Deleting unused layers.

[Anonymous]

Anyone knows a faster way of deleting layers that i do not use.Whenever we get back drawings from(mostly)engineers(dwg),the original layers are almost always duplicated but in CAPS.

Now,even though i use layer combinations efficiently,i find it rather inconviniencing to navigate through a host of layer i do not use.Is there no way to just delete ALL LAYERS that represent NO ELEMENTS at all in one fell swoop?
and i'm alone in this?

[Anonymous]

Go to Options > Attribute Manager. Select the layers tab and there is a button to purge unused. Note that AM will consider as used any layer that is the current default tool setting, whether it is actually used or not.

[Anonymous]

Wow!Matthew,you just saved me a couple of hours in future....previously i would spend an inordinate amount of time just figuring out which layers are unused.
This forum is truly invaluable!

[Link]

Another effective way is to cut everything out of your project, delete all the layers using the Layer Settings Dialog, then paste everything back in again. This can be better than the method Matthew described (because of the default settings 'feature'), but on the other hand it can be impractical when you have sections/elevations.

Just food for thought:-)

Cheers,
Link.

[TomWaltz]

Just be careful with that "Purge Unused" button. We've had it delete layers that had content on them before!

[Tom Krowka]

I also have had that function delete layers with content on them. I would like to know how I can tell for sure that there is nothing on the layers to be deleted.

[Anonymous]

The best approach is to set up standards and stick to them so that there is little need for deleting layers. Files from consultants (and others) should always be preprocessed before merging into the main project file. Civil engineers files particularly can carry a positively uncivil number of layers with them. The best way to protect yourself from serious layer infections is to practice safe merging.

[__archiben]

Matthew wrote:
The best approach is to set up standards and stick to them so that there is little need for deleting layers. Files from consultants (and others) should always be preprocessed before merging into the main project file. Civil engineers files particularly can carry a positively uncivil number of layers with them.

...and possibly talk to your consultants and understand how they work, and how they use CAD. when i did this, it came as a revelation to me that the 'DWG' drawings that we see (i.e. the titled blocked, 'for issue' drawings) were comprised of several 'dwg' CAD/modelspace drawings that they themselves reference together. when we ask for a drawing from a consultant, more often than not they issue the 'DWG' rather than the 'dwg's: hence the already bound in mess of x-ref layers, duplicate information, our own information coming back to us, etc, etc...

simply by understanding and asking for the specific slices of information (their raw 'dwg's) meant that we got only the data that we needed, and by using archiCAD's x-ref management function we are able to efficiently transfer CAD data without the need for preprocessing or ending up with our own layers "infected".

couple of things to note on this:

• talking to your consultants and agreeing the specific information and naming conventions is essential.
• by prefixing our own layers with an "a" and ensuring that the x-ref file names don't begin with a number or an "a" they are automatically dropped to the bottom of the archiCAD layer list.
• archiCAD merges x-ref data rather than truly referencing it: this can cause issues in the teamwork environment, but nothing that can't be overcome with controlled process: see my post here.

this also works well in reverse: creating viewsets of data required by consultants in archiCAD means that we can quickly publish 'dwg' files for transfer: typically an engineer won't want wall hatching, his own data back, etc. this can all be controlled by layer combination and display options. we've also set up consultant specific dwg translators that map pens to agreed colours and weights, (and vice versa), and we ensure that we only save out visible layers.

result: we're happy and the consultants are happy. no more cleaning up drawings and extremely efficient transfers. (we've sometimes swapped CAD data two or three times a day when co-ordinating tricky parts of the building).

see also the whinge and the wish.

Matthew wrote:
The best way to protect yourself from serious layer infections is to practice safe merging.

~/archiben

[Tom Krowka]

All this is fine information. However, what I want to know is does AC or does it not purge supposedly "unused layers" that actually have any objects, lines, or anything else on it. It appears to me it does. If it does, the delete unused layers function should be at least named something else to prevent confusion and loss of work.

[Anonymous]

Tom wrote:
All this is fine information. However, what I want to know is does AC or does it not purge supposedly "unused layers" that actually have any objects, lines, or anything else on it. It appears to me it does. If it does, the delete unused layers function should be at least named something else to prevent confusion and loss of work.

I have not experienced this myself, but I have not used the function on fully developed models/projects. I am always careful about using any function that changes the file in ways where I cannot immediately see the effect. This also includes deleting layers the old fashioned way, using the heavy, multi-story marquee, and so on.