Outline views

Once again, working with viewports. I want to be able to capture only the outline of the shape I am working with when viewing it at a certain view.

For example, the MIDDLE picture is my shape.

LEFT PICTURE is the TOP view of my shape.

RIGHT PICTURE is what I want - the OUTLINE of the top view seen in the LEFT PICTURE.

Is it possible to get this "outlined" view in autocad?

Please check the SOLPROF command.

(I believe that there are other options available, too, but I didn't kept up with 3D module lately)

Assuming you are working in 3D click into each viewport you want, then go to VIEW (top of screen) then VISUAL STYLES on drop down menu and choose between those available, ie wireframe and hidden.

However, MSAU's advice is probably more 'correct' and will print better without having to mess around. Let us know how you get on

the SOLPROF command seems to hold a lot of promise, but I'm not too sure how to use it!

I purely want an outline of the view (which is a pure TOP view of the object).

I'm not sure which options to select for the SOLPROF command to get just the outline...

Here's the documentation for reference: http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2010/ENU/AutoCAD%202010%20User%20Documentation/index.html?url=WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-5345.htm,topicNumber=d0e314438

Thank you guys so much - this forum is INCREDIBLY helpful!

After call the SOLPROF command, select the solid entities and accept all options as default. After command processing is done, you will get two new layers: PH-? which retain invisible parts and PH-? for visible ones. The ? part of the name is unique for a each viewport. Just make sure that the PH-? layer and the layer(s) that store the solid(s) are set to OFF or frozen. And, very important, don't forget that the command will works only from Layouts.

After call the SOLPROF command, select the solid entities and accept all options as default. After command processing is done, you will get two new layers: PH-? which retain invisible parts and PH-? for visible ones. The ? part of the name is unique for a each viewport. Just make sure that the PH-? layer and the layer(s) that store the solid(s) are set to OFF or frozen. And, very important, don't forget that the command will works only from Layouts.

Hmm, I am following exactly what you said, but I seem to get the same image as the top view as a 2D layer, NOT the OUTLINE (see attached picture).

I'm not getting the "3.png" image I want...

Welcome to the forum.

Whoops Mircea beat me to it!

If you want to use SOLPROF, remember that it only works on 3d Solids.

If you don't want to see the HIDDEN LINES displayed, then accept all

of the default commandline options, and turn off the PH- layer after you run it.

SOLPROF

Select objects: Specify opposite corner: 268 found

Select objects:

Display hidden profile lines on separate layer? [Yes/No] :

Project profile lines onto a plane? [Yes/No] :

Delete tangential edges? [Yes/No] :

The SOLPROF command will create two new layers. One of them will have the PV- prefix,

the V stands for VISIBLE. The other new layer name will have the PH- (for HIDDEN) prefix.

Each of the layers will contain a block with all of the VISIBLE or all of the HIDDEN lines.

If you want to EXPLODE them, you can then put them on whatever layer you want, and they will take on the layer attributes of that layer.

Freeze the PH layer (H for hidden) and only have the PV (V for visible) layers on.

You should go into the layer properties manager thingy and asign a relevant linetype and colour to the hidden layers too

Dadgad beat me to it!

Haha

Well that's the thing - the line I'm trying to get rid of ISN'T a HIDDEN line. It is a visible line that I want to simply get rid of.

Maybe people don't understand what I want - I want a PURE OUTLINE of the PERIMETER of object at a certain view. I want to get rid of any internal lines and just want the PURE PERIMETER as seen in picture 3.

Does that make sense? My view is also set to hidden anyway so solprof wouldn't seem to do much anyway...

As Dadgad says explode the block created by SOLPROF then you can trim as neccessary.

You may also want to have a play with FLATSHOT. Some good tutorial vids on youtube...have a look

By the way, FLATSHOT won't give you a perimeter of the shape you posted, it will give you a block of all the 2D geometry. Explode and trim......

If you have used SOLPROF and then EXPLODED the block or blocks,

it is also a very good idea to then run OVERKILL which will clean out any duplicates and will optimize the remaining geometry. :wink:

I wish I had overkill (not in 2007) as customer's drawings with lines upon lines upon lines drive me crazy. Especially when they are used for cnc profiling....cnc does not like duplicates!

I wish I had overkill (not in 2007) as customer's drawings with lines upon lines upon lines drive me crazy. Especially when they are used for cnc profiling....cnc does not like duplicates!

It is really great. Do you have selection cycling in 2007? If so, that could help you also to detect and delete duplicates,

but not nearly as easily as OVERKILL.

Yes, if by selection cycling you mean shift and spacebar to cycle through the selec.....hang on, of coursed that's what you mean! ;-)

It is a help but difficult when the original drawing wasn't drawing in autocad and what was once a polyline gets blown into hundreds of tiny lines. Grrrr!

Fuzz distance is a nother one that makes things a whole lot easier for me too. Not sure how long that has been about

I shouldn't think that it would matter that it was from another program. I could be wrong about that.

The image shows what I mean by selection cycling. Having started a command,

then selected at an ambiguous point, because there are 4 polylines on top of one another, you are presented with

a dropdown selection box.

You can turn it on and off by clicking on the circled icon, or CTRL+W.

The blue highlighted one is the one that the software has guessed you mean to select, and if it is correct, just hit enter.

If it is wrong then you need to select the correct one from the list before hitting enter.

Right click on the status bar icon to change the settings of the tool.

I don't get the drop down box (maybe added after 2007) or the different colours but I can use shift and spacbar to highlift duplicate geometry.

Somethimes when I get a file that was originally created in solidworks the exported as a dxf this can happen. Not saying it should but it's something that is done at the customer's end.

Yeah, too bad, probably added later,

but just in case, look at this, never say never.