Expert: Bill DeShawn - 11/17/2006

Question
I have been (trying) to use SOLVIEW and SOLDRAW in AutoCad 2005 to create 2D views of 3D assemblies. I have sort of got the hang of creating the views, but sometimes I make mistakes and have to delete them. The problem is, I can't find a way to delete the layers that were automatically produced by the function. I have tried PURGE but I get a message saying that I can't purge them even though I can't find any objects on the layers. As I would like to reuse the previous names this is a problem. Also, I don't like the idea of my drawings filling up with a lot of unused layers!

Please help!

Answer
I am told that SuperPurge can purge anything:
http://www.manusoft.com/Software/SuperPurge/index.stm

Here's a trick that I use when I get desperate:
I copy all my dimensions to the clipboard with "Copy with Basepoint" (COPYBASE) using 0,0 as a base point.  Then I erase them all.  I purge the dimension layer.  Then I rename the rogue layer to the name of the dimension layer I purged.  Then paste the dimensions using 0,0 as the insertion point.  You're done.

You also could try purging ALL objects with the PURGE command.  If a block that is in the database and not inserted, it could contain layers that you won't be able to purge unless you purge the block.  So, it's best to purge everything - not just layers.

Keep in touch
Bill DeShawn
http://my.sterling.net/~bdeshawn