I firmly believe in the NCS and the AIA systems of layer name creation
Your creation of layer names should follow the NCS layer naming recommendations. The 1-4-4-4-1 format shown in the AIA guideline should be followed.
Example: A-WALL-FULL-DEMO-M
- The first place is a Discipline Designator letter. By default it is one character long. Two characters may be used if the designator calls for it. When creating new Layer Names – please refer to the Basic Discipline Designators [1]
- The second place is the Major Group. It is four characters long preceded by a dash. No more – no less. It identifies the major building systems and components.
- The third and fourth place is a Minor Group field modifier preceded by a dash. You may use one or both of these fields at your discretion when creating a new layer name. This field delineates further the Major Group. Both fields are also four characters long.
- The fifth place is a Modifier used to describe the Status Field Code as it relates to the items on that layer.
By including the method for layer creation in your standard you will define the boundaries that need to be in place when your users create layers that have not been defined yet. And they will do that.
2 Comments To "CAD Standards – Layer Name Creation"
#1 Comment By Brent Daley On August 10, 2009 @ 2:34 PM
I’ve had great success implementing this layering standard. I don’t think users could imagine doing it any other way now after using it for a year.
#2 Comment By Glen Sullivan On August 25, 2009 @ 10:38 AM
What is the reasoning behind the specific limit on the number of charters being exactly 4 characters long? I can understand have a max limit of four to keep the layer name length to a minimum. Additionally, should all of the modifiers also be specifically four charters only? Do you typically provide standard layers for stuff commonly used? Thanks for the great information.