Chprop command

Re Architectural Desktop 3.3
I've recently been having an issue with chprop. Using the button menu,
I used to be able to change the color of an entity just by picking it
and choosing whatever color I wanted. Now for some reason when I pick
an entity and try and change the color, it takes the color I picked
and changes that as the default color for everything without changing
the entity I picked. If I use the chprop on the command line it seems
to work fine. It's likely that I could have unknowingly changed a
setting somewhere to cause this but I can't figure it out. I'm hopng
someone can offer a solution.
Thanks in advance.
Geo.
PS

 

It sounds like the button has become reassigned. What's the command line say
when you use the button?

 

Is the "entity" a block or attribute?

Ted

 

Good question!

As an aside, coloring individual entities on a common layer probably isnt
the best strategy to go with.... if you need to assign properties to
entities (line type, thickness, color etc) then having a good layering
stratefy makes it very easy to manage. plus you get the bonus of being able
to turn layers on and off to make easy 'masks' for selection.

Shaun

 

That's a matter of opinion, and I'll differ with you on it. Always drawing
"BYLAYER" is a common strategy in color-based plotting systems, but if you
do that you will eventually end up with UCDS (Ugly Cad Drawing Syndrome).
The main symptom of this syndrome is graphically inappropriate equivalence
of lineweights. (Lineweights are the same because objects are on the same
layer, not because it makes the drawing easier to read.)

The primary reason for layering is for visibility: the ability to turn it on
or off...together. Sometimes, maybe even often, for the sake of legibility,
you need to have different linewidths on the same layer, and that is why you
have that option in AutoCAD and all other cad packages that I know. Many
people use BYLAYER as a crutch, and that's fine if it makes their jobs
easier, but it's not a panacea.

Drawing with many colors on the same layer as a default definitely makes the
quick visual check of your layering more difficult, since everything on the
layer is not the same screen color, but that's not to say that you shouldn't
do it if it suits your purposes. Many people draw many different kinds of
things for very different purposes with AutoCAD.