Just one note about the outliner: It's a performance hog. Make sure you close it before you run the tf_ruby scripts like make shop drawings, or create timber list.
I use layers the same way Mike does - to hide certain objects to make it easier to see what's going on. If you
download the example from my web site, you can see how the purlins are on their own layer, so you can hide them to better see inside. The grid lines are also on their own layer, so you can hide them for printing, perhaps.
As Mike warns, you should note that even though a component is on a particular layer, the geometry inside might be on a different layer. I just found and cleaned up some of that "sloppiness" in the example and re-posted it. CB.
