Extended Layer Manager v2.1

The focus of the 2.0 release revolves heavily on the redesign of the interface. All the small popup windows for the members, colors, current layer selection, and about information have been removed and put into collapsible frames. Much of the code has been re-evaluated and re-written. Many of the right mouse button (RMB) options have been removed and replaced with menus and buttons. Some (especially Mac users) found the excess in RMB options in the previous releases to be cumbersome.

The top of the window now has menus for basic layer editing, refreshing of the lists, and presets for frame display states. Below that you will find three buttons for creating a new layer (prompt for a name input), and to add or remove objects selected in the viewport from the currently highlighted layer in the layers list. The frames display options are also available as an RMB option anywhere in the window for quick access for collapsing and opening of frames.

The first frame is the Layers frame containing most of the original controls from the previous release. All the drawing labels are still in the same orientation as before to the layer list. The buttons next to the check boxes have replaced the RMB popup that the checkboxes had before. The buttons labeled A will apply the current drawing of the selected layer to all layers in the list. The button labeled U will apply the opposite state to all unselected layers in the list. The layer colors are now in a collapsing frame within the Layers frame. A layer can be renamed by simply double clicking on its name. Hitting the Delete or Backspace key with a layer selected will delete the layer.

The Members frame provides a user with a list of current objects assigned to the selected layer. By default selecting objects in the list do not actually select them in the viewport. This option can be toggled with the Actively Select Members checkbox towards the bottom. Optionally you can select members that are highlighted by clicking the Select Highlighted button. The Remove Highlighted Members works differently from the remove button at the top of the window when the Actively Select Members checkbox is unchecked. What it does is removes the members while retaining the current selection in the viewport. With the Actively Select Members checkbox checked it behaves the same as the remove button at the top of the interface. A member can be renamed by simply double clicking on its name. Hitting the Delete or Backspace key with a member(s) selected will remove it from its current layer.

The Current Layer frame is where you set a currently selected layer to be the current layer, meaning that all newly created objects will go directly into that layer.

The Options frame contains several options for the user to modify. The first is the default layer naming convention; this is the name a layer will get when one is not entered during the prompt. Or if the prompt has been disabled by the Input Prompt for New Layers is unchecked, another user based option. The last option is Add Selected to New Layer and this will automatically add selected objects to a newly created layer.