Using Levels

In CivilTools, all features of a particular type (points, lines, etc) will reside on a single layer in the default CAD GeoPackage (for example, "cad_points." However, their appearance and visibility can be controlled by the use of Levels.

While in GIS "Layers" can be thought of as a particular feature type residing in a particular data source, "Levels" are akin to transparent slides used in an overhead projector. Any type of feature can reside on a given Level, and Levels can be turned on and off (akin to having that slide removed from the stack on the projector). Additionally, Levels can have contain style information, such as linetype, stroke width, color, etc. Levels can also be moved above and below each other in the map canvas' rendering order.

When a project is initialized, users can choose to import Level information from a CSV file of their choosing. If the user does not select a template Level file, only one Level ("0") will be present when the project is initialized.

Any Level-related settings can be found in the "Level Management" panel of the main QGIS window. From here, Levels can be added, removed (in which case any features currently on that Level will be moved to the "0" Level), turned on or off, and have their various styles altered. For convenience, an option to isolate a Level (hide all others) is available in the Level Management panel.

Level Templates

As mentioned above, users have the option to create and use their own level management templates to pre-populate a project. Templates should be in CSV format, with the following information:

Name,Point_Style,Line_Style,Polygon_Style