Course: Section:

Name: Instructor:
Date Performed: Date Submitted:

LABORATORY ACTIVITY NO.5

LAYERS, COLORS, LINETYPES, PROPERTIES, HATCH PATTERNS AND TEXT

1. Objective(s):

The activity aims to introduce the concept of layers, colors, linetypes, and properties

2. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs):

The students shall be able to:

1. Apply layers, colors, linetypes and properties and hatch patterns in floor plan layouting and in drawing
objects
2. Obtain dimensions and apply text properly
3. Produce floor plan layout and objects based on specifications

3. Discussion:

A. Layers

Layers is a concept that allows you to group drawn geometry in distinct and separate categories according
to similar features or a common theme. This allows to exercise control over your drawing by, among other
things, applying properties to the layers, such as assigning colors and linetypes. You can also manipulate
each individual layer, making it visible or invisible for clarity, as well as being able to lock them to prevent
editing.

In AutoCAD, there can be number of layers, with all them holding their respective data and combining into
the complete design. If all your geometry were lumped together on one layer, as some beginners do, then
whatever you do to one set of objects, you do to all.

Figure below shows the Layers Properties Manager.

Layers

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To use layers, do the following methods:

Keyboard: Type in layer or la and press Enter

Cascading menus: Format Layer…
`

Toolbar icon: Layers toolbar

Ribbon: Home tab Layers

Step 1. Begin the line command via any of the preceding methods above. Then the layers property
manager is displayed as shown in the figure below.
New
Layer

As show in the figure, there are 2 layers and its properties (color: white; linetype: continuous)

To create a new layer, click on layer 0 to highlight, then press the New Layer icon at the top of the
layer box. Layer 1 appears. Type in your new layer name followed by Enter, and a new layer is created.

Some helpful tip:

1. If you notice that you made a spelling mistake after you already pressed Enter, you can just click
back into the layer name once or twice until the cursor enters Edit mode and retype
2. Do not attempt to change the layer 0’s name. It is the default layer and cannot be deleted or
renamed.
3. If you want to delete a layer, simply highlight the layer, and click the red X icon, or press Alt-D. if
the layer contains nothing, it will be deleted.

Making a Layer Current

The current layer is the active layer, on which you can draw at any given moment. To specify what layer to
have as current, either click on the green check mark button, to the right of the red X, or double-click on the
layer name itself. At the very top left of the Layers dialog box, it says “Current layer:” followed by the name
of the layer.

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Assigning Layer Colors

Assigning colors to layers is very important and should be done as you create them or soon after. The
reasons to have color are two-fold. On the most basic level, a colorful drawing is more pleasant to look at
on the screen, but more important, it is easier to interpret and work with.

To assign colors, in the layers dialog box, highlight the layer that you want to assign color. Then click once
the color column. Then a Select Color dialog box appears as shown in the figure below.

Layer Freeze/Thaw and On/Off

Freeze and Thaw are opposites of the same command. Freeze makes the layer or all the objects on the
layer disappear from view but they are not deleted only invisible. The icon represents freeze is the blue
snowflake Thaw is the opposite of freeze and it is represented by a yellow sun icon.

Layer Lock/Unlock

This layer command represented by the padlock. It locks the layer so you cannot edit or erase it. The layer
remains visible but untouchable. The unlocked layer’s icon is blue and looks “unlocked”, while a locked
layer’s padlock turns yellow and changes to a “locked” position.

B. Linetypes

Linetypes are the different lines that come with AutoCAD. As a designer, architect, or engineer, you may
need a variety of lines to convey different ideas in your design. Just as in hand drafting, where you create
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Dashed, Hidden, Phantom, and other line types to show cabinets, demolition work, or hidden geometry in
part design, in AutoCAD you load the lines and use them as necessary.

To load and assign linetypes:

Step 1: Do the following methods

Keyboard: Type in linetype and press Enter

Cascading menus: Format Linetype…

The Linetype manage appears as shown in the figure below. Based on the figure, it is full of
linetypes, it means they have been loaded earlier. Then go to Step 6. If not, and the Linetype
Manager is empty, go on to Step 2.

