer row) to open the Edit Design Layers dialog box. In the Stacking Order field, enter the number for the new stacking order position of the layer(s). Click OK to accept the changes.

3.	The Design Layers tab displays the new stacking order. Click OK to close the Organization dialog box and save the changes.

Setting the Design Layer Z and Delta Z Values

The Z value of a layer represents its height above base elevation. The delta Z value represents the default height of walls created on that layer. For example, the second story of a building might be 12 feet above street level; its Z value is 12 feet. If the walls are to be drawn 10 feet high for that story, its delta Z value is 10 feet.

When a new layer is added to a drawing, its Z values are automatically entered based on the previous layer’s Z and delta Z values.

To set the Z and delta Z values of the layer:

1.	From the Organization dialog box, select the Design Layers tab. Select one or several layers, and then click Edit.

The Edit Design Layers dialog box opens.

2.	Enter the base elevation value for the layer in the Z field.

In a 3D view, the layer displays at the specified elevation above or below the ground plane.

3.	Enter the default height of walls created on the selected layer in the Delta Z field.

4.	Click OK to close the Edit Design Layers dialog box, and then click OK again to close the Organization dialog box.

Setting the Design Layer Opacity

With the Quartz (Macintosh) or GDI+ (Windows) imaging VectorWorks preference enabled (it is enabled by default), design layers have a setting that controls the transparency of layer objects that overlap visible objects in another layer. An Opacity value of 100% means that nothing beneath the active layer is visible. Decrease the Opacity value to increase the transparency of the objects on the layer. (See Display Preferences for information about setting this preference.)

To set the opacity for a design layer:

1.	From the Organization dialog box, select the Design Layers tab. Select one or several layers, and then click Edit.

The Edit Design Layers dialog box opens.

2.	Drag the Opacity slider to the left to increase the transparency, or enter an opacity percentage (0‑100) in the box to the right of the slider.

3.	Click OK to close the Edit Design Layers dialog box, and then click OK again to close the Organization dialog box.

Individual objects can also have an opacity percentage applied. See Opacity Attributes.

Setting the Design Layer Transfer Mode

When the Quartz (Macintosh) or GDI+ (Windows) imaging VectorWorks preference is disabled, design layers have a setting that controls the display of layer objects that overlap visible objects in another layer.

To set the transfer mode for a design layer:

1.	From the Organization dialog box, select the Design Layers tab. Select one or several layers, and then click Edit.

The Edit Design Layers dialog box opens.

2.	Select the desired Transfer Mode from the list. Click OK to close the Edit Design Layers dialog box, and then click OK again to close the Organization dialog box.

 

Mode	Description
Paint	Makes objects in the new layer solid, obscuring objects in layers stacked below it (this is the default setting)
Overlay	Makes it so objects in the new layer do not obscure stacked layers
Invert	Makes a reversed, or photo-negative image display when an object in the new layer overlaps an object in another layer
Erase	Makes objects in the new layer display all foreground patterns as white and all background patterns as transparent
Not Paint	Makes objects in the new layer solid and inverts any areas that overlap objects in stacked layers
Not Overlay	Makes objects in the new layer transparent and inverts layer colors
Not Invert	Makes objects in the new layer transparent and converts any black pixels from overlapping areas to white and white pixels to transparent
Not Erase	Makes objects in the new layer transparent and converts any white pixels from overlapping areas to black and black pixels to transparent

Most printer devices do not support all of these modes, especially PostScript printers and vector devices such as pen plotters. The Rasterize print output option may produce the best results for certain transfer modes. Macintosh OS X does not support layer transfer modes when printing, but they are available for on-screen viewing. On the Windows platform, the use of color in transfer modes may produce color blending.

Setting the Design Layer Color

The fill and pen color of objects that are drawn on or moved to a design layer can be controlled by the color settings of the design layer. The Use layer colors setting in the Document Preferences dialog box must be turned on (see Display Preferences).

These settings are overridden by the Black and white only option in the Document Preferences dialog box, even with the Use layer colors option selected.

To control the color of objects by their design layers:

1.	From the Organization dialog box, select the Design Layers tab. Select one or several layers, and then click Edit.

The Edit Design Layers dialog box opens.

2.	Click Colors.

The Color Defaults for Layer dialog box opens.

3.	For both the fill and pen, set the Foreground and Background colors by clicking the appropriate list and selecting a color from the main Color Menu dialog box. A preview example is shown at the bottom of the dialog box.

The fill background color controls the appearance of objects with a solid fill.

4.

Click OK.

When the Use layer colors preference is selected, all objects on the layer are drawn with the specified colors.

Viewports have separate control of layer color (see Advanced Sheet Layer Viewport Properties).