forum.datacad.com

I use a third party macro called HtchPREF to create a polyline on top of our wall lines. The line is on a wall layer and the polyline is created on a poche layer. Then we use solid fill to fill in the polyline. I'm having a hard time consistently picking either the line or polyline. If I want to identify or erase one, I usually get the wrong one. I have a quick key that turns off a layer by picking an entity on the layer and (again) I usually get the wrong one.

Is there a way to consistently pick a line or polyline if they are on top of one another?

Thanks,

Hello Ian,

Have you tried using the contour search in the Hatch/SPB Fill/Boundary menu? If the walls are cleanly drafted, then this can work very well -- and it is quite fast. To make a change, just edit the wall lines the way you need to, then erase to affected solid fill (with Layer Search off) and the use the contour search again on the revised areas. This is pretty quick.

The contour search does "refuse" to work on occasion, and this is usually due to a intersection that is not quite cleaned. Butted lines can sometimes mess it up (weld these) and duplicated/superimposed lines can prevent it from working, and unexploded symbols as part of the boundary won't work. If you hit the contour search and it doesn't finish is a couple of seconds, then hit End to abort, and take a look for the cause. Admittedly, the contour search needs to be improved, but this is situation where it can work pretty well.

To do it quickly, hit F8, then F2, then click inside the next area, then F8, then F2, etc. (I also think this should be a "sticky" tool...)

Hi Neil,

Thanks for the reply. I agree that contour search can be nice, but sometimes you have a non-plot section cut line that interrupts the contour search and it doesn’t always work. There are many ways to do it, but (I guess) I’m just asking for a wishlist item. I appreciate your help!

Thanks for the advice,

Hi Ian:

In this case, I would hit L/F1/S8 Match and click on the crossing line, to turn that layer off...

isparks wrote:I use a third party macro called HtchPREF to create a polyline on top of our wall lines. The line is on a wall layer and the polyline is created on a poche layer. Then we use solid fill to fill in the polyline. I'm having a hard time consistently picking either the line or polyline. If I want to identify or erase one, I usually get the wrong one. I have a quick key that turns off a layer by picking an entity on the layer and (again) I usually get the wrong one.

Is there a way to consistently pick a line or polyline if they are on top of one another?

Thanks,

As far as picking for erase or any other editing operation you can use Mask>Entity (or SelSets) to make sure the pick is the entity type you want. As far as Identify, that's another story. Originally v5 through ? worked the way it does now, then v8 or v9 where identify would change the entity picked, then it was changed back to what it is now - a PITA.

You could turn layer search off.