Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Object Selection: Now You See It . . .
The many object-selection modes I describe in previous sections — and some I don't de-
scribe at all, such as the FILTER command (check out the online help system for more
on that) — are useful as far as they go.
AutoCAD 2012 lets you control the visibility of individual objects. This may or may not
sound like a big deal, but believe me, it is. Before AutoCAD 2011, the only way to control
the display of objects was to turn off or freeze the layer on which they resided. If there
were other objects on that layer that you did want to see . . . too bad! Three commands
turn that limitation into ancient history:
HIDEOBJECTS: Prompts you to select those objects you want to make temporarily
disappear
ISOLATEOBJECTS: Prompts you to select those objects you want to see while tem-
porarily making everything else disappear
UNISOLATEOBJECTS: Ends the hiding and isolating of objects
The primary method of invoking these commands is via the right-click menu. Using
either command-first or selection-first editing (as described in the section “Commanding
and Selecting,” earlier in this chapter), simply right-click and you see the Isolate item
shown in Figure 10-7. A status bar icon — a light bulb at the lower-right corner of the
display — is dimmed when objects are either hidden or isolated. Click this icon to open
a menu that lets you turn off the hiding or isolating.
If you're worried about the possible implications of this (“Hmm. . . I was sure I added
those center lines . . . do I need to add them again?”), relax. Hiding and isolating objects
is temporary — it only lasts as long as your current drawing session. If you end a draw-
ing with objects isolated or hidden, they reappear when you reopen the file.
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