CadLearning

AutoCad 2015

6. Object Properties

601 Understanding ByLayer and Object Property Concepts

When you create objects, it is important to distinguish how the object's properties are assigned. The
current properties for any new object that you create are shown here in the Properties panel on the
Home ribbon. Notice that the first item here determines the color. The current color is set to
ByLayer. The current lineweight is set to ByLayer. The current linetype is set to ByLayer. And the
current Transparency is also set to ByLayer. Objects created with their properties set to ByLayer will
take on the color, lineweight, linetype and transparency assigned to the layer on which they are
created. If you set these properties to anything other than ByLayer, then that property will be
assigned to the object explicitly. In other words, the property will not be controlled by the layer on
which the object is created. So when you create an object, you can determine when you create it
whether you want its color, lineweight, linetype, and transparency assigned based on the property of
the layer, or, by choosing from one of these property drop-downs, assign a particular color,
lineweight, linetype, or transparency explicitly to the object. Again, in most instances, you should
assign color, lineweight, linetype, and transparency ByLayer, so that the objects you create take on
the properties assigned to the layer on which they are created. But if you wish, you can assign
these properties explicitly to the object, in which case the color, lineweight, linetype, or transparency
assigned to the object overrides that of the layer on which the object is created.

602 Setting the Color ByLayer

Objects such as lines, arcs, circles, and other geometry, can have color assigned to them in one of
two ways. Objects can have colors assigned based on the color of the layer on which they are
created, or an object can simply have a color assigned to it. If I move my cursor over this particular
object, you will see that the property panel that appears, that shows you the properties of the object,
shows that its current color is assigned ByLayer. Whereas this object has been assigned the color
Blue. Note that both objects were created on Layer 0. Since this object has its color set ByLayer, if
you change the color of that particular layer, the object will automatically change. So if I change the
color assigned to Layer 0, and in this case, I'll change the color assigned to Layer 0 to Red, notice
that the upper line is now red. If I go back to the Layer drop-down and change the color again, this
time let's make it green, the upper line is now green. So as you can see, any object that has its color
set to ByLayer will automatically change to whatever color the layer happens to be, while the lower
line, which was assigned the color Blue, remains that color regardless of the color I choose for its
layer.

603 Setting the Linetype ByLayer

Objects created in AutoCAD, such as lines, arcs, circles, and other geometry, can have linetype
assigned to them in one of two ways. Objects can have linetype assigned based on the linetype of
the layer on which they are created, or an object can simply have a linetype assigned to it. If I move
my cursor over this particular object, you will see, in the property panel that appears that shows the
properties of the object, that its linetype is assigned ByLayer. Whereas this object has been
assigned the Continuous linetype. Note that both objects were created on Layer 0. Since this object
has its linetype set ByLayer, if you change the linetype of that particular layer, the object will
automatically change. I can do that using the Layer Properties Manager. I'll click the Layer
Properties button in the Layers panel of the Home ribbon to display the Layer Properties Manager
palette. In the Layer Properties Manager, you can see that the linetype currently assigned to Layer 0
is the Continuous linetype. If I click on the linetype, AutoCAD displays the Select Linetype dialog,
which shows me all of the linetypes that are currently loaded in the drawing. I can now assign a
different linetype to Layer 0 by selecting it from this list. If you do not see the linetype that you want,
you can click on the Load button to load other linetypes from the ACAD.LIN file. This file, which is
found in the support path or folder, contains all of the linetype definitions. So if I would like to load
other linetypes, I can simply scroll down through the list, press and hold the CTRL key and click to
select the linetypes that I want to load, and then click OK. Those additional linetypes are now
available in the current drawing. To change the linetype assigned to Layer 0, simply choose the
linetype in the Select Linetype dialog, and then click OK. Notice that the upper line, the line whose
linetype property was set to ByLayer, has changed. But the lower line, the line whose linetype
property was set to Continuous, has not changed. So as you can see, any object that has its
linetype set to ByLayer will automatically change to whatever linetype the layer happens to be, while
lines that have their linetype set to a specific linetype will remain that linetype regardless of the
linetype you choose for its layer.

