Layers

Objects, whether 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional, are usually created in different layers. The visibility of the objects in whole or in part can be controlled using the Layer Filter and the Layer dialog. The Layer Filter is to be found in the Visibility group on the Start tab, the Layer dialog () can be found on the Toolbar. Each can be configured to apply either to the whole design (i.e. globally) or simply to the viewport currently active. The layer management functions are available in the design area and in the Layout area.

Layer Dialog

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Open the Layer dialog by clicking on the Layer icon on the Toolbar. Various options come up for selecting and sorting layers – see the following screenshot.

The palette of functions included in the free pCon.planner is supplemented in pCon.planner PRO with further options for dealing with layers. Just a reminder here that if no settings have yet been made in the Layer dialog, it will always show all the layers in a design.

01: Quick Filter
The Quick Filter allows you to filter for the name of the layer with every entry.

02: Filter layers by selected objects
In the Layer dialog, the only layers which will be shown are those on which there are objects selected in the plan.

03: Mark Layers of selected objects
In the Layer dialog, the layers on which there are objects selected in the plan will be highlighted in blue.

04: Create a new layer
A new layer can be defined here.

05: Delete all objects on highlighted layers
All objects in the plan which are on the layers highlighted in blue in the Layer dialog can be deleted at once using this function. The layer itself will be deleted at the same time.

06: Creating and managing user-defined filters
If you click on this button the Filter Editor will open, which you can use to make individual quick filters for the various layers. The procedure for creating user-defined filters is to be found here.

07: Open context menu
Clicking with the right mouse button in the area highlighted in red opens a context menu which contains some of the functions listed above. This menu also makes other functions available, such as renaming particular layers or selecting/deselecting all layers.

08: Sort layers by name

Clicking on this area serves to sort the layers in alphabetic order.

09: Selection of layers for Layer dialog

Clicking on this button opens a menu in which groups of layers or single layers can be selected to be displayed or filtered.

10: Selection of layers

Further options for layers: For example you can decide whether only layers that are visible/invisible within the plan are to be displayed in the Layer dialog.

Assign Objects to Layers

Every object in a plan is assigned to a layer. There are several ways to change the assignment:

1. Assign using the Properties Editor

Select the object(s) within the plan that you would like to assign to a level. In the Properties Editor, you will see the drop-down menu Layer. Select the desired level from the list.

2. Assign using Drag & Drop

Select the object(s) within the plan that you would like to assign to a layer. Hold down the left mouse button to drag the object to the desired layer in the Layers dialog. It will now be assigned to this layer.

Controlling Visibility Using Symbols

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The clickable symbols (light bulb or grey sphere) in the Layer dialog serve to control the visibility of all the layers (symbols in the All column) or of the layers in the active viewport (symbols in the Viewport column).

The settings shown in the areas contained in the red frame in the left-hand screenshot are explained below.

•	01: In the first section, All layers are set to be visible (green eye symbols). The grey circles in the Viewport column indicate that the global settings have been adopted for the active viewport. This means that the layers will be visible there, too.

•	02: In the second section, All layers are set to be invisible (grey eye symbols). However, these layers have been set to be visible in the Viewport (the green eye symbols in this column).

•	03: In the third section, All layers are set to be visible (green eye symbols light). However, these layers have been set to be invisible in the Viewport (grey eye symbols).

User Defined Layer Filter

The Filter Editor is a tool which enables the user to create individual quick filters for layers. A filter consists in any number of conditions which can be organized in groups and linked by means of logical operators. Depending on how the filters are defined, the visibility of one or any number of layers can be regulated. Open the Filter Editor as before using the button in the Layers Dialog (see here). The functions provided by the dialog are now first presented and there follows an actual example using the dialog to create a customized filter.

