Design Area Selection

[Linicks]

I would like to have the ability to select an area of my model and just work on that specific area in 2D&3D. For example, lets say I'm working on a detailed staircase in a architectural model with lots of objects. In this case I just want to focus on that section while not deactivating other design layers, etc. To accomplish this, I would be great if you could use a standard selection method then tell it to temporarily hide everything outside of the selection. This would create a specific design area in the model that could be manipulated in 2d/3d without all of the other objects getting in the way.

Thanks for considering this suggestion!

--Nick Pavlica

[Pat Stanford]

Select the objects you want to see and GROUP them then Edit the Group with the Preference to Show Other Objects While in Editing Modes turned off. I do this all the time with complicated models.

[Ray Libby]

Group the objects you want to work on and turn off "Show other objects while in editing modes". I have a script that toggles the preference.

[Benson Shaw]

Group is good, or often, making an element (eg stair w/landings, rails, etc) into a symbol is even better because it displays in standard orientations and views during edit, even it is placed in angled or non standard orientation in the model.

Groups and symbols offer Gray, Show or Hide other objects.

-B

[Linicks]

All,

Thanks for all the good suggestions, but they don't exactly achieve what I have in mind. More specifically, I would like to be able to not only select a complete object or group of objects, but cross sections of objects in the model. Additionally, I don't want to group and ungroup objects all of the time. What I really want to be able to do is to quickly Zoom/Focus on specific portions of the Model quickly so that I can view and or modify that section of the model in 2d/3d. Think of it as a temporary ?Crop? of the model.

Thanks again for considering this suggestion!

[MullinRJ]

Try using the Save View command. You can set View, Layers and Class visibilities with names that mean something to you. Switching is just a double click away. Cmd-Shift-Period and Cmd-Shift-Comma are even faster.

Raymond