Topic: How do you understand it ..

[Kerry]

How can I copy an Entity to another layer?

How do I move an Entity to another layer?

.. insert the block on Layer "blaBla" 

What do these questions mean to you ?

Is there a common belief that objects reside on Layers, resulting in it being taken for granted that the Layer is the repository ?

I can imagine that a user may perceive the relationship differently to a programmer.

///kwb

[CAB]

I may be dating myself here, But do you suppose it stems from the "Dark Ages of Drafting" when objects did reside on a particular
"Layer" of trace paper? Then to change the Layer meant "Moving" the objects to another sheet.

[Krushert]

What do these questions mean to you?

It depends on the individual and their profession.
A "packing a transit" now has two different meanings to me.
Packing away a surveying instrument or packing a special welded assembly full electrical cables with special moldings around the cables and applying huge amount of pressure to provide a water tight seal on a Navy ship.

Is there a common belief that objects reside on Layers, resulting in it being taken for granted that the Layer is the repository?

I don’t know if I would say that.  Is a light bulb stored in a light switch? I look at layer(s) as a means of controlling the displaying of objects. 

I can imagine that a user may perceive the relationship differently to a programmer.

See my answer to your first question.  I learn that the hard way or more like an embarrassing way. 
When answering a question I try to think of what kind of background my audience has.

[sinc]

How can I copy an Entity to another layer?

Is there a common belief that objects reside on Layers, resulting in it being taken for granted that the Layer is the repository ?

Well, Autocad does have a "Copy objects to new layer" command...   

From the user's point of view, is there really any difference between the following?

"How do I move an Entity to another layer?"
"How do I change the 'layer' property of an Entity?"

Isn't the whole idea of a GUI that the two are interchangeable?  I'd always kind of thought that a GUI is supposed to let a user work in an intuitive manner, without worrying about the internal workings of the program...  In that case, a layer SHOULD seem to the user a lot like a separate piece of paper or a light switch, right?

On a related note, what's the difference between an "Entity" and an "Object"?   

[jonesy]

How can I copy an Entity to another layer?

How do I move an Entity to another layer?

.. insert the block on Layer "blaBla" 

What do these questions mean to you ?

Is there a common belief that objects reside on Layers, resulting in it being taken for granted that the Layer is the repository ?

I can imagine that a user may perceive the relationship differently to a programmer.

///kwb

To me...
copy an entity to a new layer means to create a duplicate object on a new layer

move an object to a new layer means to move an existing object to a new layer

And rightly or wrongly, I believe entities reside on layers, and adopt the properties of the layers.

[Chuck Gabriel]

To me...
copy an entity to a new layer means to create a duplicate object on a new layer

move an object to a new layer means to move an existing object to a new layer

And rightly or wrongly, I believe entities reside on layers, and adopt the properties of the layers.

There is nothing wrong with that.  I'm sure it's a useful abstraction for an AutoCAD user.  However, I can see how it might be a stumbling block to someone trying to transition from running AutoCAD to automating AutoCAD.

[JohnK]

Without reading ahead...

Move: change the layer the object is on.

Copy: Add another database object to another layer.

Kerry, your right, this is kinda difficult to explain, but i think i know what i want to say...An object dosent reside on a layer. *err!*...yep, im quitin' now.

[joseguia]

Lets see, .. if I drew a circle I would want it on the "CIRCLES" layer not the "SQUARES" layer, same goes for "CIRCLE" blocks.

I could copy or move the circle to the "BIGGER CIRCLES" layer if I really wanted to, but , ... why would I want to copy or move it to the "SQUARES" layer.

hmm

if only I had a laser.

[Dnereb]

For a user an drawing object (i.aw. AcadEntity) is on a layer because he has a model of adrawing in his head with transparent sheets where the entity's are drawn on (physical model)

If you're a bit OOPY you know the layer is a propperty of an Acad entitity and must contain one of the layers from the layer collection.

The underlying databse file (i.o.w. drawing file) can be sorted on the layer property of the entity's pretty fast because this field is indexed.

So if a user tells me he needs to move an object to another layer, I know he wants the layer propperty to be changed. but it won't be of any intrest to him/her as long as the thingie will bo ON the other layer in the end.


 

[M-dub]

Interesting questions, Kerry.  Good topic!
(And, to misquote you,) I think you're right in saying that the importance of layers is taken for granted.

If I read it right, you're not looking for the procedure on how to do it, but asking hypothetical questions, like 'How can this BE?!'
I've tried to explain layers to Non-CAD folks before and the best way is to show them a set of transparencies that, when stacked, show an image in its entirety, then break it down and show them each transparency individually, only containing certain parts of the image.  Then, I see the understanding dawn on them and everyone's on the same page.

My perspective:
Copy to new layer would generally be a No No in our office, but not unheard of.  If an entity could theoretically 'fit' on multiple layers, I would rather see a single instance of that entity on a layer that has a broader coverage.  For instance, imagine layers, "Numbers" and "Letters".  On which layer would you place the string, "Eight"?  Although a stretch, it could fit on both.  Instead, how 'bout we just make a layer called "Text" so we can just...

Move the entity to the correct layer.  This makes it easier to manage when the time comes to change "Eight" to "28".  Just throw it on a "Text" or "Annotations" layer and you're golden.  No copies floating around to bloat the file size.

Is there a common belief that objects reside on Layers, resulting in it being taken for granted that the Layer is the repository ?

I guess one could argue the fact that the layer an entity is on is not the repository for the entity, but a property OF the entity.  However, I like what CAB said.

...when objects did reside on a particular "Layer" of trace paper? Then to change the Layer meant "Moving" the objects to another sheet.

That statement makes the "Layer" more of a "Repository" than a "Property".

I think layers had more definition and meaning in manual drafting than they do in CAD.

Speaking of CAD... I've got some to do!  Back later!