How to hide or lock parts of your drawing in BricsCAD?
Short Answer
Yes — in BricsCAD, the most common professional way to hide or lock parts of a drawing is by using layers, then turning layers off, freezing them, or locking them with LAYER. This is fast, standard, and easy to control from Layer Explorer. Limitation: layer-based control affects all objects on that layer.
What You Need to Know Before
Warning: If the objects you want to hide or lock are mixed on the same layer as active geometry, using layer controls can hide or lock too much at once. In production files, this often causes missed edits, plotting errors, or accidental snap issues if layer states are not managed carefully.
How to Hide or Lock Parts of Your Drawing in BricsCAD
Command: LAYER
Shortcut: LA
Quick Steps:
- Open Layer Explorer from the Ribbon > Home tab > Layers panel, or type
LA. - Find the layer containing the objects you want to control.
- Use the layer options:
- Click Off to hide the layer
- Click Freeze to fully remove it from regeneration
- Click Lock to prevent editing while keeping it visible
- If needed, move selected objects to a dedicated layer first using the Properties panel or the Layer control.
- Confirm the Lock toggle is enabled for protected geometry you still need to see on screen.
- Open Layer Explorer from the Ribbon > Home tab > Layers panel, or type
Variables & Settings
Key Setting: Lock / Off / Freeze in Layer Explorer
Expert Setting: Use Lock when users still need visual reference and snapping context, but should not modify objects. Use Freeze instead of Off for better performance in large drawings, because frozen layers are excluded from regeneration and many display operations.
Why it Fails
Cause 1 (Geometry): The objects are not separated onto their own layer, so hiding or locking the layer affects unrelated geometry too.
Cause 2 (Layers/Locks): The target layer may be set as the current layer, and BricsCAD will not let you freeze certain active working conditions cleanly until another layer is current.
Cause 3 (Command/Logic): Users expect layer lock to block every action, but locked objects can still remain visible and may still be referenced or snapped to depending on workflow and settings.
Quick Fix & Best Practice
Quick Fix: Move the objects to a dedicated layer, then run LAYER and use Lock or Freeze on that layer.
Manager’s Verdict: Use layer locking for active coordination work and layer freezing for visibility control in heavy production drawings. Avoid object-by-object hiding for routine team workflows; layer standards are faster, clearer, and easier to manage.
FAQ
Can I hide only selected objects in BricsCAD?
Yes, but the most reliable professional workflow is to place them on a separate layer and control that layer.
Should I use Off or Freeze in BricsCAD?
Use Freeze for better performance; use Off for quick temporary visibility changes.
Does locking a layer stop plotting?
No, a locked layer still plots unless you separately disable plotting for that layer.
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