Autodesk Inventor Tip: Controlling Layers of Parts in a Drawing

With the introduction of layers into Autodesk Inventor 9, one common scenario is to move an entire part, or collection of parts onto different layers within an IDW.  By following the steps here, this is an easy process:

1. To allow you to select an entire part, change your selection priority to "Part Priority".  This can by done by either accessing the selection priority dropdown located just to the right of the undo/redo buttons on the toolbar or by using the SHIFT+RIGHT-CLICK key combination.
2. Click to select the part(s) that you want to change layers.
3. With the parts selected, you will notice that they layer dialog dropdown is disabled.  No problem, simply right-click over the part and from the context menu choose "Select as edges".
4. From the layer drop-down, select the appropriate layer from the list.
5. Once you have finished manipulating layers, change the selection priority back to "Edge priority" or you'll be frustrated why you can't detail your drawing :)  Been there, done that!