Sheets or layers: what is the difference, and which one should I use to organize my job?

What each one is

A layer sorts objects inside one piece of material. Vectors, bitmaps and component previews are assigned to layers, and everything on a layer can be selected, colored, hidden or locked together. Layers do not change the material in any way.

A sheet is a separate piece of material inside the same file. Each sheet can have its own dimensions and properties. The Sheet Editor lets you change the size, the Z zero position and the datum for that one sheet. Only one sheet at a time is shown in the 3D view.

Which to use

1. Different kinds of geometry on the same board (pocket vectors, profile vectors, text, guide lines): use layers. Hide or lock what you are not working on.
2. A second board, a different thickness, or a different zero: use a sheet. One educator's example: carve a 3D design with Z zero on top of the material, then move the cutout vectors to a new sheet, right-click that sheet, choose Edit, and set Z zero to the machine bed for that sheet only.
3. Variations of one project (sizes, customer versions): use sheets instead of saving many separate files, so everything stays in one place.
4. Inlays: put the pocket and the plug on separate, clearly named sheets. It keeps the toolpaths and the printed job sheets easy to tell apart.
5. Trying something risky: duplicate the sheet first. Duplicating carries across the 2D objects, the 3D components and the toolpaths, so the copy is a full backup.

Pro tips

• Toolpaths copied with a duplicated sheet show a red exclamation mark and an italic name until you check and recalculate them.
• Right-click a sheet name to Edit, Rename, Delete, Activate or Duplicate it. To change several sheets at once, hold Ctrl, click each one, then choose Edit.
• PDF export writes each sheet as its own page, and lets you pick which layers to include.
• See the entries on layers and on sheet-specific toolpaths for the details of each.