When a design item is created it is assigned to a particular drawing layer (as seen in the Layers Window). For example, the default layer that a road centreline is assigned to is called ROAD_CENTRELINES.

The default properties for each layer can be specified using a custom layer name file. This allows you to set custom layer names, custom layer colours, and the default visibility state for each layer.

NOTE: This facility affects the layer naming of new layers in a project. It does not change the names of existing layers in a project.

Changing the Layer Names and Colours

An example file called default.csv is included in the Site3D installation folder, in the layers subfolder (for example, C:\Program Files\Site3D\layers\default.csv). This file contains a full list of the layers that can be modified.

The file is a simple text file which can be edited with any text editor (like Notepad), or a spreadsheet program of your choice (like Excel).

NOTE: It is recommended to make changes to a copy of the file instead of directly editing the default files. This is because the default files will be reinstated every time the software updates to a new version.

Here is an extract of the default.csv file:

ROAD_CENTRELINE,ROAD_CENTRELINES,"RGB(255,0,0)",
ROAD_CENTRELINE_TANGENT_LINE,ROAD_TANGENT_LINES,"RGB(128,128,128)",false
ROAD_CHANNEL,ROAD_CHANNELS,"RGB(255,242,0)",
ROAD_CHANNEL_LOW_POINT,ROAD_CHANNEL_LOW_POINTS,"RGB(0,0,0)",
ROAD_FOOTWAY,ROAD_FOOTWAYS,"RGB(181,238,235)",
ROAD_FOOTWAY_LEVELS,ROAD_FOOTWAY_LEVELS,"RGB(0,0,0)",
ROAD_INTERFACE,ROAD_INTERFACING,"RGB(0,255,0)",
ROAD_JUNCTION_ANNOTATION,ROAD_JUNCTION_ANNOTATION,"RGB(0,0,0)",true
ROAD_KERB,ROAD_KERBS,"RGB(255,200,0)",
ROAD_TRIANGULATION,ROAD_TRIANGULATION,"RGB(192,192,255)",false
ROUNDABOUT,ROUNDABOUTS,"RGB(0,0,0)",
ROUNDABOUT_DEFLECTION,ROUNDABOUT_DEFLECTION,"RGB(72,146,247)",
SETTING_OUT_TABLE,SETOUT,"RGB(0,0,0)",

Lines starting with a # will be ignored, allowing you to add comments to the file.

Each line that does not start with a # must contain the following information, separated by commas:

  1. ID: Entity ID. Do not change this from the defaults, this identifies which object the layer properties are for.
  2. Name: This is the name for the layer which you can change. (Avoid using special characters like spaces or asterisks which are invalid in DWG or DXF drawings).
  3. Colour: The layer colour specified as red, green, and blue colour components in the range 0-255. "Double quotes" are required around the RGB() text because it contains commas.
  4. Default On/Off state: true or false. This declares if the layer is on or off when first created. If this value is not specified the layer will be on by default.

Using a Custom Layer Name File

After making your customised layers file, you need to tell Site3D where to find it.

Open the Default Settings Editor and scroll down the list to LayerNameLookupFile. Set this to the full folder path and file name of your new layer csv file. For example, C:\Program Files\Site3D\layers\my-layers.csv

BIM Layers: PAS 1192, Uniclass 2

To use the Uniclass 2, PAS 1192 layering scheme, use the Default Settings Editor to specify the pas1192.cvs file which comes with the software. The file location would usually be C:\Program Files\Site3D\layers\pas1192.csv.

Here is an extract from the pas1192.cvs file with the PAS 1192 Uniclass 2 naming convention:

ROAD_CENTRELINE,C-EF_40_50-M3-RoadCentreline,"RGB(255,0,0)",
ROAD_CENTRELINE_TANGENT_LINE,C-Zz_20_70_20-M2-RoadTangentLine,"RGB(128,128,128)",false
ROAD_CHANNEL,C-EF_40_50-M3-RoadChannel,"RGB(255,242,0)",
ROAD_CHANNEL_LOW_POINT,C-Zz_20_20-RoadChannelLowPoint,"RGB(0,0,0)",
ROAD_FOOTWAY,C-EF_40_50-M3-RoadFootway,"RGB(181,238,235)",
ROAD_FOOTWAY_LEVELS,C-Zz_20_20-RoadFootwayLevel,"RGB(0,0,0)",
ROAD_INTERFACE,C-EF_40_50-M3-RoadInterfacing,"RGB(0,255,0)",
ROAD_JUNCTION_ANNOTATION,C-Zz_20_10-A-RoadJunctionAnnotation,"RGB( 0, 0, 0)",true
ROAD_KERB,C-EF_40_50-M3-RoadKerb,"RGB(255,200,0)",
ROAD_TRIANGULATION,C-EF_40_50-M3-RoadTriangulation,"RGB(192,192,255)",false
ROUNDABOUT,C-EF_40_50-M3-Roundabout,"RGB(0,0,0)",
ROUNDABOUT_DEFLECTION,C-Zz_20_70_50-M2-RoundaboutDeflection,"RGB( 72, 146, 247)",
SETTING_OUT_TABLE,C-Zz_35_20-A-CentrelineSettingOut,"RGB(0,0,0)",

See Also: