Locking down Viewports

What's everyone's take on locking down viewports?

I allways do. It irritiates me to no end when i'm moving about in a layout and accidently click into model space and screw up a viewport that is not locked down (either I forgot, or I'm working on a drawing started by someone else.)

Begore you start woking with other guy's work check right away the viewport. To make it safe.

When this happens to me I quickly hit Ctrl+Z to undo my goof and get things back to the previous view. I typically lock down viewports for this very same reason. There are some LISP programs out there which will go through all your layout tabs and lock down any viewports it finds therein. A nice method of quickly insuring that all your viewports are locked before closing a drawing.

95% of the time, I model through a viewport, so I don't want a locked VP. I do lock down VP's when creating sheet/page layouts and when annotating the layout.

I use a pair of LISP routines to lock/unlock Viewports respectively...

Command: vpu

VIEWPORTUNLOCK
Enter layout(s) to modify [All/Current]<Current>:


Command:
Command: vpl
VIEWPORTLOCK
Enter layout(s) to modify [All/Current]<Current>:


Command:

95% of the time, I model through a viewport, so I don't want a locked VP. I do lock down VP's when creating sheet/page layouts and when annotating the layout.

I keep my viewports locked, created a lock all viewports button, and routinely incorporate it

into action recorder macros, and hit it whenever I open someone else's drawing.

It is such sloppy work to close a drawing without having locked one's viewports,

either that or it is drop dead lazy. I can't think of a good reason not to.

nestly, why not just work through a maximized viewport, then even if it is locked, you can still do whatever you want?

Of course if you are still in active modeling mode, I guess it is of no consequence either way.

 

nestly, why not just work through a maximized viewport, then even if it is locked, you can still do whatever you want?...

You can't use UCS commands in a locked VP, or Orbit, or changed the view, or view anything beyond the edge of the viewport. It's also slow to zoom in very tight on a locked VP because AutoCAD has to draw the entire VP at that zoom level, not just what's on the monitor.

You can't use UCS commands in a locked VP, or Orbit, or changed the view, or view anything beyond the edge of the viewport. It's also slow to zoom in very tight on a locked VP because AutoCAD has to draw the entire VP at that zoom level, not just what's on the monitor.

nestly, no doubt there may be some other reasons why it wouldn't work, or you would choose not to,

but having just finished doing ALL of those things in a maximized LOCKED viewport, I beg to differ.

I double clicked on the line defining (not inside) the viewport, and lo and behold?

If you access that way you have unlimited acces to all of your infinite modelspace.

I use SOLPROF all the time, and I prefer running it in this way, as you can not use the command

in modelspace, and doing it this way maintains all of the normal modelspace functionality.

I prefer not doing it through the confines of a locked viewport for those reasons.

Yes, when you return to paperspace the view and scale will still be locked, as previously.

It does appear some of the limitations I mentioned have been corrected (or perhaps never existed) For example the viewcube is displayed, but does not work in a locked/maximized viewport in 2011, but it does in 2013, and the limited zoom/pan issue can be overcome in both versions by regenerating the drawing. So while it's more useful that I thought, It still doesn't appear to have any advantage as an 3D modeling environment over an unlocked VP.

It does appear some of the limitations I mentioned have been corrected (or perhaps never existed) For example the viewcube is displayed, but does not work in a locked/maximized viewport in 2011, but it does in 2013, and the limited zoom/pan issue can be overcome in both versions by regenerating the drawing. So while it's more useful that I thought, It still doesn't appear to have any advantage as an 3D modeling environment over an unlocked VP.

I never meant to imply that it did, just wanted to set the record straight.

Locked all the time. Working in a collaborative environment with people of varying levels of CAD expertise, it is absolutely necessary. If they are not locked, it's inevitable that someone will change the view. I even do it for projects that I will be the only one working on so I can work through the viewport.

Locked all the time. Working in a collaborative environment with people of varying levels of CAD expertise, it is absolutely necessary. If they are not locked, it's inevitable that someone will change the view. I even do it for projects that I will be the only one working on so I can work through the viewport.

Reason why I *try* to remember to lock mine.

I always lock viewports, and zoom extents in layouts, and I try to remember to always save and close a drawing with the first layout active. Windows explorer shows thumbnail views of the last saved screen it can be usefull sometimes when searching for details but don't remember the drawing it was in.

I use a pair of LISP routines to lock/unlock Viewports respectively...

Command: vpu
VIEWPORTUNLOCK
Enter layout(s) to modify [All/Current]<Current>:

Command:
Command: vpl
VIEWPORTLOCK
Enter layout(s) to modify [All/Current]<Current>:

Command:

hi Blackbox, would you mind sharing your lisp?