604 Setting the Lineweight ByLayer

Lineweight makes objects appear with thick or bold lines. Objects such as lines, arcs, circles, and
other geometry, can have lineweight assigned to them in one of two ways. Objects can have
lineweight assigned based on the lineweight of the layer on which they are created, or an object can
simply have a lineweight assigned to it. The drawing includes two lines. Both lines were created on
Layer 0. The upper line has its lineweight property set to ByLayer. The lower line has its lineweight
property set to a specific lineweight. When an object has its lineweight property set to ByLayer, if
you change the lineweight of that particular layer, the object will automatically change. On the Home
ribbon, in the Layers panel, click Layer Properties to open the Layer Properties Manager palette. In
the Layer Properties Manager, you can see that the lineweight currently assigned to Layer 0 is set
to what is known as the Default. When you click the lineweight value for the layer, the program
displays the Lineweight dialog, which shows all of the possible lineweights. You can now assign a
different lineweight to the layer by choosing it in the list. Although the lineweights are currently
displayed in millimeters, they can be switched to display in inches. In the Lineweights list, choose
0.50 mm and then click OK. In the Layer Properties Manager palette, the 0.5 mm lineweight has
now been assigned to Layer 0. But the drawing has not changed. There is one additional step
required in order for the lineweight to appear in the drawing. You must toggle on the display of the
lineweight. You can control this using a tool on the Status bar, but by default, this tool does not
appear, so you must first add it to the Status bar. On the Status bar, expand the Customization
menu and select LineWeight. Then, click away from the menu to close it. Move the cursor over the
Show/Hide Lineweight button. The tooltip indicates that this is currently off. Click to toggle it on. Now
you can see the lineweight applied to the upper line in the drawing. Remember, the upper line has
its lineweight set to ByLayer. The lower line has its lineweight set to an explicit value. For objects
that have their lineweight property set to ByLayer, if you change the lineweight for the layer on
which the object is created, the object will change. But for objects that have their lineweight property
set to any value other than ByLayer, they will retain their explicit lineweight value, regardless of the
lineweight you assign to the layer. When you click the Show/Hide Lineweight button again, it is
toggled off, and the lines no longer display with a lineweight. Click it again, and now you can see the
lineweight. Click the arrow to the right of the Show/Hide Lineweight button and choose Lineweight
Settings to display the Lineweight Settings dialog box. In the Units for Listing group box, you can
choose to display lineweight values in millimeters or inches. The Display Lineweight checkbox
serves the same purpose as the button on the Status bar; it toggles the display of lineweight on and
off. The Default drop-down determines the lineweight assigned as the default lineweight. This value
is currently set to 0.25mm. The Adjust Display Scale slider enables you to adjust the thickness of
the lineweight that displays when working in model space. When you print or plot the drawing, the
lineweight will always print at the exact thickness that you specify, even if the display of lineweight is
toggled off. But when working in Model Space, if you were to zoom way out to the drawing extents,
the lines might appear so small on the screen that you would not be able to see that the lines
actually have lineweight, even when the display of lineweight is toggled on. Click OK to close the
Lineweight Settings dialog. Use the roller-wheel to zoom in and out and notice that the lineweight
does not change. Use the tool on the Status bar to go back to the Lineweight Settings dialog. Drag
the Adjust Display Scale slider to its maximum value and then click OK. All of the lines now appear
thicker, but again, they remain the same thickness as you zoom in and out. Again, remember that
does not affect the way the objects will print. It simply changes the way objects appear while
working in model space, to help you distinguish which objects have lineweight. Go back to the
Lineweight Settings dialog, move the slider back to the middle, and then click OK.

605 Setting the Transparency ByLayer

Transparency enables you to see through objects. This can be particularly useful when working with
solid fills and objects that have width. Objects can have transparency assigned to them in one of
two ways. Objects can have transparency assigned based on the transparency setting of the layer
on which they are created, or an object can simply have a transparency assigned to it. The drawing
includes two wide polylines. Both polylines were created on the FILL layer. The polyline on the left
has its transparency property set to ByLayer. The polyline on the right has its transparency set to a
specific value. When an object has its transparency property set to ByLayer, if you change the
transparency of the layer on which it was created, the transparency of the object automatically
changes. On the Home ribbon, in the Layers panel, click Layer Properties to open the Layer
Properties Manager palette. In the Layer Properties Manager, you can see that the transparency
currently assigned to the FILL layer is 0, which means that objects drawn on that layer will be
completely opaque. When you click the transparency value for the layer, the program displays the
Layer Transparency dialog. You can then change the transparency value by either typing a new
transparency value, a number between 0 and 90, or by clicking the arrow and then selecting the
desired transparency from the standard values displayed in the drop-down list. Again, a value of 0
means that the layer is not transparent. The higher the value, the more transparent the layer. In the
drop-down, select 70, and then click OK. The new transparency value is immediately assigned to
the FILL layer and you can see that the polyline on the left is now 70-percent transparent. By
default, transparency is toggled on. You can easily toggle transparency off and on using a tool on
the Status bar, but by default, that tool is not visible. On the Status bar, expand the Customization
menu and select Transparency. Then, click away from the menu to close it. Now you can see the
Transparency button on the Status bar. Click to toggle off transparency. When toggled off, none of
the objects appear transparent. Click to toggle transparency on again. The polyline on the left
appears transparent because its transparency property is set to ByLayer. But the polyline on the
right has its transparency set to an explicit value, in this case, 0, which means that it remains
completely opaque. Remember that for objects that have their transparency property set to ByLayer,
if you change the transparency for the layer on which the object is created, the object will change.
But objects that have their transparency property set to a specific value retain that explicit
transparency, regardless of the transparency you assign to the layer.

