Understanding the Layer Properties Manager Dialog Box

Understanding the Layer Properties Manager Dialog Box
The Layer Properties Manager dialog box conforms to the Windows interface standard. The most
prominent feature of this dialog box is the layer list box, as you saw in the preceding exercise. Notice
that the bar at the top of the list of layers offers several buttons for the various layer properties. Just
as you can adjust Windows Explorer, you can adjust the width of each column in the list of layers by
clicking and dragging either side of the column head buttons. You can also sort the layer list based on
a property by clicking the property name at the top of the list. And, just as with other Windows list
boxes, you can Shift+click names to select a block of layer names, or you can Ctrl+click individual
names to select multiple layers that don’t appear together. These features will become helpful as your
list of layers grows.
Above the layer list, you can see a box displaying the current layer. Just to the left of the current
layer name are four tool buttons.



You’ve already seen how the New Layer tool works. The tool next to the New Layer tool, the New
Layer VP Frozen In All Viewports tool, looks similar to the New Layer tool and performs a similar
function. The main difference is that the New Layer VP Frozen tool freezes the newly created layer.
To delete layers, you select a layer or group of layers and then click the Delete Layer tool. Be aware
that you can’t delete layer 0, locked layers, or layers that contain objects. The Set Current tool enables
you to set the current layer on which you want to work. You can also see at a glance which layer is
current by the green check mark in the Status column of the layer list.
TIP
Another way to create or delete layers is to select a layer or set of layers from the list box and
then right-click. A menu appears, offering the same functions as the tools above the layer list.
You’ll also notice another set of three tools farther to the left of the Layer Properties Manager
dialog box. Those tools offer features to organize your layers in a meaningful way. You’ll get a
closer look at those tools a little later in this chapter.