Layer Combinations

[Anonymous]

We are currently reviewing our office's 'best practice' documentation.

Since wholeheartedly embracing 'Views' as a working method, it seems to me less important to save named layer combinations, since each view is saved with its own layer combination.

Does anyone still use 'Layer Combinations'? I seem to remember someone saying that they found the layer set up in views 'unreliable' but this hasn't been my experience.

I'd be really interested to know how you guys operate in this regard.

Keith

Archicad Ver 11 on Mac OSX 10.4.8

[Anonymous]

yes, absolutely we use layer combos. these are saved with the view set. how else would you do it man?
edit: ok just re-read what you wrote... so you don't name your layer combos and you end up with 'custom' under the layer combo tab when you save a view set.
i smell trouble...

one thing i can think of is sorting out the intersections in layer combos via the goody... the ensures walls clean up correctly when their layer is off. I don't know if this would work when you don't have set up layer combos... that alone is reason for me to use the program as intended/ designed.

[David Maudlin]

Keith:

I always use named Layer Combinations, otherwise they will all be named Custom, which tells you nothing, and makes modifying them impossible (if you have a Layer Combination named "Structural" and need to modify your Structural drawings, you need only modify the Layer Combination, if you are using Custom, then you are going to need to redefine each view, and hope it works). Problems mentioned on this forum come from using the Custom method, where the output does not match what they see on the plan.

Setting up your Layer Combinations should be a part of your office template (along with defined Model View Options, Dimensions, Pen Set, Scale for Views) and a way of maintaining office standards.

David

[Anonymous]

David wrote:
If you have a Layer Combination named "Structural" and need to modify your Structural drawings, you need only modify the Layer Combination

Thanks for that, David. I can see where you're coming from, but wonder whether in our case standardisation might get in the way. Suppose you had several views all using the 'Structural' layer combination, then you modify 'Structural' by switching a layer off, only to discover that in some of the views, you'd lost a layer that you really needed to keep. So you add a new layer combination called 'Structural +' . Then at a later date you modify that combination and you've got to check all the views which use that combination to make sure that you haven't messed them up too.

You could almost end up with a separate layer combo name for each view - which would be pretty pointless.

Clearly it requires a disciplined approach. But I'm not sure that I appreciate why the layer combo for each view shouldn't be just what it is: i.e. the layers that were on when I saved that view.

Keith

Archicad Ver 11 on Mac 0SX 10.4.8

[Link]

Kieth, defintely use dedicated layer combos.

These may help you too:

http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/archiguide/TiponCombiningLayerCombosandDisplayOptions.htm...
http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=41073

Cheers,
Link.

[David Maudlin]

Keith wrote:
Suppose you had several views all using the 'Structural' layer combination, then you modify 'Structural' by switching a layer off, only to discover that in some of the views, you'd lost a layer that you really needed to keep. So you add a new layer combination called 'Structural +' . Then at a later date you modify that combination and you've got to check all the views which use that combination to make sure that you haven't messed them up too.

Keith:

With what you are describing, it sounds like your office hasn't sorted out a project's organization. Good practice and a good template means that the same types of elements always go on the same layers from project to project, so there should not be any need to turn layers on and off for defined views. I have defined views for Structural, Electrical, Architectural, as well as the 3D (Sections, Elevations, Interior Perspectives, etc), so with elements on their correct layer, layer management takes care of itself, and any modification is much easier to control. In the thread that Link provided, Weston Blaney's comment is typical. So your method may work for a while, but when you see wrong output (hopefully not in front of your client), you will have a good idea of the cause.

David