606 Controlling the Object Color

There may be times that you would like to assign a specific color to an object rather than assigning
the color ByLayer. There are two different ways that you can control the color of objects. One is to
simply assign the color to the layer. If I go to the Layer drop-down and click on the color swatch
associated with the FURNITURE layer, and change the color of the FURNITURE layer to Blue, you
would think that all of the objects on that layer would change to blue. But they don't. This object over
here, that represents a plant, is actually on the FURNITURE layer, but it has a specific color
assigned to it. The plant has been assigned the color green. Whereas when I move my cursor over
this object, I can see in the rollover property panel that this object here has its color set to ByLayer.
Having these two different ways of assigning a color gives us greater flexibility. Because I don't want
to have a separate layer just for this plant. In this drawing, I consider plants to be part of the fixtures
or furniture. I want to be able to go to the layer control list and turn on or off that layer, and have all
the furniture disappear. I don't want to have a separate layer simply to have one object with a
different color. You can have objects on the same layer have multiple colors. Notice that the color
assigned to the FURNITURE layer is Blue. And if I turn that layer back on, you are going to see that
the furniture reappears and the plant also reappears here in the corner. The plant is always
represented with the color green. In order to create an object so that it always has a specific color,
you control its color here, in the Properties panel on the Home ribbon. Notice that if I expand the
Color drop-down, I can choose to have any new object I create have its color set ByLayer. Or, I can
assign a specific color to the object. So if I change the color to Magenta, what that means is any
new objects that I create will be created on the current layer, which happens to be Layer 0, but it will
be created with the color of magenta. Notice that now, when I start the LINE command and draw a
new line segment, the color of that object is Magenta. The line was created on Layer 0, but its color
is Magenta, even though the color of Layer 0 is set to White. If I go to the Layer Properties Manager
palette and change the color of Layer 0, to Red, all the objects on Layer 0 will change to the color
red as long as they were created with their color property set to ByLayer. Any object that was
created with a specific color, such as magenta, will remain magenta. That color will not change. The
same is true for this object here, which was created with the color blue. If I would like to change the
color of this object, when I select it I can see in the Layer panel what layer it is on, and in the
Properties panel I can see what color it is. I can then choose a different color for this object. Notice
that as I move the cursor over a color in color properties list, I can see a preview of what the object
will look like using that color. Let's make the color of that object Green. Now, that object is green.
But if I want it to be restored to the color of the layer, I can simply select the object and change the
color back to the color ByLayer. Do not choose the color Red. Change it to ByLayer. This way, any
time I make a change to the color of that particular layer, and this time, let's change the color of
Layer 0 to Green, you'll see that all of those objects that have their color property set to ByLayer
change to the color green. The color of this object is not the color green. The color of this object is
the color ByLayer. The color of this object is the color magenta. It will always be the color magenta
unless I change its color property to the color ByLayer.