Filter Editor Toolbar

	Create a new filter.
	Delete the selected filter.
	Duplicate the selected filter with all its conditions.
	Save the changes made to the selected filter.
	Apply the filter to the layers in the layer manager. The consequence of this is that only layers to which the filter conditions apply are shown in the list of layers. This means that the result can be checked even during the creation of the filter.
	Delete the filter currently applied to the layer manager.
	Enable the visibility of all layers to which the filter conditions apply. Objects on these layers will then be shown in the design area.
	Disable the visibility of all layers to which the filter conditions apply. Objects on these layers will then be hidden in the design area.
	Select a directory in which all filters are stored as files in the form of *.flt.

Creating User Defined Filters

The next paragraph describes the creation of user-defined filters in general. To follow the creation process in respect of an actual example, read this.

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1.	Start a new filter (). You can give it any name you choose

2.	You can use templates selected from a list which will simplify the creation of individual filters. Available are not only the default quick filters and other filter templates, but also the layers of in the drawing currently open.

3.	The filter root is the uppermost layer of the filter. Click on the Filter button to save new conditions or groups or to delete the entire contents of the filter.

Add conditions for groups. By clicking the Edit button (

), you can add as many individual conditions as you like and these conditions can, in their turn, contain groups. You can modify the logical operator by which the elements contained in the group are linked to each other: simply click on the operator.

Adapt the conditions. A comparison of the layer names (using like and not like) and the value given seves to control which layer if affected by the filter. If a layer fulfils the conditions, the filter will have an effect on its visibility. As reference string for comparison, you can enter either the full name of the layer or a part of it with wildcards (*, ?). The Edit button can be used for deleting the condition, but also enables other conditions or groups to be added.

Creating a Customized Filter

By way of explanation to help you understand the procedure for creating a customized filter, here is a demonstration of how to filter layers for a specific purpose.

In the Layers dialog (image on right) you can see that the deign has six more layers besides “layer zero”. The aim is now to show only the layers designated by "D2" or "wall" in the layer name.

Open the Filter Editor from the relevant button ().

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1.	Start a new filter () and give it the name of your choice (here it is Sample Filter).

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It is recommended that you edit the filter root first. The filter root is the uppermost level of the filter. You will be able to modify it at any time. The default operator for starting the filter is AND, which means that all conditions must be fulfilled for the layer, or it will not be displayed. There is an overview of the operators on the right.

AND	Both conditions must be fulfilled.
OR	At least one of the condtions must be fulfilled.
AND NOT	Only one condition may be fulfilled.
OR NOT	Neither of the conditions may be fulfilled.

2.	Click on the AND and then on another operator. As it is the intention in this example to filter according to conditions for which it should only ever be one which is fulfilled, the OR operator is suitable.

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3.	Now set conditions according to which the filtering should take place. Then click on Press to add another condition (here this has been done twice). Alternatively, you can also add the conditions using the Filter buttons.

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As the search is to be for the layers which contain either "D2“ or “wall” in their string, the conditions are set in such a way that both these strings must appear in the name of the layer. To achieve this, go into the <empty> fields and type in the strings. The wildcard characters * and ? will help you to define if any strings should appear before or after the searched-for strings.

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If you now use the filter, exactly those layers will appear in the layer dialog which contain “D2” or "wall" in their name.

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As is normally the case when working with logical operators, there are various ways of achieving the filtering desired. The layer filters shown below will achieve the same result as the example just given.

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Layer Filter

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The Layer Filter is opened by clicking on the button of the same name in the Visibility group on the Start tab. The Layer Filter enables you to hide or unhide certain layers of the design quickly and easily without reverting to the Layer dialog.

The is a global Layer Filter (i.e. the All button in the Start tab, Visibility group) as well as a Layer Filter for the active viewport (the Viewport button in the Start tab, Visibility group).

The Layer Filter menu also gives you access to your user defined filters.

Positioning the Layer Dialog

The Layer dialog can be used either as a floating or a docked element. This is where to find the full instructions.

Program help

Layers