Step 2. Press Load… The Load or Reload Linetypes box comes up as shown below:

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 Step 3. Position your mouse in the white empty space between the two columns
(Linetype and Description) of the Load or Reload Linetypes box and right click. The Select
All/Clear All menu appears. :
Step 4: Press Select All and every linetype in the left column turns blue (selected)
Step 5. Press OK and the dialog box disappears. All the linetypes are loaded now, so press OK again in
the Linetype Manager.
Step 6. Highlight the layer that you want to assign a linetype.
Step 7. Click continuous column and the Select Linetype dialog box appears, comes with the preloaded
linetypes.
Step 8. Scroll down and up the list to find the appropriate linetype, select it and press OK.

C. Properties

AutoCAD has a collection of tools to change the properties of objects.

To access the properties

Step 1: Do the following methods

Keyboard: Type in ddchprop or properties and press Enter

Cascading menus: Modify Properties
`

Toolbar icon: Standard toolbar

Ribbon: Home tab Properties

The Properties box appears as shown in the figure right. Based

on the figure, it has several categories and features that can be
modified in those categories. Also, there are two columns, a gray
on the left and a mix of gray(inactive) and white (active fields on
the right.

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D. HATCH PATTERNS

Hatch is simply a tool for creating patterns and adding fills to your design. These are not merely
decorative, rather they serve an important function of indicating materials, ground and floor covering
and cross sections.

In the days of hand drafting, there was also a need to visually indicate what sort of material one was
looking at.

For Architects:
- Bricks: An important and popular pattern to render the exterior and sometimes interior of
buildings. AutoCAD has numerous brick patterns available.
- Herringbone, parquet: Important for flooring designations.
- Honeycomb: Insulation designation.

For Engineers:
1. Civil Engineering
- Concrete, sand, clay, earth, gravel: All used in designating surfaces in civil and site plan
design.

2. Mechanical Engineering
- Various ANSI diagonal patterns: Used to designate the visible inside of an object cut in cross
sections.

E. Text

Text conveys important information in your drawing. You use text for title blocks, to label parts of the
drawing, to give specifications, or to make annotations. AutoCAD provides two ways to create text.

1. Line Text – used for short simple text entries

Step 1: Do the following methods

Keyboard: Type in text and press Enter

Cascading menus: Text Single Line Text
`

Toolbar icon: Text toolbar

Ribbon: Home tab Single Line Text

AutoCAD says: Current text style:“Standard” Text height: 0.2000 Annotative: No

Specify start point of text or
[Justify/Style]:
Step 2: Left-click anywhere on the screen
AutoCAD says: Specify start point of text orheight <0.2000>:
Step 3: Enter a new height if desired, say 1.0 and press Enter
AutoCAD says: Specify rotation angle of text <0>: You can rote the text, but there
really is no need to, so just type in 0 for now, and press Enter.
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 Step 4: A text field opens up with a blinking cursor. Go ahead and type something, pressing Enter
once to go to the next line or twice to finish. Figure below shows the basic text looks like.

To edit text, double-click on it, which opens the text field or type in ddedit in the command line.

2. Mtext (Multi Line Text) –This command is used when you anticipate typing in a paragraph with
formatting and effects.

Step 1: Do the following methods

Keyboard: Type in mtext and press Enter

Cascading menus: Text Multiline Text…
`

Toolbar icon: Text toolbar

Ribbon: Home tab Multiline Text

AutoCAD says: Current text style: Standard” Text height: 0.2000 Annotative: No
Specify first
corner:
Step 2: Left-click anywhere on the screen, noticing the abc next to the crosshairs. A rectangle with
an arrow appears. Continue to move your mouse down and across to the right, making the
rectangle bigger. This is your text field; make it as large or small as you need it to be to hold
all the text. As you do this,
AutoCAD says: Specify opposite corner or
[Height/Justify/Linespacing/Rotation/Style/Width/Columns]:
Step 3: Click again when you have define the field.

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 To edit text, double-click on it, which opens the text field or type in ddedit in the command line.

4. Resources:
AutoCAD Software
5. Procedure and Output

Hatch Procedures
Example 1:
1. Draw a circle.

2. Pick the hatch pattern you want to use.

a. With the Ribbon turned off (Tools-Paletes-Ribbon), begin the hatch command via the following
methods.