607 Controlling the Object Linetype

There may be times that you would like to assign a specific linetype to an object rather than
assigning the linetype ByLayer. There are two different ways that you can control the linetype of
objects. One is to simply assign the linetype to the layer. If I click on the Layer Properties button to
display the Layer Properties Manager, and I change the linetype assigned to Layer 0, I'll change it to
the Fenceline, notice that the objects drawn on Layer 0 that have their linetype property set to
ByLayer immediately change to the new linetype. The upper line changed to the new linetype,
because, as you can see when I move the cursor over the line so that I can see its properties, the
linetype for this line is set to ByLayer. But the lower line did not change. It didn't change because, as
you can see, its linetype is actually set to the Continuous linetype, not ByLayer. An object's linetype
is determined here, on the Home ribbon in the Properties panel. When I click to expand the Linetype
drop-down, you can choose from among the linetypes that have already been loaded into this
particular drawing file. If I choose the Gasline, what that means is that any new object that I create,
whether it's a line, an arc, a circle, or any other type of object, will be created using the Gasline
linetype. If you select a specific linetype from the list, all future objects will be drawn using that
linetype. If you choose the linetype ByLayer, however, objects will appear using the linetype
currently assigned to the layer. If you go to the list, and you do not see the linetype that you want,
simply click on Other and AutoCAD will display the Linetype Manager dialog. In this dialog, click the
Load button to display the Load or Reload Linetypes dialog. Here you can see all of the linetypes
available in the current linetype library file. By default, this file is the ACAD.LIN file. These are the
linetypes that are available in this linetype library file. If you would like to load another linetype,
simply select it in this list. To load several linetypes at once, press and hold the SHIFT key to select
a range of linetypes, or press and hold the CTRL key to select several individual linetypes. Once
you have selected the linetypes you want to load, click OK, and the new linetypes will appear in the
Linetype Manager. Let's select BATTING and click the Current button to make that the current
linetype, and then click OK to close the dialog. Notice that BATTING is now the current linetype that
will be used for the creation of new objects. If I start the LINE command and draw a new line, you
will see that the new line has been created using the BATTING linetype. If I change my mind, I can
select the line I just created. When I expand the Linetype drop-down, notice that as I move the
cursor over a linetype in the list, I can see a preview of what the object will look like using that
linetype. I'll select the Fenceline1 linetype. But if I want the object to use the linetype assigned to the
layer on which it was created, I'll expand the drop-down again and choose ByLayer. Now, when I
change the linetype assigned to the layer, all of the lines on that layer, whose linetype property is set
to ByLayer, will change.
 608 Controlling the Object Lineweight
There may be times that you do want to assign a specific lineweight to an object rather than
assigning the lineweight ByLayer. There are two different ways that you can control the lineweight of
objects. You can assign the lineweight to the layer on which an object is created, or you can assign
the object an explicit lineweight. On the Home ribbon, in the Properties panel, you can control the
lineweight of an object using the Lineweight drop-down. By default, the Lineweight is set to ByLayer,
which means that the lineweight of objects will be based on the layer on which they are created.
Expand the Lineweight drop-down and choose 0.50 mm. Now, any new objects that you draw will
be created using that specific lineweight. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Line tool
and draw a line segment. That line has an explicit lineweight of 0.5 mm. But in the drawing, all of the
lines look the same. You do not see any difference in their lineweight. That is because the display of
lineweight is a toggle, and by default lineweight is toggled off. You can toggle it on using a tool in the
Status bar, but by default, this tool does not appear, so you must first add it to the Status bar. On the
Status bar, expand the Customization menu and select LineWeight. Then, click away from the menu
to close it. Move the cursor over the Show/Hide Lineweight button. The tooltip indicates that this is
currently off. Click to toggle it on. Now you can see that the weight of the line you just drew is
heavier than the others. Select the line you just created. Then, in the ribbon, expand the Lineweight
drop-down. As you move the cursor over different lineweights, you can see a preview of what the
line will look like using that lineweight. On the Status bar, click the arrow to the right of the
Show/Hide Lineweight button and choose Lineweight Settings to display the Lineweight Settings
dialog box. In the Units for Listing group box, you can choose to display lineweight values in
millimeters or inches. The Display Lineweight checkbox serves the same purpose as the button on
the Status bar; it toggles the display of lineweight on and off. The Default drop-down determines the
lineweight assigned as the default lineweight. This value is currently set to 0.25 mm. The Adjust
Display Scale slider enables you to adjust the thickness of the lineweight that displays when working
in model space. Note that any changes you make to the display of lineweight in the drawing only
changes the appearance of lineweights when working in model space. It does not affect the actual
lineweight when you print or plot the drawing. Drawings always print using the actual lineweight
assigned to objects, even if the display of lineweight is toggled off. Click OK to close the Lineweight
Settings dialog.

609 Controlling the Object Transparency

There may be times that you would like to assign a specific transparency value to an object, rather
than assign the transparency ByLayer. There are two different ways that you can control the
transparency of objects. You can assign the transparency to the layer on which an object is created,
or you can assign the object an explicit transparency value. On the Home ribbon, expand the
Properties panel and pin it so that it remains expanded even when you move the cursor away from
the ribbon. You can control the transparency of an object using the transparency tools. Expand the
Transparency drop-down. The transparency is currently set to ByLayer Transparency, which means
that the transparency of new objects will be based on the transparency of the layer on which they
are created. Choose Transparency Value. Now the transparency of new objects will be set to a
specific value. You can adjust that value by either dragging the Transparency slider or by entering a
value in the adjacent field. Note that you do not need to first change the transparency setting to
Transparency Value. Expand the drop-down and select ByLayer Transparency. Then, click and
move the slider. When you change the transparency value, the drop-down automatically changes
from ByLayer Transparency to Transparency Value. You can see that this has changed by the
appearance of the drop-down. The transparency is actually a percentage between 0 and 90, with 0
being totally opaque and 90 being 90-percent transparent. Click in the Transparency value field,
type "70", and press ENTER. Any new objects you draw will be created with that specific
transparency value. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Polyline tool and draw a new
polyline to the right of the existing polyline. You can see that the new polyline is 70-percent
transparent. By default, transparency is toggled on. You can easily toggle transparency off and on
using a tool on the Status bar, but by default, that tool is not visible. On the Status bar, expand the
Customization menu and select Transparency. Then, click away from the menu to close it. Now you
can see the Transparency button on the Status bar. Click to toggle off transparency. When toggled
off, none of the objects appear transparent. Click to toggle transparency back on again. The polyline
on the left appears opaque, while the one on the right is transparent. Select the polyline on the left.
In the ribbon, you can see that its transparency is set to ByLayer. Press ESC and then select the
polyline on the right. In the ribbon, you can see that its transparency is set to 70. When an object
has its transparency set to ByLayer, the transparency is controlled by the layer on which it is drawn.
But when you assign transparency to an object, that transparency value supersedes the
transparency of its layer.

