Changing layers in a group

[acepernich]

I am now using v. 11.5, coming from v. 8.5.

In 8.5, on entering a group and selecting an object, the object's class and layer would show in the OIP, and could be changed by selecting from the pull downs. In 11.5, apparently, on entering a group and selecting an object, the layer pull-down is greyed out, so the object's layer cannot be changed without cutting the object out and pasting it into the new layer, or ungrouping everything first.

Is this really the correct current behavior? If so, is there any way to get the old behavior back?

AC

[ 08-12-2005, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Antone Cepernich ]

[scarth]

if this is the current behavior you have just given me another reason to fear the upgrade...yuck!

[Guest]

Switch to a top plan view - it should show up then.

[Kevin]

Good ol' Katie. Working on the weekend. Gotta love her!

[acepernich]

Maybe it should, but it doesn't .

New Design layer. Draw some objects. Select and group them. Enter the group and select one of the objects. Layer pulldown in OIP is grayed out - even in top/plan view. Same even if I draw just 1 object and group it.

[acepernich]

Just upgraded to 11.5.1. Behavior still the same.

[ccroft]

I have both 8.5.2 and 11.5 available. I can confirm what Antone is seeing. It appears that at some point it was decided that a group cannot span layers even if set to Show/Snap/Modify others. Perhaps it has something to do with the new Viewport and Sheet Layer structure?

Class assignment is available.

This actually makes sense to the way I work, and I'm not sure why you'd want a group to be composed of objects on different layers,but there are so many different ways that people use this program and I'm sure there is some application.

Antone, maybe if you can describe why you need this functionality someone can explain the "new" way of doing it.

Regards

Charles

[jan15]

Yes, in version 8 you can change the layer of an object while editing a group, but if you do so then that object leaves the group.

The new system doesn't allow that. If you want to move an object out of its group and onto another layer, you have to use Cut and Paste-In-Place. This change may have been made because the old system was confusing users, who didn't know they were removing the object from the group.

In both the old and the new system, objects in a group are always on the same layer as the group. A group is an un-named sub-division of a layer.

[islandmon]

Interesting that a symbol is also a 'Group' and operates within its own Layer.

Editing the symbol indeed changes it on every Layer. The symbol can be on any & all Layers. If you require cross-layer operations then use the symbol. Deleting a symbol on active Layer has no effect on symbols on other Layers.

[jan15]

In the old system, changing the layer of an object while editing a symbol removes it from the symbol definition, making it a single object on the specified layer.

In the new system, at least as far as version 10, you can't do that. The OIP pretends that objects in the symbol are on whatever layer they started out on, but won't let you change it. And when you try to do something with layers (such as layer visibility or colors), then it becomes clear that the objects in a symbol are actually on the layer that the symbol is inserted on.

So, in both cases, each insertion of a symbol behaves like a group as far as layering is concerned. Antone should be using Classes instead of Layers to differentiate between objects in a group.