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I am getting ready to export a bunch of files to DWG, and was wondering what exactly the Merge Symbol Layers To Layer '0' option does in the export dialog. I tried searching the manual and forum, but couldn't find any info on this. Would appreciate it, thanks.

joshhuggins wrote:I am getting ready to export a bunch of files to DWG, and was wondering what exactly the Merge Symbol Layers To Layer '0' option does in the export dialog. I tried searching the manual and forum, but couldn't find any info on this. Would appreciate it, thanks.

Hi Josh,

This option handles symbols that were created using more then one layer.
It moves all symbol parts that were been located on those several layers into a single layer named "0", in the exportation process.

Some softwares don't handle multi-layer symbols, and I'm not sure when this became available in AC itself.
It's just that, AFAIK.

HTH,
Miguel

DataCAD's Layer Manager does not provide you with the ability to access layers that are contained within symbols. AutoCAD's Layer Manager does.

If you export the file to DWG format with "Merge symbol layers to layer 0" turned off, all of the layers within all of the symbols in the drawing will be in the file. If you later import that file back in, those layers come in with it, albeit with no entities on them. The entities inside the symbols are still on the original layers inside the symbols, not the layers with the same name that are now part fo the overall drawing.

By turning "Merge symbol layers to layer 0" on, you'll be creating a DWG file in which all of the information inside the symbols is on a layer in AutoCAD named "0" instead of on the original layers. This is now the only layer inside all symbols in the DWG file. If you later import that DWG file back into DataCAD, the layers that were originally inside the symbols are lost, and instead all information within the symbols is on layer "0." No extra layers are added to the overall drawing.

Thanks Miguel and great explanation Mark. Thanks so much.