Let’s create a few new layers, name them, and assign colors to them:
1. Continue using I05A-FPLAYO.dwg (M05A-FPLAYO.dwg), or open it if it’s
not already open.
2. In the toolbar at the top of the Layer Properties Manager, click the
New Layer icon. A new layer named Layer1 appears in the list. The
layer’s name is highlighted, which means you can rename it by entering
another name now.
3. Enter A-WALL↵. Layer1 changes to A-WALL. The row for the
A-WALL layer should still be highlighted (see Figure 6.7).
F igu re 6 . 7 : The Layer Properties Manager with a new layer named A-WALL
4. To open the Select Color dialog box shown in Figure 6.8, click the
word white in the Color column for the A-WALL row.
F igu re 6 . 8 : The Index Color tab in the Select Color dialog box
Notice the three tabs at the top: Index Color, True Color, and Color
Books. Each has a different selection of colors available to AutoCAD.
5. Make sure the Index Color tab is selected, and click the Cyan (Index
Color: 4) color swatch.
The Select Color dialog box is composed of three sets of color
swatches. Color swatches for Index Colors 10 through 249 are found
in the upper portion of the dialog box, and colors 1–9 and colors
250–255 are found in the lower portion.
Each color swatch has an index number associated with it. This
number provides the flexibility of graphically selecting the desired
color swatch or entering the numerical value associated with it.
Index Colors 1–7 represent primary colors including Red, Yellow,
Green, Cyan, Blue, Magenta, and White/Black. They may be specified
by number or textual name.
6. Click OK to close the Select Color dialog box. In the Layer List box
of the Layer Properties Manager, you can see that the color square
for the A-WALL layer has changed to cyan.
As you create your new list of layers and assign colors to them, notice how
each color looks in your drawing. Some are easier to see on a screen with a light
background, and others do better against a dark background. In this book, I’ll
assign colors that work well with a black background. If your system has a white
background, you might want to use darker colors, which you can find in the
array of 240 color swatches in the upper half of the Index Color tab.
You’ll continue creating new layers and assigning colors to them. You’ll master
this procedure as you add a new layer or two in each chapter throughout the
rest of the book:
1. In the Layer Properties Manager, click the New Layer button or rightclick
in the Layer List box and choose New Layer from the list of commands
in the context menu.
2. Enter A-DOOR↵ to change the name of the layer.
3. Pick the color square in the A-DOOR row.
4. When the Select Color dialog box opens, click the color 40 square in
the uppermost collection of color swatches in the Select Color dialog
box. Click OK.
5. Repeat these steps, creating the layers shown in Table 6.2 with their
assigned colors.
Pick the colors from the collection of color swatches in the Select
Color dialog box, or manually enter the index color number in the
Color text box at the bottom of the dialog box. In the row of nine colors,
the ninth swatch might not be clearly visible when it is close to
the background color of the dialog box.
Notice that when a new layer appears in the Layer List box, it initially
takes on the properties of the layer that was previously selected.
6. Save your drawing as I06-01-CreateLayers.dwg (M06-01-
CreateLayers.dwg) by choosing Application menu ➢ Save As ➢
AutoCAD Drawing.
Table 6 . 2 : Layers and colors for the cabin drawing
Layer name Color
A-DECK-STRS 81
A-DECK 84
A-FLOR-FIXT 1
A-WALL-HEAD 11
A-ROOF Green (3)
Created in earlier exercises:
A-WALL Cyan (4)
A-DOOR 40
When finished, the layer list should have eight layers with their assigned colors
in the color squares of each row (see Figure 6.9). All layers are assigned the
Continuous linetype by default. This is convenient because most building components
are represented in the floor plan by continuous lines, but the roof—
because of its position above the walls—needs to be represented by a dashed
line. Later you’ll assign the Dashed linetype to the A-ROOF layer
F igu re 6 . 9 : The Layer List box, in the Layer Properties Manager, with the seven new layers
and layer 0
