Layer Freeze vs. Layer Off

[econlon]

Can someone direct me to a discussion (or white paper?) on why one would freeze layers instead of turning them off. I understand the power of the freeze command in paper space with multiple viewports, but what is the difference when working in model space?

[tyshofner]

From autodesk's website:

On/Off /

Turns layers on and off. When a layer is on, it is visible and available for plotting. When a layer is off, it is invisible and is not plotted, even if Plot is on.

Thaw/Freeze in All Viewports /

Thaws and freezes selected layers in all viewports. You can freeze layers to speed up zoom, pan, and many other operations; improve object selection performance; and reduce regeneration time for complex drawings. AutoCAD does not display, plot, hide, render, or regenerate objects on frozen layers.

Freeze the layers you want to be invisible for long periods. When you thaw a frozen layer, AutoCAD regenerates and displays the objects on that layer. If you plan to switch between visible and invisible states frequently, use the On/Off setting. You can freeze layers in all viewports, in the current layout viewport, or in new layout viewports as they are created.

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So basically,
On/Off makes them invisible to the EYE.
Freeze/Thaw makes them invisible to the EYE as well as AutoCAD.

So, since ACAD does not include the objects on frozen layers in any of the above mentioned operations it will help to improve performance. Where as if they were off, they would still be included in the calculations for the operations.

Ty

[jaberwok]

Never mentioned by adesk - in 3d, objects on a layer that is OFF will not plot but WILL obscure objects behind them.

[robert.1.hall72202]

Good discussion. I essentially do not see a difference in my use
of layers on/off and/or frozen. Throwing a layer in the freezer makes
the objects disappear just as quickly as turning off the layer.

[scott.wilcox]

Using the selection method ALL: objects on off layers are selected, objects on frozen layers are not selected.

[jaberwok]

Using the selection method ALL: objects on off layers are selected, objects on frozen layers are not selected.

Good point.

[mmccarter]

Using the selection method ALL: objects on off layers are selected, objects on frozen layers are not selected.

It is for this reason that we frown upon layers been turned onn/off as opposed to frozen/thawed here at our place just incase anything is accidently deleted without being visible to the eye.
I was not aware of the increase in performance by using this method aswell. Thanks for the info

[padams]

the off vs frrozen layer effect the zoom extents display

[r424andy]

personally i only use freeze for individual viewports. That way when I switch back to modelspace everything remains on. If i have a particular vp freeze setup i want to use in model space I set up the layermanger to turn off the same layeres that would be frozen in the viewport

[Coolmo]

I cannot for the life of me get my people over here to STOP using ON/OFF as a layer state option inside of our sheets. My only reasoning is a lot of people use a certain form of "Isolate layer" which turns all other layers OFF except the ones you isolate and the only way to get them back is to turn ON all the layers again. If you only utilize ON/OFF for isolating layers, it works great. I realize there's a "return to layer state" button but it will usually UNDO any actual layer changes (color, linetype, etc.) that you originally wanted to isolate layers for.