Keyboard: Type in hatch and press Enter

Cascading menus: Draw Hatch…
`

Toolbar icon: Draw toolbar

Ribbon: Home tab Hatch

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b. The hatch and Gradient dialog box appears as shown in figure below. Now select a pattern by
pressing Swatch.

Hatch pattern palette dialog box appears as shown

in figure below. Explore the tabs. Each tab provide
you different hatch pattern. Choose you own
pattern. In this activity, AR-PARQ1 pattern other
Predefined tab was selected. Then click OK.

Then you will go back to Hatch and Gradient dialog

box with the selected pattern as you can see in the
swatch line.

3. Indicate where you want the pattern to go.

You can indicate where to put the pattern in two ways:
3.a Directly picking the object that will contain the pattern
If the object is actually made of joined-together lines and is one piece such as a rectangle or a
circle, then it can be picked directly.
3.b Picking a point inside that object
If the object is a collection of connected lines defining an area, then the best way is to pick a
point in the middle of that area

Since circle is an object that made of joined-together, do the following steps:

In the boundaries section of hatch and gradient dialog box as shown in figure above,
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 3.a.1 click Add: Select Objects
AutoCAD says: Select objects or [pick internal point/remove Boundaries]:
3.a.2 Click the circle (not the empty space) and the circle becomes dashed. Then press Enter.
You return to the Hatch and Gradient dialog box with the steps completed. Figure below
shows the output of step 3.

If you take a look with the output, big pattern gaps is visible. You need to fine-tune the pattern.

4. Fine-Tune the Pattern by Adjusting Scale and Angle (If necessary)

After 3.a.2, before pressing the Enter, at the bottom left of the hatch and gradient dialog box, you
will find the PREVIEW button.

Press the preview and you will see your hatch pattern as shown in the figure below.
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AutoCAD says: Pick or press ESC to return to dialog or <Right-click to accept hatch>

If the pattern shown is OK, right-click or press Enter.

In this example, the pattern shown has big gaps, click the circle or press ESC to return to hatch
and gradient dialog box.

In the Angle and Scale section, you can change the values. Select Angle 15 and Scale 0.2500,
then press preview button again. If the pattern shown is now OK, right-click or press Enter. Figure
below shows the output of step 4 wherein the pattern has fine-tuned.

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Example 2:

1. Draw a rectangle by creating four lines (Snap and Ortho Modes should be turned on)
2. Do Steps 2 and 3 in Example 1.
Select the same hatch pattern (AR-PARQ1)

Since the object is a collection of connected four lines, then best way is to do 3.b.

In the boundaries section of hatch and gradient dialog box as shown in figure above,
3.b.1 click Add: Pick points
AutoCAD says: Pick internal point or [Select objects/remove Boundaries]:
3.a.2 Click the somewhere inside the object and the four lines become dashed and
AutoCAD says:
Selecting everything...
Selecting everything visible…
Analyzing the selected data...
Analyzing internal
islands…
Then press Enter. You return to the Hatch and Gradient dialog box with the steps
completed. Notice that a preview of the hatch is shown to you as you complete this step.
Figure below shows the output.

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Floor Plan Layouting Procedures

Make a floor plan layout as shown in figure below. Apply everything you learned. The floor plan is a basic
one-bedroom apartment. The kitchen is on the upper left, bedroom on the upper right, bathroom on the
lower right, living room right in the middle, and entrance foyer in the lower left corner. There are two
closets, six windows, and six doors (kitchen has no door). Follow all instructions carefully and proceed
slowly.

Basic File Preparation

1. Open a brand-new AutoCAD file. Save it as LabAct5_Floor_Plan in your created folder.
2. Set your units to Architectural using the units command.
3. Set up layers: A-Walls (green); A-Windows (red), and A-Doors (yellow).
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 4. Load all your linetypes.

Starting the Floor Plan

5. Draw a rectangle that is 25’-1” wide and 24’-10” tall. Be careful and use the correct method of
manual Relative Distance Entry or Dynamic Input, your choice. You can also use the rectangle
command, indicating the dimensions as allowed by one of the suboptions.
a. If you do it manually, you start a rectangle, press Enter, left-click anywhere in the screen, and
then type in @25’1”,24’10” exactly as written.
b. If you use dynamic input (DYN), start the rectangle and enter the values on screen, using the
Tab key to hop between the first and second values.
c. If you use the Rectangle Dimension option, start the rectangle, press d and enter its length and
width when prompted.
6. Offset the rectangle 5” to the inside to create the inner walls (offset command)

7. Explode both wall rectangles. This command is needed to break apart the rectangles for use as the
basis for the interior walls as well as doorways and windows. You should now have a total of eight
individual lines.

