Though collaboration is moving in the direction of happening online, getting an accurate plot for those who still use paper is critically important. As such having layers plot in a desired order is still key to many users. With this in mind, we offer the January ADN plugin of the month:
This month's plugin can be used to reorder AutoCAD objects by their layer. With a dirt simple user interface, you simply select the layer you want to reposition in the list, and then press the move up or move down button to change its relative order. Objects on top of the list plot last. With this in mind, you should move your solid fill and hatching layers to the bottom of the list. You can also get fancy by sorting and reversing the plot ordering of your layers.
Like many previous plugins of the month, DrawOrder By Layer has been tested with AutoCAD 2007 and later versions. Although not specifically tested, it should also be compatible with the vertical flavors of AutoCAD such as AutoCAD Civil 3D. Note that as a Microsoft .NET solution, you cannot run the plugin from a network share drive. Please install it locally. Thanks to Terry Dotson from DotSoft who developed this plugin and Kean Walmsley for his additional edits. As always, the source code is included for your perusal. Let us know what you think at [email protected] with feedback, requests for enhancements, or success stories of how you have enhanced it yourself.
Proper Paper Plotting is alive in the lab.