610 Understanding Object Property Creation and Control

I'm going to walk you through an example of object property creation and control in addition to using
that of layers. Here's how I might create several lines to represent hot water and cold water lines on
a single plumbing layer. The first thing I'm going to do is to click on the Layer Properties button to
display the Layer Properties Manager palette to see what layers I already have in this drawing.
Notice that at this time I do not have a plumbing layer. Now if I want specific properties to be
inherited when I create a new layer, simply select the layer from which you would like to inherit
properties and then click the New button to create a new layer. The new layer that I create inherits
the properties from the layer I selected. Let's call this the PLUMBING layer. I'll press the ENTER key
and you can see that the PLUMBING layer now appears in the list. I'm going to leave the default
properties of this layer, so that it's display state is On, it's not Frozen, it's not Locked, it's the current
default color of White with a CONTINUOUS linetype and the Default lineweight. I'm going to double-
click to make that layer the current layer. You can also make a layer current by simply selecting it
and then clicking the Current button. Also notice that any layer that does not yet have any objects
on it appears with this gray icon in the Status column while those that do have objects on them
appear with a blue icon. The PLUMBING layer does not yet have any objects, because I just
created it. Let's make the PLUMBING layer current, and for now I'm actually going to close the
Layer Properties Manager. Now there are two types of lines that I want to create: a line segment
that represents the hot water line, and another one that represents cold. If we think about how we
might represent those, by changing their actual properties, I probably want the hot water line to be
represented with the color red, so I'm going to change the color property to Red. I'm also going to
come down and change the linetype. Let's change the linetype to HOT WATER SUPPLY. So I
changed two properties. Any new object that I create will be created on the PLUMBING layer, but
using these explicit properties. Any new geometry that I create will be created with the color red and
it will be created with the Hot Water linetype. So I'll create my line segments. I'll just pick my points.
And it might be helpful at this time to also turn on my Polar Tracking, so that I can lock those lines in
at the correct angles. So we'll draw a couple of line segments. Now, to create the cold water line, I
don't have a cold water linetype, and there isn't one to load either, although I could create a custom
linetype. But in this case, I'm actually going to set the linetype back to the linetype ByLayer. But if I
always want the cold water line to be a continuous line and I don't want that to change, you might
want to make that CONTINUOUS. Let's change the color of any new objects to the color Blue, and
now let's go create that new line segment. And I'll draw the cold water line, and I'll continue to pick
my points, and draw my cold water line right next to my hot water line. It's also important to note that
I did create these objects on the PLUMBING layer. As you can see here, the current layer, the layer
that's at the top of the list in the Layers panel on the Home ribbon, is set to PLUMBING. The actual
object properties, which are over here in the Properties panel, control the actual properties of the
object as it's being created: the color Blue, the lineweight ByLayer, and the CONTINUOUS linetype.
To prove to you that this has actually occurred, let me simply come up here, make a different layer
current, and then turn off the PLUMBING layer. Notice that when I turn off the PLUMBING layer, all
of the objects on the PLUMBING layer disappear.

