Best way to tame layer unhiding

[cpoirier]

Hello All,

I hope this post find you healthy and happy in this new year; well relatively new year.

I have a situation where I use specific layers for surfaces and curves. Sometimes the drawings loose the layer state and they become unhidden making the drawing look like a wreck. I just experimented with the config option blank_layer a bit. I saved out the layer status file to my desktop, added a layer ID to a layer, read it back into a test file and then added the config option to try and blank a layer by the layer ID on opening a file. It does not work for me. We use Creo 3.0 build M150. Any thoughts on a way to force certain layers to always blank initially? I have a sneaking suspicion that Creo un-blanks my layers when a change is made with intent.

Also we have varied layer practices from the many years and people who have worked here. Is it possible to delete all the layers and use default_layer_model to pull in new layers with rules? Any method that works would be appreciated.

So I am struggling to find two solutions.

1) enforce a select layers to always be hidden in drawings when opening

2) remove and replace all the layers in a file (prt, asm, drw) and include rules so they auto populate.

This would also add opportunity to use mapkeys for layers even on old parts.

I can always manually fix up the issues, but its a complete waste of time to have to do so.

I do not think I have ever mastered layers as I should have in the many years I have been using pro/creo. I just plow through what ever is in the way with brute force and get it done. I'm looking to employ a bit more finesse this time and try and free up time to do useful work.

Thank you in advance for any ideas or or insight.

Regards,

Chris

[StephenW]

Layers are a challenge and always have been a challenge.

If you want to control layers company wide, you may want to look in to modelcheck which could mitigate some of your issues but won't automatically turn off a layer when you open a drawing but can help users blank a specific set of layers and then once run again, would blank those layers that have turned back on. Usually layers that unhide in a drawing are the result of parts/assemblies being added to a model. Modelcheck can also enforce or help improve a standard set of layers.

The other part of it is to always remember to use layer - save status after you make a layer change that you want to keep. Usually a rookie mistake but we all make it occasionally.

[tbraxton]

The layer status would need to be saved and a layer hidden so that it is not visible when retrieved again AFAIK. If you use model check you can possibly use that to automate certain layers names are hidden before saving. 

You can definitely remove legacy layers and then read in a layer setup file with rules to automatically repopulate the new layers. The rules are applied in ways that may not be intuitive. The layer setup files do include layer status (display).

See this example. it is simple goal but a bit convoluted in implementation. Rules are very powerful but need to be understood by those defining them to avoid unintended consequences.

https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS131125 

This is an old presentation but is a good place to start. Much of the material is still relevant. You will be best served by creating a plan and implementing standards and converting the legacy models as they come up for revision.

https://slidetodoc.com/mastering-layers-glenn-beer-photon-science-applications-lawrence/ 

[pausob]

Maybe off topic, but wondering if you tried implementing this config.pro setting:

def_shown_layers_in_view none

or

def_shown_layers_in_view drawing