external standard layering convention

A set of standardized layer names and properties, layer categorizations and associated site improvement assignments, which are consistently used within and throughout your organization in order to promote familiarity with layer names and recognition of subject matter based on those names. An external standard layering convention also promotes increased productivity in performing a takeoff, by automating the layer categorization and site improvement assignment processes that are employed by the Categorize Takeoff Layers command. The external standard layering convention is used in conjunction with the Map Layers command.

Your organization’s standard layering convention is defined within an external material and site improvement library (.mxl file), within which the site improvements that may be assigned to a layer, via this convention, have been predefined. That .mxl file can also contain layer mapping information associated with known data sources, which can be used in automating the process of moving imported data from its source layer to the appropriate standard layer defined within your organization’s convention. As you determine the correlation between the layer naming convention of a particular data source and the corresponding layer in your own convention, you can save that correlation to the .mxl file, where it can be used to automate the process of moving the data from that source layer to you standard layer, the next time you receive data from that source.

By employing this type of layering convention, storing the standard layer information in an external file, only those layers that are required to accommodate the subject matter are actually created within any particular project file.