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Toggling Layers, Logs, & GeoMapping

Contents

This article covers the six commands for three unrelated toggles that happen to live in the same corner of the GDI Command List: the Change Log (a running record of edits made to a model), DXF background layer visibility, and the GeoMapping functions. Clearing the Change Log does not undo any changes to the model — it only empties the log file itself.

GDI Commands

Turn The Change Log On Or Off

Turns Change Log tracking on or off.

  1. With a model open and the GDI Window displayed, select Turn Change Log On/Off from the GDI Command List.
  2. If the Change Log is currently on, a message confirms it has been turned off. Click OK to clear it.
  3. If the Change Log is currently off, respond to the message asking whether to prompt for Change Log Comments on new feature entries — Yes records your comments alongside certain commands, No records all changes without comments.
  4. If an existing log file is found, respond Yes to delete it and start a new one, No to append new changes to it, or Cancel to leave the Change Log’s status unchanged.

Runs from the GDI Command List. The source documentation doesn’t list a GDI Command Line alias for this command.

Notes

  • The Change Log records user changes — adding, deleting, tapping a pipe, and similar events — to a text file for later review. Only edits made while it’s turned on are recorded.

View The Change Log

Displays the contents of the Change Log.

  1. With a Change Log already created, select View Change Log from the GDI Command List.
  2. If no Change Log exists, a message reports it wasn’t found. Click OK to return to the GDI Window.
  3. If the Change Log is currently on, respond Yes to close it and view its contents, or No to end the command. If Yes, a message may confirm the log has been turned off; click OK to clear it.
  4. Review the displayed Change Log, then click Close to return to the GDI Window.

Runs by typing VIEWLOG. Opening the log this way turns Change Log tracking off, since the log can’t be reviewed while it’s still being written to.

Clear The Change Log

Clears the recorded contents of the Change Log.

  1. With a Change Log already created, select Clear Change Log from the GDI Command List.
  2. A message may report that the Change Log has been cleared. Click OK to clear it.

Runs by typing CLEARLOG.

DXF Layer Identification

Identifies which DXF layer a selected entity in an attached DXF background image belongs to.

  1. With a DXF background image attached to the model, select DXF Layer Identification from the GDI Command List.
  2. At the Select A DXF Entity To Identify The Layer Assignment For prompt, left-click an entity in the DXF background image.
  3. A message reports the layer of the selected entity. Click OK to clear it.

Runs by typing DXFLAYER. Identifying a layer’s name makes it easier to decide which DXF layers to turn off with Turn A DXF Layer Off.

Notes

  • DXF files store their data in separate layers; when a DXF is attached as a background image, GASWorkS reads that layer data along with it.

Turn A DXF Layer Off

Hides a single DXF layer from the GDI Display.

  1. With a DXF file attached as a background image, select Turn DXF Layer Off from the GDI Command List.
  2. At the Select A DXF Entity On The Layer To Be Turned Off prompt, left-click an entity on the layer to hide. It is highlighted.
  3. Respond Yes to the confirmation message (showing the Layer Name) to turn that layer off, or No to end the command.

Also runs by typing DXFLAYEROFF or DXFOFF. Turned-off layers can be turned back on from the Background Image Settings screen (Graphics menu > Background Settings).

Notes

  • Changing a DXF layer’s visibility in GASWorkS only affects the display here — it doesn’t modify the layer settings in the original DXF file.

Turn The GeoMapping Functions On Or Off

Turns the GeoMapping functions on or off.

  1. With a model open and the GDI Window displayed, select On/Off from the GeoMapping branch of the GDI Command Tree.
  2. Respond Yes to continue using the GeoMapping functions, or No to disable them.
  3. If Yes, the GDI Image is resized to the extent of the world.

Also runs from the GDI Command List, or by typing GEOMAP.

Notes

  • The GeoMapping functions let you use geographic map services to help build or maintain a model. Using them requires agreeing to the selected map service’s terms of use and privacy policy, viewable from the Third Party Terms & Conditions submenu of the Help menu.

Notes & Considerations

  • The Change Log, DXF layer visibility, and GeoMapping toggles are independent of one another — turning one on or off has no effect on the others.
  • DXF layers can also be turned on or off from the Background Image Settings screen (Graphics menu > Background Settings), which is the same screen used to manage background images generally.

See Also

  • Example: Adding Background Images (BMP, DXF, SHP)
  • GeoMapping: Attaching & Building with Map Backgrounds

FAQ

  • What kinds of tasks live under Display, View & Navigation?
    This subcategory covers how the model looks and how you move around it on screen — colors, symbol and text sizes, the Tool Palette, coordinate and snapping settings, what’s visible or hidden in the GDI Display, distance and angle measurements, layer and log toggles, and panning, zooming, and plotting the GDI image itself.
  • If something isn’t showing up in the GDI Display, where should I look first?
    Start with Display & Visibility Settings — it controls whether customer symbols, node symbols, pipe symbols, flow arrows, User Graphics, User Text, and background images are turned on or off. If the feature type is visible but hard to spot, Colors, Symbols, Sizes & Tool Palette covers adjusting colors and symbol sizes to make things stand out.
  • What’s the difference between the Views/Panning/Zooming commands and the Coordinates & Snapping commands?
    Views, Panning, Zooming & Plotting is about controlling what part of the model you’re looking at — saving views, zooming in and out, plotting the image. Coordinates, Projection & Snapping is about precision while you work within that view — setting coordinate systems, snapping to features, and measuring along specific axes, which matters more when you’re placing or aligning features than when you’re just navigating the drawing.
  • Where do I measure a distance or angle directly in the model?
    Measuring Distances & Angles covers exactly that — Measure A Distance and Measure An Angle let you click points in the GDI Display and get a real-world measurement back, without needing to calculate it separately.
  • How do I turn GeoMapping or a specific DXF layer on or off?
    Toggling Layers, Logs & GeoMapping covers both. It includes Turn The GeoMapping Functions On Or Off and Turn A DXF Layer Off, along with commands for turning the Change Log on or off and viewing or clearing it.
Updated on July 29, 2026

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