Viewport Problems

[ERK]

Hi Everyone

I have just run into a very annoying problem when creating viewports, and I think it must be an option that I have clicked on or changed. After I draw in a design layer, and have created a viewport and set it on a sheet layer, the fill and line weights disappear, but the line color remains? The attributes pallets shows both the line and fill options as none....

Luckily these are simple rectangles (for shop tickets), so I can just change the fill to what I need on the sheet layer as a work around. Even more strange, once the viewport is created the drawing on the design layer is no longer there!?!?

Can anyone help out?

Thanks

Eric

[bcd]

Hi Eric, the rectangle you draw becomes the crop object of the viewport - it has no fill because you need to 'see through' it to your design.

Try this - Draw your design

Draw a rectangle over it

Create Viewport

or

Draw your design

With nothing selected

Create Viewport

To edit the crop object:

On a Sheet Layer:

Right Click on the Viewport

Select Edit Crop.

Note - if the Class of the Crop Object is turned off in the Viewport OIP it won't be editable.

hth

[ERK]

BCD

Sorry for the late reply, I was out of town for a few days.

So correct me if I am wrong in understanding...

A rectangle that has a specific fill and line weight drawn in the design layer, can not be used as an object of a viewport, but instead is turned into the viewport crop when selected?

Thanks

Eric

[Benson Shaw]

Hey, Eric - Here are parts of the answer, or at least some comments. You may already know this. If so please excuse, it's offered for all readers.

Disappearing design layer objects? I can think of two things:

1) The objects are there, but not in view. Activate the DL. Select All. If OIP shows some objects, click the Zoom to Objects button. This will at least show what's there.

2) The VP creation command is set to Always use selected object as a crop: If a DL contains a selected rectangle and no other objects when the VP is created, the rectangle will become a crop object (VP outline) and will evaporate from the DL. You may have chosen the Always Use option during a prior VP creation. To undo that, go to VW Prefs>Session>Reset Options and check the Always Perform box. Note that this will reset All of the Always perform prefs.

Grayed out VP attributes:

2d objects and text can be created directly on a Sheet layer. Such objects behave same as objects drawn on a Design Layer, except they are always in 1:1 scale and Screen Plane. They can be moved front or back of Viewports, and can have attributes assigned via the Attribute Palette (line, fill, transparency). So if you just want some rectangles on a particular sheet layer, you may not even need any viewports on that sheet layer.

Viewports on a sheet layer have deceptive attributes. VPs can have fill attribute, but not line or transparency, assigned via the attribute palette. If you select a VP on a sheet layer it may have grayed out attributes, or it may appear to have active options. But only the fill works - no line, no transparency. If fill is assigned to a VP, it appears as background to design layer and annotation objects displayed in the VP, and does not otherwise affect them. If the line attributes look active, it's a hoax. Changing the line attributes has no effect on the VP outline or on the objects displayed in the VP. These falsely active line attribute boxes in the Attribute Palette for a selected VP may be a bug.

A VP crop controls the outline of the VP. The crop can have line attributes (color, weight, dash), but not fill or transparency. Such attributes can be assigned via Attribute Palette during VP creation, or in the VP Crop edit mode. If an object with Fill and/or Transparency is selected as a VP Crop object, these attributes are defeated when the VP is created. The crop converts automatically to an object with line attributes, but no fill and no transparency. If a VP Crop is edited, the attribute palette appears to offer fill and transparency, but those are hoaxes, and possibly a bug.

If an outline is desired around a VP, create a crop with line weight and color. If invisible boundary is desired, edit or create the crop to have no line weight.

A VP can have only one Crop Object.

The VP Crop can be made invisible by making its class invisible.

The VP Crop can be made invisible my setting its line weight to zero.

Sheesh, what a mouthful.

-B

[bcd]

BCD

A rectangle that has a specific fill and line weight drawn in the design layer, can not be used as an object of a viewport, but instead is turned into the viewport crop when selected?

Yes, this is correct.

*Note* - the rectangle needs to be living on the Screen Plane which you can see in the OIP.

Additionally, the fill or lineweight of the rectangle is immaterial. Once it becomes the Viewport Crop object it will lose its fill and retain its lineweight.

Also - the crop object can be any 2d polygonal object - and you can add/clip these at will.

[Pat Stanford]

I don't think that is quite true.

If you have a single closed 2D object selected when you create a viewport then that object is used as the crop object for the viewport. The color/line weight/fill don't have any impact and at least the fill are dropped (since you need to be able to see through the crop to see what is on the design layer.

If you have a closed 2D object on a design layer that is NOT selected when you create the viewport, then that object should show in the viewport.

[ERK]

Wow thanks guys. I get it now, great explanations!