Layers Palette

Use the Layers palette to filter the layers on the drawing

You can use the Layers palette in two modes:

• Editing mode. Displays Layer tools that let you change Layer modes or delete entities on Layers.
• Preview mode. Displays the list of layers from the current drawing. You cannot add, delete, or change Layers or the entities on Layers.

The Layers palette lets you control the following Layer properties:

• LineColor. The button displays the Layer color. You can set a color for each Layer or use the default (white). If you change the Layer color in the Layers palette, all drawing entities of the Layer that have assigned the color ByLayer assume the new color. Because you can sketch on the active Layer only, new entities are in the standard color of the active Layer unless you specify a new color using the LineColor command.
• Visibility (Show or Hide). The button symbol indicates whether the Layer is shown or hidden. You can turn each Layer on or off independently.

  Visible Layer

  Hidden Layer

• Locked or Unlocked. You can lock and unlock each Layer independently. Change the status to unlocked if you want to work with entities on the Layer.

  Locked Layer

  Unlocked Layer

• Frozen or Thawed. You can freeze and thaw each Layer independently.

  Frozen Layer

  Thawed Layer

• Name. Each Layer has a name containing letters, numbers, or special characters such as underscores and dollar signs.

In drawings with many Layers you can search for a specific Layer if you know a portion of the name.

Note: You cannot add, delete, or change Layers or the entities on Layers.

The following tools are available on the Layers palette:

Tool	Description
	Layers Manager
	Show All Layers
	Thaw All Layers
	Lock Layer
	Unlock Layer
	Isolate Layer
	Restore Layers After IsolatingUnisolate Layer
	Activate a Layer
	Change Entity's Layer (Match Layer)
	Restore Previous Layer Settings Undo Layer
	Delete Layer

To display the Layers palette:

1. On the status bar, click .
2. Enable Layers.

   The Layers palette appears.

To switch between the Layers palette display modes:

• On the Layers palette, select Switch to Preview mode .
• On the Layers palette, select Switch to Editing mode .

To search for layers:

• Type a string in the Filter Expression box to filter the layer list.

    Type wildcards (? for a single character, or * for a string of characters) to list the matching Layer names. For example, type "e*" to display all Layers starting with "e", or "*detail" to display all Layers ending with "detail" in the name.

• Delete the string or click to cancel the current search.