layer filter for different viewport colors and/or freezes

[sfore]

In my template, is there a way to setup a layer filter or layer state to automatically plot a different viewport color when a new drawing is created and viewports are made?  Note, my template does not have viewports premade. 

I've set all my Existing and Proposed Utilities to use the WV Miss Utility colors, but I designated either pale (odd color#) for existing and bold (even color#) for proposed so that in model space there's a visual difference.  See a few examples below:

V-SSWR-PIPE (color 91)

V-WATR-PIPE (color 151)

C-SSWR-PIPE (color 92)

C-WATR-PIPE (color 152)

Our Civil dept doesn't use colors, but our Utility dept does occasionaly especially when Aerials are used.

When we create layouts/viewports in a drawing, it would be nice to have viewport layer colors automatically be set to plot black or gray or be on/off depending on existing conditions sheet or proposed site plan sheet.  The only way I know of is if I would set up viewports inside my template with VP Color Overrides preset and/or VP freezes for certain layers, which I'm hesitant in doing.

Shawn

[troma]

You could set up a layer state and save it in the layer state manager.  This would save settings like vpfreeze and colour of the layer.  The layer state could be saved within the template or exported and saved separately.

When you restore the layer state in the viewport it will adjust the settings accordingly.  I believe if you have the colours saved within the layer state, it will apply them as vpoverrides.  I'm not 100% on that.

[sfore]

I don't think the layer state thing would work after a little testing, BUT what about this...

We have a border sheet drawing with our 8.5x11, 11x17, 24x36 in layouts.  The borders in them have viewports that are actually tied with the scale through attributes.  So what if I recreated the border drawing with the template I just built and have layouts called 24x36 (Existing) and 24x36 (Proposed) and create viewport overrides in the existing layout to freeze all C- layers.  In the proposed layout, create vp overrides to gray out all the V- layers and even create vp color overrides in each.  I know with every drawing there are bound to be layers we need to create that wouldn't be inside the overrides derived from the borders drawing, but at least this would give a big jump to have preset viewport overrides when we create our layouts inside our design drawings.

Thoughts????   

[troma]

I think what you're saying will work.

But I don't know why the layer states wouldn't.  The trick is to make sure to create them and save them within a viewport to begin with.  Then save them with only the "Visibility in Current VP" and "Color" properties checked.  Deselect all the other options.  Then when you restore it this is all that is changed.

[sfore]

If I used xrefs then what I mentioned wouldn't work.

I think layer states would work.  Maybe my initial testing was bad.  I'm green when it comes to layer states.

Would I need to have layouts and viewports inside my dwt to create my layer states?  Or could I have viewports inisde the template long enough to create the layer states and then delete the layouts or would they have to remain?  If I deleted the layouts, could I restore the layer state to a viewport when a drawing and layouts were created. I'm hesitant to put viewports inside my dwt due to I've seen viewports get corrupt.

[troma]

I'm sure you can delete the layouts after you save the layer state, and the layer state will still work.  You can even create the layer state in a different drawing, and export it.  Then you could import it into your template and save it there, or just import it per drawing when you need it.

However, that's not going to help with x-refs.  Unless the x-ref is given the same name every time, the layer state is not going to work.

So here's another idea: set up layer filters in your template, in the layers dialoge.  The filters can be set up with wildcard seraches (i.e. V-* will find anything that starts with V-).  The filters will not set up override colours or vpfreezes, but it creates a group of layers, so you can easily select all of them and either freeze, or make them grey etc.

[sfore]

Layer states is the way to go, but you said they wouldn't work for XREF's.  I use XREF's and Data Ref's when needed, but I prefer to set up my whole design in one drawing and control everything thru Viewport Freezes and Viewport Colors. 

I will occasionaly create a Base.dwg and a Data Shortcut for EG.  I then create a Design.dwg and bring in Base.dwg as a XREF and create a data reference to EG.  I always turn off my Base xref surface layer inside my Design.dwg because I now have a Data Reference to EG.

My question is, how will I get the Layer State to gray out all the V- Layers inside my Proposed Layouts since Layer states won't work for XREF's?  Is this where I would have to manually go to the XREF Filter in Layer Manager and manually change the Viewport Color to gray for all V- Layers (Existing).

I also tried bringing in the .las (layer state file) into my Base dwg before I closed it.  I created my design drawing layout and the layer state with xref in the name of it shows up in the layer state box, but when I try to restore it, nothing happens.  Maybe you're right about layer states doesn't work inside xref's, but it seems like it should.  Thoughts??

[troma]

The layer state restores properties to a layer of the exact same name.  X-ref layers are named after whatever the x-ref is called.  If you always call your Base "Base.dwg", then they should work, once they've been set up in a drawing with "Base.dwg" x-reffed in.  But otherwise, they're not going to work.  They won't remember the layer setting from a layer called "This project|layer 1" and apply that setting to a layer called "That project|layer 1"

I suggest you set up a filter in you layer dialog.  Search should be     *|V-*     including the asktrisks.  That will find anything in the x-ref starting with V-.  Then you click into that filter, select all layers, and set the vpcolor for all of them.

As a bonus: you do this once, and then you can use layer states for the rest of the project.  Those layers have exactly the same name in all drawings hosting that x-ref (unless you manually change the x-ref name).  So you can export and import the layer state among project drawings.