The Visibility tool
Tool |
Tool set |
Visibility |
Basic |
The Visibility tool changes the visibility of the layer or class associated with a clicked object, or only the visibility of the object itself, depending on the mode. If you click an object in a sheet layer or design layer viewport, only the visibility in that viewport changes (with some exceptions); for viewports with the visibility set by style, layer and class visibilities can only be edited from the Edit Viewport Style dialog box (see Creating and editing viewport styles). You can also make rapid changes to the visibilities of multiple layers, classes, or objects in the drawing by double-clicking the tool itself.
Several modes are available to specify whether to change class, layer, or object visibility, and to set the type of visibility change to make.
Mode |
Description |
Classes |
Affects the visibility of the clicked object's class |
Layers |
Affects the visibility of the clicked object's layer |
Objects |
Affects the visibility of the clicked object |
Visible |
In Classes or Layers mode, sets the class or layer of the clicked object to be visible; in Objects mode, makes the clicked object visible |
Invisible / Hidden |
In Classes or Layers mode, Invisible mode sets the class or layer of the clicked object to be invisible. In Objects mode, Hidden mode shows the clicked object "ghosted" (transparent with a light blue tint). In the Vectorworks preferences and Quick Preferences menu, you can change hidden objects to be invisible, if desired. |
Greyed |
In Classes or Layers mode, sets the clicked object's class or layer to gray |
Preferences |
Specifies the behavior when the Visibility tool is double-clicked |
There are several other ways to change class, layer, and object visibility in the drawing area, in addition to the Visibility tool.
Class and layer visibility: See Setting global visibility with class and design layer options for details about the Class Options and Layer Options settings.
Object visibility: See Object visibility commands for details about commands on the View menu.