How to Set Up the Layer Control File

A layer control file is created by the user which will establish a correspondence between a model entity (including line type, color and thickness) and a user layer name. The name of the control file can be arbitrarily chosen. The file name (plus optional directory path) should be assigned to the environment or logical variable DXF_LAYER_CTRL. (The format of the layer control handling from previous versions are still available. In order to use the old functionality, the layer control file should be assigned to DXF_LAYER_CTRL_OLD.)

The different type of model types or annotation types that are handled are the following:

• PLATES

• STIFFENERS

• FLANGES

• PILLARS

• HOLES

• BRACKETS

• NOTCHES

• CUTOUTS

• MEASURES

• SEAMS

• PROFILES

• PIPES

• EQUIPMENT

• STRUCTURES

• VENTIATION

• CABLEWAY

• ROOM

• MEASURES

• NOTES

• SYMBOLS

• TEXTS

• DEFAULT

Those different types are also the valid keywords that could be used in the control file. The DEFAULT type maps those entities that are not handled by the other types. It will take the remaining entities and map it to a default layer. This default type can also have several entries allowing for different linetypes and colors. It is possible to specify up to 20 different layers of each model type. An example of a layer control file with a specification of the valid key words can be found in Section System Layers, see Example of a DXF Layer Control File.