611 Modifying Properties Using the Property Panel and Layer Panel
It's not uncommon to create an object and then discover later that the object was created on the
wrong layer or with the wrong color or the wrong linetype or with the wrong lineweight or the wrong
transparency. So the question then is, what is the method you should use to fix these objects? Well,
first let's come over and show you how you would check the objects. The easiest way to do this is to
simply move your cursor over the object. A little panel will appear showing you the current color,
layer, and linetype of the object. If I move my cursor over this object, and although this polyline
actually represents a chair, I can see that it's actually drawn on Layer 0. And so is the table. So one
of the ways to fix this is to simply click to select the object. When you select the object, the object
highlights. When the object highlights, it will also tell you, up here, in the Layers panel of the Home
ribbon, the current layer of the object. If you want to change the layer of the object, simply click on
the drop-down and then select the layer that you want that object to go on. I actually want it on the
FURNITURE layer. So I pick that layer. That object is now on the FURNITURE layer. If you wanted
to change other properties of the object, such as the color, linetype, lineweight, or transparency, you
would come over here, to the Properties panel on the Home ribbon. I can then expand the Color
drop-down and choose a different color. Notice that as I move the cursor over a color, I can see a
preview of what the objects will look like using that color. I'll choose Red. I could also choose a
different lineweight, linetype, or transparency value, and again, as I move the cursor over a different
linetype, I see a preview of what the object would look like. Once I'm done editing that object, I
press the ESC key to deselect the object, and the object has been changed. Notice that once I've
done that, if you look back at the Layer controls, you can see that the current layer is still set to
Layer 0. The current layer never changed. The current layer is still Layer 0. Similarly, over in the
Properties panel, the current color, linetype, lineweight, and current transparency are all still set to
ByLayer. That hasn't changed either. But when I move the cursor over an object to see its current
properties, I can see its current color, layer, and linetype. And if I select the object, in the Layers
panel I can see what layer it's drawn on, and in the Properties panel, I can see its current color,
linetype, lineweight, and transparency, and I can use those controls to change any of those values
as well.
612 Modifying Properties Using the Quick Property Palette
If you create an object on the wrong layer or with the wrong color or the wrong linetype, you can
change its properties a couple of different ways. One of the more powerful tools you can use is the
Quick Properties palette. Before you can use the Quick Properties palette, however, you must
toggle it on. On the Status bar, expand the Customization menu and select Quick Properties. Then
click away from the menu to close it. Now the Quick Properties button appears on the Status bar.
Click Quick Properties to toggle it on. When Quick Properties is toggled on, the Quick Properties
palette will appear adjacent to the cursor whenever you select an object. Move the cursor over the
circle representing the table. When you move the cursor over an object, you see a small properties
panel that displays the object type as well as its color, layer, and linetype. When you select the
object, the object highlights and displays grips that you can use to edit the object. With Quick
Properties toggled on, you also see the Quick Properties palette, which displays many more
properties. When you press ESC to deselect the circle, the Quick Properties palette disappears.
Select the circle again. The circle is supposed to represent a table, but it was created on Layer 0.
You can easily fix that by using the Quick Properties palette. In the palette, click in the Layer field,
expand the Layer drop-down, and choose FURNITURE to change the circle to the furniture layer.
You can also change the color of the circle. Click in the Color field and expand the drop-down. As
you move the cursor over a color in the list, you can see a preview of what the object will look like
using that color. This also works for other properties, such as linetype. Once you are done editing
the object, simply press the ESC key. You can also use the Quick Properties palette to change the
properties of multiple objects. Use a crossing window to select the chair and the table. Now the
Quick Properties palette indicates that the layers vary. It does not show all of the properties. When
you select different types of objects, the Quick Properties palette only displays those properties
common to all of the selected objects. The Quick Properties palette currently shows the properties
for all three objects. Click the arrow at the top of the Quick Properties palette to display a list of the
types of objects selected. You can see that there is one line, one circle, and one polyline. Select
Circle (1). Now that the object list is filtered to only show the properties for circles, you can see all of
the properties of the circle. In this case, what you want to do is to move all of the objects you
selected to the FURNITURE layer. Expand the drop-down again and choose All (3). All objects
include the general properties Color, Layer, and Linetype. Click in the Layer field, expand the drop-
down, and choose FURNITURE. All three objects have now been moved to the FURNITURE layer.
There are several advantages to using this Quick Properties palette. You can move it around and
place it close to the objects that you want to edit. And it only appears when you have selected
objects when no other command is active. When you press the ESC key, the Quick Properties
palette disappears. When you select another object, such as one of the lines in the desk, the Quick
Properties palette pops up near that object. Press ESC and then select one of the lines representing
the wall on the right. Again, the palette appears next to the cursor, making it easy for you to make
changes without having to move the cursor all the way up to the ribbon and search for the proper
tools in the Layers or Properties panels. In many instances, you do not even have to have the Quick
Properties palette enabled. On the Status bar, toggle off the Quick Properties palette. Then, double-
click the circle representing the table. Even though the Quick Properties palette was toggled off,
when you double-click an object, the palette automatically appears. When you press ESC to
deselect the object, the Quick Properties palette disappears. Since you do not need to have Quick
Properties toggled on in order to use the Quick Properties palette, on the Status bar, make sure that
Quick Properties is toggled off and then expand the Customization menu and remove Quick
Properties from the Status bar.

