Setting the Active Design Layer

To be able to add, remove, or edit objects on a design layer, either the layer must be active or the layer options must be set to allow modifications to other layers (see Setting Class and Design Layer Options). There are several ways to change the active design layer.

If there are a small number of design layers, switch between layers with the Switch active layer/class shortcut key combination specified in VectorWorks preferences (see Setting VectorWorks Preferences). This selects a layer by moving up or down through the layer list one layer at a time. If the drawing has a large number of layers, use one of the following options.

Setting the Active Design Layer in the Organization Dialog Box

To set the active design layer:

1.	From the Organization dialog box, select the Design Layers tab in Details view.

The active layer is indicated by a check mark to the left of the Design Layer Name. The name of the layer also is highlighted in bold text.

2.	To make a different layer active, click the column to the left of its name.

3.

Click OK.

The dialog box closes and the active layer displays.

Setting the Active Design Layer in the View Bar

To set the active design layer:

1.	Click the Active Layer on the View bar to display a list of all of the sheet layers (top section) and design layers (bottom section) in the drawing.

On Macintosh, the active layer is indicated by a check mark; on Windows, the layer name is highlighted in bold text.

2.	Click the design layer to be activated.

The layers list closes and the active layer displays.

Setting the Active Design Layer in the Document Context Menu

If multiple design layers are set to be visible, and the layer options are set to show those other layers, the drawing area may display objects that are on non-active layers. Use the Activate Layer command to make the layer of one of these objects active.

The Force Select command on the document context menu also changes the active class and layer (if necessary), and selects the clicked object.

To set the active design layer:

1.	In the drawing area, right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Macintosh) a visible object on a non-active design layer.

2.	From the document context menu, select Activate Layer.

The object’s layer becomes active.