I found the following Layer Management idea for Civil 3D hilarious and functional too. This relates somewhat to our ongoing NCS Standards chat, so here she goes.
Direct From - Deep in the Heart of Texas
(‘cause the theme song always drives you crazy)
A Big Hat CAD manager called me today with a hot tip about how to deal with the too many layers in your Civil 3D template problem. As we all know AutoCAD Civil 3D has many Features. Because Civil 3D is Style and component based, it is possible to go crazy making layers to represent all the stuff the software can produce.
If you’re following this blog lately, you know I believe we should take the Occum’s Razor approach to layer creation and standards development. In every new release we try to apply the test and make our Production Solutions better.
Just because you can make each and every Civil 3D component part go somewhere unique doesn’t mean you should do it in the Styles your AutoCAD Civil 3D template.
One Template is Loco Anyway
It doesn’t mean you should put every Style in one Civil 3D template either. We tell people right up front the first thing you want to do with our Production Solution templates is get rid of Styles you don’t or won’t use every day from your production templates.
A Style Purge or Delete is not forever. You get the included Style libraries in addition to the templates themselves. Did you notice that our Jump Kit Style library has thousands of the suckers – probably what you “need” to build is already in there – or at least her kissin’ cousin is.
No matter what you may still end up with a lot of layers.
This might intimidate your users. The users aren’t going to need to deal with them much at all if you employ our products as designed. You can use our Civil 3D products productively for days and never open the Layer Manager. Layer State changes sure. Layer Management changes – eewhew.
AutoCAD Civil 3D is just going to use all those layers but your users are not.
That’s the goal.
Less user hassle and more work.
The Brilliant Layer Management and Implementation Tip
Create standard Layer Filters in your template that effectively hide the bulk of the layers from view in the Layer Manager. Then just close the Filter panel in the Layer Manager. Huh?
If you’re users don’t need to deal with it why bother showing it to them.
WTMI is real folks. This hot tip is KISS and it works.
Maybe we should call this layer management and AutoCAD Civil 3D implementation tip the
“No See Ums”
You know what I mean - those Itchy, unseen-little buggers that drive you to distraction.
Are you laughing with us? I’m laugh at myself for missing the painfully obvious. Dooh!
By the way, Layer filtering like this a great way to test out and develop customized task based Civil 3D templates without messing with so much up front. There are times when delayed decision-making is a good thing. You could probably get your first Publish on Demand template built this way in part anyway.
Too bad we cannot filter the Styles in the Toolspace Settings tab.
Can we do that?
Well maybe not with that kind of filter.
What is a Style library except a filtered group of Styles afterall.
As CAD Managers we’d get the “the Styles all disappeared” question more often.
“Bob. Home Ribbon. Turn on the Settings palette. Expand the Surface Feature branch in the tree.”
“Don’t forget about the LSD (Label Style Defaults), Bob.
Did you remember to check the Annotative Scale tool, Bob?
Bob, No the titleblock is in paperspace. It’s not in the Tool Palette anymore.”
Experts Learn Every Day
Hoorah!