To do explode command:

Step 1: Begin the explode command via any of the preceding methods:

Keyboard: Type in explode and press Enter

Cascading menus: Modify Explode
`

Toolbar icon: Modify toolbar

Ribbon: Home tab Modify

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 AutoCAD says: Select objects:

Step 2: Pick the rectangle and it becomes dashed

AutoCAD says: 1 found
Step 3: Press Enter and the rectangle is exploded

Click any of its lines and you notice that each line is independent.

Drawing the Inner Wall Geometry

8. a. Offset the inner left vertical wall 11’-10” to the right to create part of the kitchen wall. Then, offset
5” for the thickness of the wall.
b. Offset the inner top horizontal wall (offset 7’-10”) to get the lower part of the kitchen. Then,
Offset 5” below that line for thickness.
9. Fillet the two sets of walls created in step 8 to create a sharp corner.
10. Create a 2’-10” opening for the kitchen door.
a. Offset the inner wall 4’-8” to the right.
b. Offset again 2’-10” to frame the opening
c. Trim it out by selecting all the line a crossing, press Enter, and click on the lines you do not
need.
11 Trim out the extra line where each inner wall meets the main wall.
.

If you did the previous steps, then you should have a good idea of what is needed to draw the rest of the
floor plan,

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Drawing the Doors and Windows

Create the openings for the doors and window early in the process, but do the actual doors and windows
last. Be sure to use the correct layers.

Doors
1. Once you have an opening in a wall of a certain size, adding the door involves creating a similarly
sized rectangle, oriented in the proper direction.
2. Then you need to add the door swing to complete the door.
3. The thickness of the door is 2” in this floor plan.
4. To create the door swing, you can use the 3-point arc or as more accurate alternative, create a
circle based at the hinge point and with a radius equal to the door width. The trim the unneeded
three quarters of the circle by using the top of the door and the left wall of cutting edges.

Creating the door symbol

Creating the door swing

Windows

1. Draw a rectangle of the proper size to fit into the opening and add a line through it.
2. Then, position it into the windows opening.

Creating a simple window

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Activity 1:
In a new file, set up Architectural units, the correct layers A-Wall, A-Doors, A-Windows and draw the
following floor plan. Complete dimensions and text. Apply hatch pattern in all walls (Difficulty level:
Intermediate; Time to completion:60-90 minutes)

Activity 2:
In a new file, set units as Decimal; load all linetypes; set up layers M-Part, Hidden, and Center; and assign
them proper linetypes and colors of your choosing. Then, draw the following mechanical object, including
all hidden and centerlines. Complete the dimensions. (Difficulty level: Easy; Time to completion:15-20
minutes)

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 6. Conclusion:

_______________________________________________________________________

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7. Assessment (Rubric for Laboratory Performance):

Intended Learning BEGINNER ACCEPTABLE PROFICIENT
SCORE
Outcomes 1 2 3
Was able to apply
Apply layers, Was able to apply Was able to apply
layers, linetypes,
linetypes, colors layers, linetypes, layers, linetypes,
colors and properties
properties and hatch colors and properties colors and properties
but with many errors
pattern in floorplan but needs without the
and needs
layouting and in supervision with the supervision of the
supervision with the
drawing objects faculty member faculty member
faculty member
Obtain incomplete
dimensions and with Obtain complete
Obtain dimensions of Obtain complete
errors in applying dimensions and
objects and apply dimensions and text
text and needs apply text properly
text properly but with few errors.
supervision with the without errors.
faculty member
Produce floor plan Was not able to Was able to meet
Some specifications
layout or objects meet the the specifications of
of the floor plan or
based on specification of the the floor plan or
object are missing
specification floor plan or objects objects
Other comments/observation: TOTAL SCORE
RATING = (total score) x 100%
3

Evaluated By: Date:

Faculty Member

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