How to Use Layers in BricsCAD

Quick answer: New entities are always drawn on the current layer, so you need to make a layer current before drawing on it. You can create and manage layers through the Drawing Explorer or the Layers panel, and there are a few things you can’t do to whichever layer is currently active.

Two Ways to Manage Layers

• The Layers section of the Drawing Explorer (EXPLAYERS): a dialog box, which can’t stay open while you use other commands.
• The Layers panel (LAYERSPANELOPEN): stays open alongside other commands, and can be moved, resized, or even dragged onto a second monitor.

The Current Layer

New entities are always drawn on the current layer; to draw on a different one, make it current first. The current layer itself is saved via CLAYER.

A few related variables control where specific automatically generated entities land:

• CENTERLAYER: the layer centrelines and centre marks created by DIMCENTER are placed on, defaulting to <Use Current>.
• DIMLAYER: the layer dimension entities from the dimensioning commands are placed on, also defaulting to <Use Current>.
• INTERFERELAYER: the layer entities created by INTERFERE are placed on.

Setting the Current Layer

Any of these:

• With nothing selected, choose Layer in the Properties panel, then pick a layer from the dropdown.
• On the Entity Properties toolbar, click the down arrow beside the Layer field and pick one.
• On the Layers panel in the Ribbon, click the down arrow and pick one.
• Right-click the Layer field in the Status Bar and choose one from the context menu.

Two Things You Can’t Do to the Current Layer

• You can turn off the current layer’s display, but everything you draw becomes invisible until you turn it back on; BricsCAD warns you before letting this happen.
• You can’t freeze the current layer at all, this one’s a hard restriction rather than just a warning.

Layer States

LAYERSTATE lets you save and restore whole configurations of layer properties and states, useful for switching between different layer setups without reconfiguring everything by hand each time. Covered in full detail on its own dedicated page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I freeze the layer I’m currently drawing on? No, that’s not possible. You can turn off its display instead, though everything you draw will be invisible until you turn it back on.

What’s the difference between the Drawing Explorer and the Layers panel for managing layers? The Drawing Explorer is a dialog box that blocks other commands while it’s open. The Layers panel stays open alongside whatever else you’re doing, and can even be moved to a second monitor.

Where do centrelines created by DIMCENTER get placed? Whatever layer CENTERLAYER specifies, which defaults to <Use Current>, meaning the current layer at the time.

How do I quickly switch my current layer without opening a dialog? Right-click the Layer field in the Status Bar and choose one from the context menu, or use the Layer dropdown on the Entity Properties toolbar or Ribbon.