Can't switch layer of objects

[samerickson89]

I'm using a drawing as a reference to make my own drawing, so I'm trying to switch all of the objects in the original drawing to the same layer to make it a little simpler to distinguish between the original and mine. A couple layers won't switch though. I select them all, choose the desired layer in the drop-down box, and nothing happens. If I select them again after that, they SAY they're in the new layer, but they still look/behave as if they're in the original layer (e.g. same color, only disappear when original layer turned on/off, etc).

 

I've seen a couple other threads with a similar problem, but their solutions of setting "Pickfirst" to 1 or going through layer properties and switching "Color" and "Linetype" both to "ByLayer" didn't do anything.

 

Any suggestions as to what else could be wrong?

[Dana W]

Is the new layer or the original layer locked or frozen? Are you doing this in modelspace or paperspace? Have you tried switching the Object Properties to By Layer? Can you post the drawing?

[samerickson89]

Is the new layer or the original layer locked or frozen? Are you doing this in modelspace or paperspace? Have you tried switching the Object Properties to By Layer? Can you post the drawing?

 

One of the original layers was frozen, but thawing it didn't help. Had to look up model space and paper space, but as far as I can tell I'm using model space. Yeah I checked the properties and they were already set to ByLayer.

 

Here are a few pics. The first is with everything is turned off except the layers that are giving me trouble, the second is with those layers selected (notice in the layers toolbar, now it tells me they're in underlay, the layer I want them to be in), the third is with the desired layer turned on, and the last is with everything highlighted (says all of it is in underlay layer).

 

[ReMark]

Did you check to see if the color property was set to ByLayer?

[Dana W]

OK, doors then, and maybe some other doo-dads. Small pictures, hard to make them out.

 

The doors are probably blocks. Blocks can reside on any layer, but the objects inside the blocks will stay on the layer which was used to create them initially in the block editor. The only way to move objects inside a block to another layer is to do it by opening the block in the block editor, moving the objects to another layer, then close the block editor, and save the block when it asks you to choose to do so. The good part of that is, every instance of the same block on the drawing will change after the block is edited. Hopefully all the doors are in the same block.

 

To edit a block, simply select one instance of it, then click the Block Editor button on the Insert Ribbon Tab, or type the command BEDIT.

 

Things about blocks you need to know, that can ONLY be controlled inside the block editor;

 

If all the objects inside the block were created or placed on layer 0 (zero), and their object properties were all By Layer, then they will all take on the layer properties of ANY layer the block is inserted on, or moved to, even though the objects inside the blocks are still on layer 0. This is what Layer 0 is for.

 

So, what you should do, if you are going to edit the door, or any block, make sure any parts of it that need to change with a layer change is moved to or created and left on layer 0, and the object property set to By Layer.

 

Conversely, any part of the block that you want to remain the same color or lineweight no matter what layer the block is on. should be created on, or moved to that specific layer, with the object property set to By Layer (other than layer 0), or given specific object properties other than By Layer.

[SLW210]

This thread may be of interest to you...http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?19161-lisp-for-changing-all-objects-in-a-block-to-layer-quot-0-quot