How can I make only selected objects visible in a layout irrespective to layers

I have done what Andrew described and it works well in all versions of Cadence. I have implemented it in two ways. The first and simplest way was to use one hilight layer for all of the shapes on the net. However, when you turn off visibility of all layers, you cannot see which layers are used in your net. The way I prefer is to hilight each layer in its own color. I did this by defining layer packets for some unused lpps. Layer packets describe the color, line style and fill style for a layer. I chose the Unrouted and designFlow system layers (they have 10 lpps each and exist every technology file). For each of my metal layers I made a comparable layer packet using one of the designFlow lpps. For each of my via/contact layers, I made a comparable layer packet using one of the Unrouted lpps. I stored each of these mappings in a table.

For example:
hilightMapTbl["metal1"] = list("designFlow" "drawing1")
hilightMapTbl["via1"] = list("Unrouted" "drawing1")

When creating the packets, I used the same colors, but I made the fill pattern denser and the line style wider. These settings can either be done permanently in the display.drf or dynamically with drSetPacket.

When hilighting metal shapes, use the layer from the hilightTbl. If you turn off visibility of all layers, you'll still see your hilights. If you use a bolder pattern and line style, it kind of acts like a shadow mode. Your hilighted net stands out in context with the rest of your layout.

I hope this helps,

Derek

I have done what Andrew described and it works well in all versions of Cadence. I have implemented it in two ways. The first and simplest way was to use one hilight layer for all of the shapes on the net. However, when you turn off visibility of all layers, you cannot see which layers are used in your net. The way I prefer is to hilight each layer in its own color. I did this by defining layer packets for some unused lpps. Layer packets describe the color, line style and fill style for a layer. I chose the Unrouted and designFlow system layers (they have 10 lpps each and exist every technology file). For each of my metal layers I made a comparable layer packet using one of the designFlow lpps. For each of my via/contact layers, I made a comparable layer packet using one of the Unrouted lpps. I stored each of these mappings in a table.

For example:
hilightMapTbl["metal1"] = list("designFlow" "drawing1")
hilightMapTbl["via1"] = list("Unrouted" "drawing1")

When creating the packets, I used the same colors, but I made the fill pattern denser and the line style wider. These settings can either be done permanently in the display.drf or dynamically with drSetPacket.

When hilighting metal shapes, use the layer from the hilightTbl. If you turn off visibility of all layers, you'll still see your hilights. If you use a bolder pattern and line style, it kind of acts like a shadow mode. Your hilighted net stands out in context with the rest of your layout.

I hope this helps,

Derek