Layers in xrefs and new layers in viewports

[Anonymous]

I am using AutoCAD LT 2009.  I have a few "pet peeves", and want to know if anyone has good solutions, or if more recent versions of LT address any of these:

1.  I work with drawings with xrefs a lot.  (The files I Xref are produced by others.)  Often I want to turn off some information in the xref by "freezing" the appropriate layer in the xref, but there is no easy way to tell what layer any item in an xref is on.  I have to open the xref file (which can only be done as a "read only" copy), find the item and which layer it is on, and then go back to my drawing and make the change to the xref layer.  It would be nice to be able to tell from my drawing which layer within the xref any particular item is on.  (Colors don't help, since lots of layers use the same colors, and lots of items are not colored "by Layer".  

2.  I occasionally need to add a layer (or more) to a drawing, but I want the layer to be visible only in some viewports/layouts.  The default is that the new layer is visible in all viewports, and I have to go through all of the viewports to freeze the layer.  Is there a way to make a new layer visible in the current viewport but "frozen" in all other existing viewports?

3.  Often when I try to calculate areas I get "coordinates have different z coordinates" - usually because of data in the xref drawings.  It would be nice to be able to calculate the apparent or projected area.  

[pendean · Accepted solution]

Explore your HELP files to find these:

1. LAYFRZ command>Settings option controls what you select to freeze. If it's not in LT2009, upgrade.

2. VPLAYER command>Newfrz option. Been around for as long as viewports have.

3. AREA is a 2D function, Z is a 3D setting: you don't explain if the 2D is just a random elevation height or a 3D object you are snapping to, but both require you to clean up your files for 2D command to work properly. Which is the Z trigger, the latter can be fixed with MOVE command, the former requires full AutoCAD to fix it.