User Guide > Timing > Layers and Columns > Layer and Column Concepts

Layer and Column Concepts

In order to understand what happens when you duplicate a drawing, extend an exposure, create cycles or delete a drawing, it is important to know how a layer works.

Each layer is linked to a directory, this is the location where all of that layers' drawings are saved. This directory has the same name as the layer. When a value or drawing name is typed in a layer’s cell, the system looks in the layer’s directory for the corresponding drawing to display. If there is no corresponding drawing, a new one is created.

The layer’s cells are not used for storage, but are linked to the drawings contained in the layer’s directory. If you remove a drawing from the layer exposure, it is not deleted, but is simply not displayed.

When you create a drawing cycle, all of the repeated drawings are linked to the same original files. This means that when you modify, repaint or correct a drawing named “1,” all drawings named “1” are updated simultaneously. In order to modify a drawing independently from its other exposures, you must duplicate the drawing.

Related Topics 

Layers and Columns
Layer Types
Advanced Column Types
Layer Content
Adding New Drawing Layers
Deleting Layers and Columns
Modifying Layers
Duplicating Layers and Columns
Cloning Layers And Columns
Xsheet Thumbnails
Changing the Colour of a Layer or Column
Expanding and Collapsing Layers and Columns
Modifying the Look of the Column
Duplicating a Drawing