### Working with CAD Levels

A CAD level consists of a group of user-selected CAD geometries or elements selected from the Graphics Display window. The level information is saved with the .CAD file so that if you import the .CAD into another part program the level information will be available there too.

You can define which levels will be displayed in each graphics "view" by using the CAD Levels dialog box (Edit | CAD | CAD Levels...). Once levels are defined, you can view the levels using either the CAD Levels dialog box or the View Setup dialog box (Edit | Setup | View Setup...)

Clicking the CAD Levels icon from the Graphics Modes toolbar or selecting the Edit | CAD | CAD Levels... menu item displays the CAD Levels dialog box. This dialog box lets you define the CAD elements that will be assigned to the levels. You can also use it to modify levels, delete levels, and view levels in the Graphics Display window:

CAD Levels dialog box

The dialog box contains these items:

Item | Description
Levels list | The list of levels in the upper-left area of the dialog box shows all the current levels in the CAD model. The list will always contain the default level 0, a level that automatically contains all the CAD elements in the CAD file. Here are some operations you can perform using the levels list:

- Double-click on a level from the list to select all CAD elements assigned to that level.

- Select a CAD element in the Graphics Display window and press and hold CTRL on the keyboard to select the corresponding level in the level list.

- Select the check box next to a level to show the selected level.

- Clear the check box to hide the selected level.

Visibility area | The Visibility area provides option buttons and icon buttons that allow you to run visibility operations in order to change the hidden state of levels. The colored icon at the top of this area shows your current screen layout. It corresponds with the icon used in the Layout area of the View Setup dialog box. See "Setting Up the Screen View".

The Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green options limit the visibility operation to only that "view" of the Graphics Display window. The All option applies the visibility operation to all views.

These command buttons have pictures on them that depict their action:

- Hide - Hides the level selected in the list.

- Hide Siblings - Hides all the levels except the level selected in the list.

- Show - Shows the level selected in the list.

- Show Siblings - Shows all the levels except the level selected in the list.

- Show All - Shows all the levels in the list.

Note: These buttons will have a dark gray background and will be unavailable for selection until you select a level from the list of levels.

Editing area | The Editing area allows you to modify CAD levels. For all buttons except Create, you will need to first select a level from the levels list and the buttons will affect that selected level.

- Create - Creates a new level in the CAD model. Initially, there won't be any CAD elements assigned with this new level. You will need to use the Add button in the CAD Elements section to add CAD elements selected from the Graphics Display window to the new level.

- Rename - Renames the selected level. You can also rename a level by clicking on a selected level in the list until the cursor appears.

- Delete - Deletes the selected level. Planner will assign any CAD elements that were on that level to the default level 0. You cannot delete this default level.

- Transform - Transforms the selected level. When you click this button, Planner displays the CAD Transform dialog box. See "Transforming a CAD Model" for information on using this dialog box.

- Color - Changes the color of all CAD elements in the selected level.

Saved Views area | The Saved Views area stores the level visibility state in the CAD model. These are saved inside the .cad file. Use the drop-down combo box to either select and recall a saved view or to specify a name for a new view.

- Save - Saves the current level visibility state using the name entered in the combo box.

- Delete - Deletes the saved view selected in the combo box.

CAD Elements area | The CAD Elements area modifies the level of the selected CAD elements. You can select (or deselect) CAD elements by simply clicking on or box-selecting them in the Graphics Display window. Selected elements will be highlighted in red.

- Add - Adds the selected CAD elements to the currently selected level in the list.

- Subtract- Removes the selected CAD elements from the currently selected level in the list. The CAD elements will be assigned the default level 0, but only if they were on the selected level. If a selected CAD element is not on the selected level, then that CAD element will not be modified.

- Deselect All - Clears any selected CAD elements on the Graphics Display window.

- Selection Filter - The check boxes in the Selection Filter area filter the type of CAD elements assigned to a CAD level. You can also use the Color check box in this area to filter selection by the color of the CAD element. When you select the Color check-box, the color of the next CAD element that you select in the graphics window will be used as the filter color. For subsequent selections, only CAD elements with that color can be selected.

Creating Levels

1. Access the CAD Levels dialog box.

2. Click Create from the Editing area. A new level number will appear in the list of levels.

3. Select the new level and rename it if desired. Even if you rename the level, Planner will still show the level number in parentheses.

4. Ensure that the CAD level is selected from the list.

5. From the Graphics Display window, select the CAD elements you want included in the CAD level. To limit which CAD element types are selectable, select the check boxes of CAD elements in the Selection Filter area.

6. Click the Add button. Planner assigns the selected elements to the selected level. Now when you show that level and hide other levels, PC-DMIS will show only those elements.

7. Click OK when finished to close the dialog box.

Modifying Levels

1. Access the CAD Levels dialog box.

2. Select the level from the level list.

3. To add elements to the level, select the CAD elements from the Graphics Display window and click Add. PC-DMIS modifies the level accordingly.

4. To remove elements from the level, select the level and display its assigned CAD elements. From the Graphics Display window, select the elements to remove and click Subtract. PC-DMIS modifies the level accordingly.

5. Click OK when finished to close the dialog box.

Deleting Levels

1. Access the CAD Levels dialog box.

2. Select a level from the level list.

3. Click Delete. PC-DMIS deletes the level and assigns all CAD elements of that level to the 0 level.

4. Click OK when finished to close the dialog box.

Showing a Level for a Specific Layout Pane

1. Access the CAD Levels dialog box.

2. From list of levels, select the level to use and ensure that its check box is selected.

3. From the Visibility area, select the Blue, Red, Yellow, or Green option button for the pane in which you want to view the level.

4. Either deselect the check boxes from other levels in the list of levels, or use the pictured Hide Siblings button in the Visibility area to hide other levels.

5. Click OK when finished to close the dialog box.

Note: You can also view levels within the View Setup dialog box.