613 Controlling the Quick Property Palette Display Properties

You can control various aspects of the Quick Properties palette, such as what information appears
in the palette and where the palette appears in relation to the cursor. On the Status bar, expand the
Customization menu, select Quick Properties, and then click away from the menu to close it. Right-
click the Quick Properties button and choose Quick Properties Settings from the shortcut menu
to display the Quick Properties tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box. This tab provides settings for
controlling the Quick Properties palette. Note that you do not need to have the Quick Properties
button visible on the Status bar in order to open this dialog. Click Cancel to close the Drafting
Settings dialog box. On the Status bar, click the arrow adjacent to the Object Snap button and
choose Object Snap Settings to display the Object Snap tab of the Drafting Settings dialog.
Then, click the Quick Properties tab. The Display the Quick Properties Palette on selection
checkbox duplicates the function of the Quick Properties button in the Status bar. You can toggle the
Quick Properties palette on and off by selecting or clearing this checkbox. Note that you can also
toggle the Quick Properties palette by pressing the CTRL+SHIFT+P keyboard combination. The
tools the Palette Display group box let you control whether the Quick Properties palette displays for
all objects or just for objects with specified properties. In the Palette Location group box, you can
choose whether the palette always appears near the cursor or at the same static location. When set
to Cursor-Dependent, you can then expand the Quadrant drop-down and choose where the palette
appears in relation to the cursor. The default is Top-Right. Select Bottom-Left. The Distance in pixels
value controls the distance of the palette from the cursor. The default is 50. Change this value to 10
pixels. By default, when the Quick Properties palette appears, it displays all of the available
properties. But you can change this behavior so that it displays only a specified number of
properties. In the Palette Behavior group box, select Collapse palette automatically. The Minimum
number of rows value sets the number of properties displayed in the Quick Properties palette when
it is collapsed. The default is 3. Change this to 5 and then click OK to close the dialog. Select the
circle representing the table. The Quick Properties palette now appears to the bottom-left of the
cursor, not in the top-right as it did before. It is also closer to the cursor and it displays just five rows
of properties. But when you move the cursor over the palette, the palette expands to show the
additional properties. Although the palette initially appears at this location, you can still click its
border and drag it to a different location. Click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the
palette to close the palette. Since Quick Properties is still toggled on, the palette will appear again
the next time you select an object. Press ESC to deselect the circle and then click to select the
chair. As soon as you do, the Quick Properties palette appears again. Since you do not need to
have Quick Properties toggled on in order to use the Quick Properties palette, on the Status bar,
click the Quick Properties button to toggle it off. Then, expand the Customization menu and remove
Quick Properties from the Status bar.

614 Modifying Properties Using the Properties Palette

You can use the Properties palette to change the properties of an object. This can be quite useful,
particularly if you happen to create an object on the wrong layer or with the wrong color or the
wrong linetype. There are several ways to open the Properties palette. On the Home ribbon, in the
Properties panel, you can click the dialog box launcher. Or, on the View ribbon, in the Palettes
panel, click the Properties button. You can also display the Properties palette by pressing the
CTRL+1 keyboard combination. The Properties palette behaves like any other type of palette. It can
be moved and resized. You can also right-click its title bar and use tools in the shortcut menu to
enable the palette to be docked, to anchor it to the left or right side of the drawing window, to control
its Auto-hide setting, and to adjust the transparency of the palette. In the shortcut menu, choose
Anchor Left to anchor the palette on the left side of the drawing window. When anchored, the palette
takes up very little space. When you move the cursor over the palette, it rolls out so that you can
access all of the properties. Click and drag the title bar to float the palette and then drag it to the left
edge to dock the palette. When docked, it remains visible and takes up space that could otherwise
be used to work on the drawing. Most users prefer to anchor the palette, but leave it docked for now
so that you can see all of the settings. At the top of the Properties palette, it currently says No
Selection, because although the palette is open, no objects are currently selected. So the properties
that currently appear in the palette are the default values for the current drawing. On the Home
ribbon, in the Properties panel, expand the Object Color drop-down and choose Red. In the
Properties palette, under General, the Color value has also changed to Red. Click in the Color field
in the Properties palette, expand the drop-down, and choose ByLayer. In the ribbon, the Object
Color also changes to ByLayer. The Properties palette shows many of the same properties as the
Properties panel in the ribbon. In the drawing, double-click the circle representing the table. The
program displays the Quick Properties palette. Again, the Properties palette and the Quick
Properties palette display many of the same properties, and you can change those properties in
either palette. Since you can see all of the properties in the Properties palette, you do not really
need to see the Quick Properties palette. Close the Quick Properties palette. In the Properties
palette, you can see that a circle is selected. Now you can use any of the controls in the Properties
palette to change any of the properties of that object. Expand the Color drop-down. As you move
the cursor over a color, you can see a preview of what the object would look like using that color.
Click in the Linetype field and expand the drop-down. Again, as you move the cursor over a
linetype, you can see a preview of what the object would look like using that linetype. Under
Geometry, you can change any of the physical properties of the object, such as changing its Center
X and Center Y coordinates in order to move the object. You can also change the size of the circle
by changing its Radius, Diameter, Circumference, or Area values. For example, suppose you know
that the circumference of the circle is supposed to be exactly 22 feet. Click in the Circumference
field, type "22'", and press ENTER. The circle immediately updates. When you are done modifying
the object, press ESC to deselect the object. Use a crossing window to select the table and the
adjacent chair. When you select multiple types of objects, you can no longer change the physical
properties of the geometry. The Properties Palette shows only the properties common to all of the
objects. Click the arrow at the top of the Properties palette to display a list of the types of objects
selected. You can see that there is one line, one circle, and one polyline. Select Circle (1). Now that
the object list is filtered to only show the properties for circles, you can see all of the properties for
the circle. In this case, what you want to do is to move all of the objects you selected to the
FURNITURE layer. Expand the drop-down again and choose All (3). All objects include the general
properties Color, Layer, Linetype, and so on. Click in the Layer field, expand the drop-down, and
choose FURNITURE. All three objects have now been moved to the FURNITURE layer. When you
are done changing the properties of the selected objects, press ESC to deselect the objects. The
Properties palette once again shows that no objects are selected. When you are done using the
Properties palette, click the Close button.

