In a recent AutoCAD class, someone asked a great question:
“Is there a quick way to prefix many existing layer names in a drawing?”
Layers are a foundational element of any CAD drawing, not just in AutoCAD. They organize geometry, control visibility, and make collaboration possible. Essentially, it is a skeuomorphism to how drafting was done before digitalization took over. You know, something like this:
So where do we start?
Your first instinct might be to check the Layer Properties Manager.
Unfortunately, nothing in there can rename multiple layers in bulk. Maybe there’s something on the Layers panel in the ribbon?
Still no luck.
Surely, AutoCAD must have a tool for this—after all, layers have been around since day one. And it turns out, there is a built-in feature that can help. It’s called (fittingly enough): RENAME.
Although it sounds simple, the RENAME command is actually pretty powerful. It allows you to rename any named object in an AutoCAD file, including:
But here’s the catch—it’s not in the ribbon or a palette. In fact, it’s only accessible by typing the command directly.
Bonus tip: AutoCAD’s command line will autocomplete as you type. Try entering RE, then REN, and see what it suggests.
Even with older or rarely used commands, you don’t need to remember the exact name—just get close and let AutoCAD do the rest.
Once you launch the RENAME command, you’ll see this dialog box:
Now, looking at the dialog box above, the process is to pick the object type on the left and see a list of those named objects on the right. Certainly, you can rename a single object and be done, but in our case, we want to rename many objects at once using the same prefix. Watch what happens to the dialog if you select many objects in the right pane; the old name turns into “*varies*”. A clue!
Alright, in this example, we want to select LAYERS on the left panel and then select the named layers on the right. The old name turns into *varies*; revise this to just say *. In the “Rename To” field, we will do something similar; type the prefix followed by *. In my image below, I used HCO- as a prefix. The before and after of the layer list now shows the revised layer names!
If you wanted it to be a suffix instead of a prefix, then use *-HCO. If you want to remove the prefix or suffix, switch the input in the dialog!
We love when students ask questions like this—because sometimes they open doors to tools we’ve overlooked or forgotten. The RENAME command might not be flashy, but it’s a hidden gem for those managing large, complex drawings.
We’ll be sharing more time-saving tricks like this in future posts—so stay tuned!