VERO UK TRAINING MATERIAL

VISI Modelling Layers

Introduction

Layers are an important part of the software and are used extensively throughout the day to day running of the software. Layers allow us to group together many items (geometry, solid, surfaces etc) and put them onto different layers to make the viewing of the data much easier.

Layers can be either visible or not, and this will make working with both small and large files much easier to understand.

Open the file C:\Visi19\Workf\Sample\wire\ Layer Management.wkf

On the file just opened there are many different elements, dimensions, solids and surfaces and also many different colors of elements.

At present all elements are on one layer and only one layer is present.

1. Change Attribute - This allows the user to change the properties of one or more selected entities. This can include: - layer, color, line style and transparency value

2. Set Drawing Filters - Here is where layers or elements can be made visible or hidden. Layers can be either visible or not. Elements (by type) can also be turned on or off using this icon.

3. Select Visible Entities - Using this icon allows the local selection of items regardless of their layer status.

4. Switch Visibility - This is where the un-blanked elements are toggled back on, allowing all the elements to be visible again.

5. Flip Visibility - We use this icon to flip between the visible and non-visible elements that have been selected using the `Blank Entities' command.

6. Add/Delete Blank Entities - This allows the user to either add or remove elements from the current selection of elements being blanked.

7. Add to Visible Entities - Allows you to add entities that are not visible when using the “Select Visible Entities” option.

8. Remove from Visible Entities - Allows you to remove selected visible entities and remove them from a Visible Entities selection.

We are concerned with numbers 1 and 2 in this exercise but your instructor will explain the blanking options after the layer management exercise has been completed.

Select `Set Drawing Filters' from the toolbar.

The screen will now split and the following set of options will appear on the right hand side of the screen.

The default is to have 2 layers and is set externally in the `visi.cfg' file. We can create a series of layers and save them into the `visi.cfg' file, then, every time the system is opened or a new file is created these layers will be present.

We will create more layers here but will not add them to the default `visi.cfg' file.

There are 2 modes of working with layers. An “EDIT” mode and a “VISIBLE MODE”

The icons below are explained on the following page and some will become “active” or “in-active” depending upon which mode we are presently using.

See the next page for a description of the above icons

1. Visible/Edit Mode - This is the icon that toggles the 2 methods on working when in the layer management. The Visible mode is used for selecting the visibility of items on the screen and will dynamically toggle on or off the selected layers. The Edit mode allows the editing of layer names without affecting their visibility.

2. Zoom Mode - With this icon turned on, an automatic `Fit to Screen' will be done every time a layer is made either visible or hidden. With the icon off, the `Fit to Screen' is not done.

3. Set Current Layer by Element - This icon allows the user to select an element from the screen and the current working layer will then be the same as the layer of the selected item from the screen.

4. Set Active Layers by Element - This icon allows the user to select an element(s) from the screen and the selected item(s) will then set which layers are visible (Not available in Edit Mode).

5. Set/Reset Layers - Use this icon to switch all the items in the layers tree on/off.

6. Invert Selection - Inverts your current selection of layers

7. Undo Selection - Allows the single last layer selection to be undone.

8. Create or Edit a Group - This drop down icon allows a group of layers to be created, edited and/or add or remove layers within the group.

9. Filter by Group - This icon allows the user to filter the display of layer names by group. Only layers in the selected group will be seen in the layer list

10. Purge - The purge icon is used to delete all redundant layers and groups. Layers will only be deleted if there are no elements present on the layer and it is not the working layer. Groups will only be created if no layers are present in the group.

The Green arrow shows which layer is the “Current Working Layer”

The Lock icon shows if the layer is “locked” or “unlocked

The Green Tick icon shows that the layer contains geometry.

The i icon signifies that the layer has had a comment added.

NOTE!

Once a layer is locked, any of the elements on that layer cannot be edited in any way until the layer is un-locked.

