Tipster Narinder Sharma shows us a quick method for changing objects in AutoCAD to Bylayer.
"I had to create an additional view of a piping and instrumentation diagram in one color, except for a few objects which I wanted to show in another color. It was easy to change the color in VP Color, within Layer Manager — but it didn't do all of the work. Since the drawing has a lot of blocks and attributes, it did not change the color of all the attribute text (some attributes were set to Bycolor and some were set to Bylayer).
"I found an easy way to change everything globally instead of updating each block. Before I change the VP Color from Layer Manager, I type SetByLayer at the Command prompt and follow the onscreen instructions: - Select objects or (settings) : Select all objects in the drawing (in my particular case)
- Change ByBlock to Bylayer? (yes/no) (yes) : yes
- Include Blocks? (yes/no) (yes) : yes
After this short exercise, double-click inside the viewport and go to Layer Manager to change the VP Color of the desired layers. It will change the color of all objects, including Attributes." Notes from Cadalyst Tip Patrol: If you get a file that has objects set to anything besides Bylayer, use this tip. Type SetByLayer on the Command line and pick your objects, just as Narinder describes. You can also select your objects, open the Properties Manager, and change the color setting there. Narinder used this tip in AutoCAD MEP 2010, but it works in any AutoCAD-based vertical.
AutoCAD objects have several basic settings, one of which is color. An object's color is very important because it can control several other factors. It is a good practice to draw everything as Bylayer; that allows the Layer Manager to control the display features of your drawing. If you assign a color to an object, you lose control; from then on, that object can only be displayed in that color.
Narinder mentions using the VP Color setting. It is a Layer Manager override that allows you to display the file's objects in a different color for a specific viewport. This gives you great control and flexibility when displaying your drawing objects. |