Layout layers turned off.

[Tom Krowka]

Have just updated all the layouts using the drawing manager. When I display them, all the layers have been turned off.....somehow. It wasn't me, honest. The sheets are blank. I have to go to all the layouts and turn the layout layers back on.

1. Why does AC do that?
2. How do I get it to stop doing it?

If I had succumbed to my paranoia, I would have sent a giant .pdf file full of blank sheets to be printed. AC is making me very paranoid.

[__archiben]

Tom wrote:
It wasn't me, honest.

man. you're a liability! i don't think i've ever come across someone who has such a high percentage of crazy problems!

some things to check:

- are the layers on in your views?
- are the placed drawings still actually linked to those views or have they somehow been broken and being read from a different place?

(actually - are you in AC10 or plotmaker?!)

paranoia? had that for years. i caught myself doing something yesterday that began as a working methodology to combat AC8's disastrous mess. it's been fixed now, but i still don't quite have the trust i used to . . .

~/archiben

[Tom Krowka]

If I was not working for myself I would have fired my sorry butt a long time ago......

Am in AC10. All was linked and layers on in the views. The layers get turned off (sometimes) when I regenerate a layout. Nothing on the layout. Turn on the layers, everything is fine. I did not turn off the layers....and if I did, don't know how I did it.

[__archiben]

Tom wrote:
If I was not working for myself I would have fired my sorry butt a long time ago......

Am in AC10. All was linked and layers on in the views. The layers get turned off (sometimes) when I regenerate a layout. Nothing on the layout. ...

nothing? not even drawing frames?

... Turn on the layers, everything is fine. I did not turn off the layers....and if I did, don't know how I did it.

i think i've figured it out: your placed drawings have their own layer assignment, but when they are updated archicad is flicking through different layer combinations based on the view it's generating at the time. when it's finished it may be leaving archicad in the last layer combination it used to generate a view - which probably has the layer you have placed drawings on turned off?

try putting every single placed item on the layouts onto the archicad layer (no reason not to at the moment) - that way, whatever layer combination is in use by archicad they will always show on the layouts.

something to note though: after updating views archicad should return you to the state you were in before you clicked the update button - layer combinations and all. if it's not, that sounds like a bug. does it differ if you update from the layout environment or the model environment?

and if that doesn't solve the problem, well then you've just taken weird problems to the next level. yet again! good luck . . .

~/archiben

[Link]

Do the drawings completely disappear, frames and all?

Sounds like you may somehow be changing the layer combination in the layouting environment. Are you aware of the differences between the layouting environment and the modeling environment?

What layer are your drawings on? Are you using any CadImage add-ons by any chance?

Cheers,
Link.

[Bob Moore]

I think Ben is right. I've had a similar problem. The part of my layout sheet with the information from the project info doesn't appear. I have to open the layers setting and click "show all" to get it to reappear.

[Tom Krowka]

do have a Cadimage tool. 3d profile. How would that make a difference.

Views are on the "layout" layer.

How does one control layers in the layout environment? I'm assuming through the layer command, right? If the layout layer is on, all the layers that are in the model view should show up, regardless of what else is turned on in the layout envirn., right?

Surely you don't have to set all the layers in each layout all over again, that would be crazy.

None of the above still explains why all the layers would be turned off after updating all layouts. I swear I did not touch anything while it was updating. All the layers were turned off, every single one.
Turned on all layers, all was fine. But if I had not checked, I still would have sent a whole layout of blank drawings to the printer. That's what bothers me..

[__archiben]

Tom wrote:
do have a Cadimage tool. 3d profile. How would that make a difference.

some of their tools use an ' Archicad - master only' layer to do things. it kinda broke a little while back and made all of the saved layer combinations become 'custom'. nothing to do with your issue though:

Views are on the "layout" layer.

right. just put them on the Archicad layer ok? it will work then.

How does one control layers in the layout environment?

there is no "layers in the layout environment" control. layers are the same globally. if you have the "plans" layer combination active in the model environment it will be the same in the layout environment. read the link link posted.

If the layout layer is on, all the layers that are in the model view should show up, regardless of what else is turned on...

yes except:

None of the above still explains why all the layers would be turned off after updating all layouts.

it does: when you press the 'update' button archicad rebuilds/refreshes/whatever the views based on the layer combinations assigned to those views. it changes the layer combination globally in order to build the various views. therefore: the last view it updates has a layer combination in which the layer "layout" is turned off. hence your placed drawings disappear.

once more: put your placed drawings on the archicad layer!!!

~/archiben

[Link]

With all due respect, the CADimage bug could have everything to do with your problem, as it completely messes up what layers are visible in the layer combinations. Including the ones in your layouting environment.

There is only one layer command, but two separate & current layer combinations, one for the layouting environment and one for the modeling environment. It's not global.

It doesn't matter what layer your drawings are on (although the ArchiCAD layer is safest because it is always visible). The question is how did you change your layouting layer combination, just by updating your drawings? Seems like there must be more to it than what you have explained. Can you try it again and give us more details, like current layer combination in the layouting environment before and after updating, how you are updating, etc?

Cheers,
Link.