A layer comment can be added by double clicking in the last column of the layers panel

Click the left mouse button in the Layer Name field on layer number 2 and type in

Solids.

Repeat this on the next layer and enter the following layer names

Surfaces

Profiles

Dimensions

At present we have only created the layers and no elements have yet been placed on those layers.

Select the “Create Group” icon and enter “3D Data” as the name of the group.

From the list of layers, highlight the “Solids” and “Surfaces” layers.

Individual or groups of layers can be highlighted using the standard windows selection methods. (CTRL key, SHIFT key and window selection using the mouse)

Select “OK”

Repeat the exercise and create a group called “2D Data”, using the following layers

LAYER1

Profiles

Dimensions

If we wanted the layers to be saved to the visi.cfg file (which would make those layers and groups available every time we open or create a new file), we would use the `Save default' icon shown below (this icon is found on the combinations tab which can be seen at the bottom of the layers panel).

Now go back to the Layer Tab and ensure that ONLY LAYER1 is highlighted then close the layer dialogue panel by selecting the “X” in the corner of the panel

Select the `Change Attribute' icon

Use the filters to select all the dimensions only.

Select the “Select all” icon

We are now presented with the change attribute

dialogue box

This allows the user to change the properties of the selected items. For this exercise highlight the layer `Dimension' and select `OK'

We have now placed all the dimensions on a layer called `Dimensions' and the dimensions will disappear from the screen

Repeat the above procedure for the following items: -

All `Profiles' to be on the layer called `Profiles'

All `Solids' to be on the layer called `Solids'

All `Surfaces' to be on the layer called `Surfaces'

All the elements have now been placed on their respective layers. Any items that have not been selected will be left on `Layer1'

We can now switch on or off the items we have placed on different layers.

Select the `Set Drawing Filter' icon

The following dialogue box will appear.

When all the layers are highlighted, all the layers are visible on the screen. Select only the `Dimension' layer. You will notice that only the dimensions are now visible on the screen.

Individual or groups of layers can be highlighted using the standard windows selection methods. (CTRL key, SHIFT key and window selection using the mouse)

The `Set-Reset layer' icon is a global `visible/hidden' switch for the layers.

Using the tabs at the bottom of this dialogue box we can also be selective of how we view items regardless of whether or not they are placed on a layer and, we can switch them on or off in a `GLOBAL' manner.

Try using some of the flags to switch on and off the items on your model, both by layers and element type.

By DEFAULT, when we create items they are automatically placed on the `Current working layer'.

We can set the `Current working layer' in the following manner.

Use either mouse button on the layer area of the taskbar as shown below.

This will bring up the `Layers' dialogue panel

Click the `Solids' layer in the column with the green arrow

The taskbar will now show the name `Solids' and is now set as the current working layer. This means that all new geometry created will be on the layer called Solids.

Re-set the current working layer back to “Layer 1”

Create the following layers: -

Layer Number 50 = Empty layer

Layer Number 100 = Temp

Now we have layers that are not visible in the current tree it may become necessary to filter out some of the layers.

By default there are 256 layers that are user definable.

The layers can be filtered out in the following ways: -

Select the “Combination” tab and you will notice that all the “Grid Filters” are active.

The grid filters are used to filter out the layers that will be visible in the “Layer” tab.

Switch on only the following grid filter: -

From the “Layer” tab all you should see now is the following: -

This mean that all we want to see in our layer list are the named layers ordered alphabetically

Try the following “Grid Filters” and see the results: -

This concludes the Layer Management exercise.

VERO UK

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Double click in this column to add a layer comment.

In this case, we won't save any layers into the cfg

The two buttons at the top of the Layer name and Layer number columns, control the order that the layers are displayed in. The layers can be sorted either numerically or alphabetically in either increasing or decreasing range. Try clicking two or three times on both buttons.

Click in this column to make that layer the current drawing layer

Click here to sort by layer name

The value here allows the user to set the maximum number of layers they would like to have available.

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