Plot layouts with different layers visible

[__rv__]

I have a floor plan for a house, with the electricity plan, ventilation ducts plan, water pipes plan (and a few more of these) each in different layers. I have two layouts (one for ground floor and one for first floor). What I want to do is plot both layouts multiple times (to pdf), once with the electricity plan layer visible and the others not, once with the water pipes and the others not, and so on.

I would also like to have (for each 'pass' of plotting) a custom label (so that the electricity plans say 'electricity') and the date the plan was plotted somewhere.

Right now I manually enable the right layers, plot both layouts, adjust layer visibility and so. This is obviously very repetitive and error prone.

How do I do this in one command? Seems like something that would be very common, but I can't find anything online on how to do this. Thanks.

[Ed Jobe]

Hi, Welcome to AUGI.

AutoCAD Architecture and MEP toolsets (which are free to subscribers) have tools to control visibility for disciplines. If you're going to be doing this often, you ought to take advantage of them. Or Revit.

For the meantime, I would create enough layouts for each title block/dwg and set the appropriate layers visible in the viewport. Then you can use PUBLISH to plot a sheetset.

[Tom Beauford]

Have You Tried: Layer States (https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2022/ENU/AutoCAD-DidYouKnow/files/GUID-5312A8BD-DD94-47D6-B1BA-5E0AF5E0CED8-htm.html#:~:text=A%20layer%20state%20is%20like,import%20it%20to%20another%20drawing.)

[cadtag]

Why not set up additional layouts with the appropriate layers set? Sounds like you are plotting multiple sheets

Or Xref in the Electric, Plumbing, etc. Additional complexity/flexibility in setting things up at the start can prevent a lot of issues later on

[tedg]

Why not set up additional layouts with the appropriate layers set? Sounds like you are plotting multiple sheets

Or Xref in the Electric, Plumbing, etc. Additional complexity/flexibility in setting things up at the start can prevent a lot of issues later on

Agree 100% with this.
Yes you can create layer states, but this method seems archaic to me.

Back in the 90's people tended to draw everything in one drawing file and toggle layers etc, which can be done.
But it is MUCH easier to break out the line work per discipline in Xrefs, and have separate layouts/sheets so you can publish them in one batch (vs, activate layer states to plot different views of the same sheet)

Also look into "Sheetset Manager" a great way to control, manage, publish a set of sheets.

This is just my opinion.

[Tom Beauford]

Agree 100% with this.
Yes you can create layer states, but this method seems archaic to me.

This Thread is simply called "Plot layouts with different layers visible" and the easiest answer to the users request to fix the "very repetitive and error prone" method they were using would be to use Layer States.
Adding separate Layouts for each "electricity plan, ventilation ducts plan, water pipes plan, etc…" for each floor would be how I would do it as well but Layer States are the simplest and least error prone way to get each of those Layout Viewport layers set for that users drawing. All my template drawings have Layer States in them for quickly displaying layers correctly for the task at hand.

As it was the users first post and didn't want to overwhelm them I gave them the simplest most direct answer possible. Their profile didn't indicate how long they've been doing CAD or what software and verticals they were using either.

I also agree with cadtag's suggestions as well.