Quick Layer: overview
Quick Layer replaces most trips to the Layer Properties Manager with a small popup that opens where your cursor already is. Type a few letters, the matching layers rank live underneath, press Enter. That layer is now current.
Two ways to run it
Section titled “Two ways to run it”- Ribbon: the Layer panel on the MD Plugins tab.
- Command line: type
MDQUICKLAYER.
Command reference
Section titled “Command reference”| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
MDQUICKLAYER |
Opens the layer popup at the cursor. Works pick-first: a selection made beforehand is captured. |
MDQUICKLAYERSETTINGS |
Sets how a pick-first selection is handled: Prompt, Never, or Always. |
How the popup and its search work → · Layer state and colour controls →
What it does, in order
Section titled “What it does, in order”- Optionally select objects first, then run
MDQUICKLAYER. - A borderless popup appears at the cursor with the search box already focused.
- Type: layer names are fuzzy-matched and ranked as you go.
- Arrow keys move the highlight; Enter commits, Esc cancels without changing anything.
- The chosen layer becomes current. If objects were selected in step 1, they can be reassigned to it as well.
- Or edit a row’s state: on/off, freeze, lock, plot, colour, and the popup stays open.
Settings
Section titled “Settings”| Setting | Controls | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Reassign selection | What happens when you pick a layer with objects selected: Prompt (ask each time), Always (reassign silently), or Never (only the current layer changes). | Prompt |
| Scope | The popup’s last pre-filter: All, Used, or Xref. Set by the button next to the search box and remembered across sessions. | All |
Reassign selection is set with MDQUICKLAYERSETTINGS; Scope is set from the popup itself.
Good to know
Section titled “Good to know”- The popup is modeless. Editing layer state doesn’t close it, so a run of layer housekeeping happens in one place without reopening anything.
- Running the command again closes an open popup rather than stacking a second one.
- Some layers can’t be made current: an xref-dependent layer, or a frozen one. Quick Layer says so plainly at the command line rather than surfacing an AutoCAD error.
Not in this version
Section titled “Not in this version”- No layer creation or renaming. The popup picks among layers that already exist; making a new one is still the Layer Properties Manager’s job.
- No layer states, filters or groups, and no per-viewport freeze.