Jump to content

Accidentally drawing in 3D, how do I get out??


LarsT

Recommended Posts

:shock:My coworker uses the most recent version of AutoCAD (at school when she's not here), and she told me that there is now a small icon that will allow you to switch from 2D to 3D. Somehow, however, I switched to 3D without realizing it, and now some of my lines are not coplanar, which makes hatching impossible! I think this may have happened to me in the past because I have frequently had trouble with hatching areas that I knew had to be closed (unless they are 3D).

 

I know next to nothing about 3D drafting, and so I have no idea how it got started or how I can get out of it. I'm using AutoCAD 2005, which she considers antique. I discovered I was drawing in 3D when I checked line properties and found values in delta Z!

 

I will appreciate any help - I find the AutoCAD help portion of the program to be of very little help here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2005 IS antique, lots of people still use it though.

 

Select one of the lines that you are having problems with. Open the properties window and notice that it says there is a Z value. Change the z value for start and end to 0. You can select several lines at a time doing this method.

 

There is also a flatten command, I've not used it, but you may be able to get what you need from the help on a particular command.

 

Glen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That would cause me to have to start over from scratch :cry:- not a very good option. I will simply omit the hatches instead of doing that. According to my coworker, there is a way to switch between 3D and 2D, but she doesn't know how to do it in AutoCAD 2005.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you start a new drawing as Remark suggested you can simply copy and paste from the drawing that is stuck in the 3D view. Make sure you copy with base point and paste to the same base point (i.e. 0,0,0).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Copying and pasting did not work - it saved the Z values for the lines. When I deleted the offending lines before copying and pasting, it still did not work. However, Glen's suggestion DID work. I had already started to try that suggestion, but instead of using Z-0, I used Z=0.0659 for the beginning and end of the line because that's what the Z value was for the other lines. Once I had the same Z value for all the lines, I could do the hatch.

 

Thanks, Glen!! I can't find the FLATTEN command, and "flatten" does not show up in the help that I have. That sounds like a quicker solution, if I knew how to do it. Typing "flatten" resulted in "unknown command".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FLATTEN must have come into existence after 2005. Glad you got your drawing - erm - flattened out!

 

Make sure that you don't muck with the UCS or change the orgin, as that will change the level (z coordinates) that you will be drawing on.

 

Good Luck.

 

Glen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ahh I see now. For some reason I had it stuck in my skull that you were in a 3D view and couldn't change it. Guess I should have read and used my brain at the same time.

 

*Cal walks off mumbling something about being a knucklehead* :oops:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"I will simply omit the hatches instead of doing that."

 

Yes, hatches will behave rather strangely if there are gaps in your geometry. Adding to the mess is the fact you were attempting this in 3D with poorly constructed geometry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...