Layers in Civil 3D

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Each object in Autodesk Civil 3D has a base layer on which the object physically resides,

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and component layers that control the display of object components, such as surface triangles or contours.

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This streamlines the drawing process and saves time, because layers are already created for design objects to reside in.

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To specify the default base layers for objects, navigate to the Toolspace Settings tab.

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Right-click Drawing1 and select Edit Drawing Settings.

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In the Drawing Settings dialog, switch to the Object Layers tab.

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When you create an object, you can accept the default or specify a new layer.

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The base layers are used only for the main object types, such as surfaces and alignments.

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Because the object physically resides on the base layer, you can control object visibility by changing the layer state.

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For example, if you turn off the base layer for surfaces, all surfaces are turned off in the drawing.

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To append an object name to the layer name for that object, add an asterisk (*) as a prefix or suffix to the base layer name.

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Component layers allow you to work with objects as if parts of them are located on different layers.

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You can specify component layers on the Display tab of the Style dialog.

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For example, expand Alignment > Alignment Styles, then right-click Basic and select Edit.

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In the Alignment Style – Basic dialog, switch to the Display tab.

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Each object component uses the visibility settings for the component layer,

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as well as the color, linetype, lineweight, and plot style for the layer, provided the various Component Display settings are set to ByLayer.

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Note that Layer 0 has a special meaning in the Component Display settings.

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When the Layer is set to 0, the object base layer is used for that component.

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For example, if the alignment base layer is C-ROAD,

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and the layer for the Line component is set to 0, then the alignment lines behave as if they are located on layer C-ROAD (not layer 0).

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If you are accustomed to controlling objects by manipulating layers,

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you may want to set the various object style Component Display settings to ByLayer.

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Then, you can simply change the layer settings using the AutoCAD Layer command,

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rather than editing styles to change the color, linetype, lineweight, or plot style of an object component.

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Using the ByLayer settings provides more control over object display

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to anyone viewing Autodesk Civil 3D drawings in object-enabled AutoCAD.

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However, if you want the object to always have the same settings,

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regardless of component layer settings, you can set specific Component Display settings.