> DraftSight Mechanical > Mechanical Toolbox Overview > Managing Mechanical Layers and Layergroups > Mechanical Layer Manager Dialog Box

Welcome

The User Interface

Getting Started

Drawing with Precision

Working with Drawing Files

Viewing the Drawing

3D Viewing and Presentation

Formatting the Drawing

Drawing Entities

Modifying Entities

Working with Blocks, BlockAttributes, EntityGroups, and References

Working with Hatches, Color Fills, Text, and Tables

Creating and Modifying Dimensions

Creating and Modifying 3D Entities

Creating Layout Sheets and Printing Drawings

Arranging Drawing Windows

Customizing

Command Reference

Add-Ins

DraftSight Professional

DraftSight Connected

DraftSight Premium

DraftSight Mechanical

Mechanical Toolbox Overview

Managing Mechanical Toolbox Standards

Selecting Mechanical Toolbox Settings

Managing Mechanical Layers and Layergroups

Working with the Mechanical Layer Manager

Mechanical Layer Manager Dialog Box

Working with the Layergroup Manager

Layergroup Manager Dialog Box

Controlling Visibility Enhancements

Mechanical Toolbox Hardware Options

Mechanical Toolbox Screw Connections

Mechanical Toolbox Hole Options

Mechanical Toolbox Favorites

Editing Hardware and Hole Definitions

Working with Detail Views

Working with Section Lines

Adding Surface Finish Symbols

Adding Welding Symbols

Adding Feature Control Frame

Adding Datum Identifier Symbols

Working with Part References, BOMs, and Parts Lists

Mechanical Revision Tables

Working with Drawing Frames and Title Blocks

Mechanical Utilities

Mechanical Commands Reference

DraftSight Installation Administration and Licensing

Mechanical Layers Manager Dialog Box

The Mechanical Layers Manager dialog box lets you manage layers and Mechanical layer definitions.

The dialog box appears when you use the AM_Layer command.

Mechanical Layers Manager Dialog Box Elements

Dialog Box Toolbar

You can use the following toolbar buttons:

Function	Icon	Description
New Layer		Creates a layer. You can rename the layer as soon as it is created.
New Layer Definition		Creates a Mechanical layer definition. You can rename the layer definition as soon as it is created.
Delete		Deletes the selected layer.
Activate		Determines the selected layer as the active layer.
Check		Lets you select entities and determine on which layers they are drawn. The dialog box temporarily closes so that you can specify entities in the graphics area. After you specified entities, press Enter to return to the dialog box. In the dialog box, the layers on which the specified entities are located are highlighted.
Move into...		Moves entities to the selected layer. The dialog box temporarily closes so that you can specify entities in the graphics area. After you specified entities, press Enter to return to the dialog box.
Highlight entities		Highlights the entities on the currently selected layers. The dialog box temporarily hides so that you can see the highlighted entities. Press Enter to return to the dialog box.
Show/Hide layer definitions		Hides or shows all Mechanical layer definitions in the layers list.

The following functions are also availabe in the toolbar area:

Function	Description
Filter expression	Filters the list of layers according to the name you have entered.
Filter type	Lets you filter the list of layers based on the entity types that specific layers use.
Current layer	Displays the name of the current layer.

Layers List

The following columns are available in the Layers list:

Column	Description
Status	An arrow icon indicates that the layer is the current layer.
Name	Displays the name of the layer. Click on the name to have the option to rename the layer.
Show	Shows or hide the layer. Click to toggle the Show/Hide status.
Freeze	Indicates whether the layer is frozen or thawed. Click to toggle the Freeze/Thaw status.
Lock	Indicates whether the layer is locked or unlocked. Click to toggle the Lock/Unlock status.
LineColor	Displays the LineColor associated with a layer. Click to select a different LineColor.
LineStyle	Displays the LineStyle associated with a layer. Click to select a different LineStyle.
LineWeight	Displays the LineWeight associated with a layer. Click to select a different LineWeight.
Print	Indicates whether the layer is printed or not. Click to toggle the print status of that layer.
Replicate in Layergroup	Indicates whether the layer is replicated when a new layergroup is created with the AM_Layergroup command. Click to toggle the replicate status of that layer.
Override LineColor by Layergroup	Indicates whether the LineColor associated with the layer is overridden by the layergroup LineColor, when the layer is part of a layergroup. Click to toggle the override status.
Override LineStyle by Layergroup	Indicates whether the LineStyle associated with the layer is overridden by the layergroup LineStyle, when the layer is part of a layergroup. Click to toggle the override status.
Override LineWeight by Layergroup	Indicates whether the LineWeight associated with the layer is overridden by the layergroup LineWeight, when the layer is part of a layergroup. Click to toggle the override status.
Associated Entities	Contains the names of the entities that use the layer. Applicable only to Mechanical layers.
Description	Optionally contains a description of the layer or layer definition.

Right-click menu items in the Layer list that are not available as toolbar buttons:

Menu Option	Description
Convert to Mechanical layer	Makes the selected layer a Mechanical layer.
Use as Selection Set	Selects all the entities on the specified layer as part of a selection set. Use the Previous option when promted to specify entities in a subsequent editing command to apply the selection set.
Select All	Selects all list items.
Clear All	Deselects all list items.
Invert Selection	Selects all list items, except those that are currently selected.

Additional Dialog Box Options

Menu Option	Description
Import	Imports the layer settings and properties from another drawing (.dwg), drawing template (.dwt), or layer settings configuration file (.cfg).
LineWeight mapping	Displays the Lineweight Mapping dialog box, which lets you assign a LineWeight to a color and modify the LineWeight of all layers of that color.
Reset to Defaults	Restores all settings to the default values.

^ Top of Page

Access

Command: AM_Layergroup

Menu: Format > Layergroup Manager

Ribbon: Home > Layers > Layergroup Manager

Command -AM_Layer (command line variant)

Parent Topic

Managing Mechanical Layers and Layergroups

Search 'Mechanical Layers Manager Dialog Box' in the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base.

Provide feedback on this topic

SOLIDWORKS welcomes your feedback concerning the presentation, accuracy, and thoroughness of the documentation. Use the form below to send your comments and suggestions about this topic directly to our documentation team. The documentation team cannot answer technical support questions. Click here for information about technical support.

* Required


*Email:
Subject:		Feedback on Help Topics
Page:		Mechanical Layers Manager Dialog Box
*Comment:
*		I acknowledge I have read and I hereby accept the privacy policy under which my Personal Data will be used by Dassault Systèmes

Cancel

Print Topic

Select the scope of content to print:

This topic and all topics linked from this topic

Just this topic

This topic and only immediate topics under it

This selected topic and all subtopics

Cancel

We have detected you are using a browser version older than Internet Explorer 7. For optimized display, we suggest upgrading your browser to Internet Explorer 7 or newer.

Never show this message again

Web Help Content Version: 2025 SP2

To disable Web help from within SOLIDWORKS and use local help instead, click Help > Use SOLIDWORKS Web Help.

To report problems encountered with the Web help interface and search, contact your local support representative. To provide feedback on individual help topics, use the “Feedback on this topic” link on the individual topic page.