615 Setting Object Properties to ByLayer

There may be times when you create an object on the proper layer, but you inadvertently created
the object with its color, linetype, lineweight, or transparency set to a specific value instead of
ByLayer. Typically, when you create objects, such as lines, arcs, or circles, those objects take on the
color, linetype, lineweight, or transparency of the layer on which they were created. If you look at the
Properties panel on the Home ribbon, you can see that properties such as color, lineweight, and
linetype are set to ByLayer. Also notice that when you hover the cursor over an object, the program
displays a small panel that typically shows you the color, layer, and linetype of the object. Notice
that when I hover over the chair, I can see that the polyline is on the FURNITURE layer and has its
color and linetype set to ByLayer. So the object takes on the color and linetype assigned to the
FURNITURE layer. But when I move the cursor over the circle representing the table, notice that
although it too is drawn on the FURNITURE layer, I can see that its color is set explicitly to the color
Red and its linetype is set to HIDDEN linetype. You can use the Set to ByLayer tool to quickly
change one or more of the properties of an object so that they are set to ByLayer. If you expand the
Modify panel on the Home ribbon, you will find the Set to ByLayer tool. When you click this tool, the
program prompts you to select objects. You can use any object selection method. I'll click to select
the circle. Notice that the prompt repeats, so that I can select additional objects. When you're
finished selecting objects, press ENTER. The program then asks if you want to change any objects
whose properties are set to ByBlock to ByLayer. You can simply press ENTER to accept the default,
which is Yes. Then the program asks if you want to include blocks. Again, you can simply press
ENTER to accept the typical response, which is Yes. Once you respond to these two prompts,
notice that the color and linetype of the circle has changed. If I move the cursor over the circle now,
notice that the color and linetype have both been set to ByLayer. When you start the Set to ByLayer
tool, you can also choose the Settings option to display the Set ByLayer Settings dialog. By default,
when you use the Set to ByLayer tool, the program changes all of the object properties back to
ByLayer. But by displaying this dialog box and clearing any of these checkboxes, you can use this
tool to only change selected properties to ByLayer. Any properties not selected in this Set ByLayer
Settings dialog will remain as explicitly set to the object, while those selected in this dialog will be
changed back to ByLayer.

616 Understanding In-Canvas Property Preview

The in-canvas property preview enables you to dynamically preview changes to object properties
before applying the change. For example, select the polyline. Then, on the Home ribbon, in the
Properties panel, expand the Object Color drop-down. As you move the cursor over each color in
the drop-down list, you can see the color of the polyline change in the drawing. This enables you to
preview the results before you actually select the color. Expand the Properties palette, click in the
Color field, and expand the drop-down. Again, as you move the cursor over each color in the drop-
down list, you can preview the results. Press ESC to deselect the polyline and then double-click the
line to open the Quick Properties palette. Click in the Color field and expand the drop-down. Again,
as you move the cursor over each color in the drop-down list, the color of the line changes so you
can preview the results before you actually select the color. Close the Quick Properties palette. This
in-canvas property preview also works with the linetype, lineweight, and transparency object
properties as well. For example, in the Status bar, expand the Customization menu, select
LineWeight, and then click away from the menu to close it. Then, in the Status bar, click the
Show/Hide Lineweight button to toggle on the display of lineweight. On the Home ribbon, in the
Properties panel, expand the Lineweight drop-down. Again, as you move the cursor over the various
lineweights, you can see a preview of what the line will look like with each lineweight. In ribbon,
expand the Linetype drop-down. Again, as you move the cursor over the various linetypes, you can
preview the appearance of the object with each linetype. Expand the Properties palette, click in the
Linetype field, and expand the drop-down. The same in-canvas property preview capability is
available here as well. Press ESC to deselect the line. You can control the in-canvas property
preview behavior by using tools in the Options dialog. To open the Options dialog, either right-click
and choose Options from the shortcut menu, or expand the Application menu and click Options.
In the Options dialog, switch to the Selection tab. In the Preview group box, Property preview must
be selected in order for the in-canvas property preview to function properly.