Topic: UCS rotated, Dimensions and Hatches affected?

[Robb]

One of my staff draws his interior and exterior elevations by rotating the UCS around the plan and casting construction lines around the building. What happens is he is dimensions in each UCS view and a UCS settings seems to be embedded into the dimensions and hatches. Our office normally doesn't draw this way so everyone is confused. We try to match properties to correct the affected dimensions and hatches but they wont match the object properties we try to apply. Some dimensions are upside down and justified to the wrong side. Is there any settings to revert their UCS setting or something to fix this?

Does anyone else draw like this? Rotating the UCS to draw int/ext elevations?

[Josh Nieman]

I'll do that now and then... but never experienced any problems.  We keep out dimensions/text/annotations in paper space though.  Hatches I have noticed a BIT of a problem, but I've noticed that it updates to the current UCS whenever you matchprop.

[T.Willey]

I have drawn like this before, and if I had to do elevations I would do it again.  Don't worry about how stuff looks in model space, unless you are in the correct ucs, and then the items look wrong.  Just worry that they show up right in the view ports.  that is what I would do.

[Krushert]

One of my staff draws his interior and exterior elevations by rotating the UCS around the plan and casting construction lines around the building. What happens is he is dimensions in each UCS view and a UCS settings seems to be embedded into the dimensions and hatches. Our office normally doesn't draw this way so everyone is confused. We try to match properties to correct the affected dimensions and hatches but they wont match the object properties we try to apply. Some dimensions are upside down and justified to the wrong side. Is there any settings to revert their UCS setting or something to fix this?

Does anyone else draw like this? Rotating the UCS to draw int/ext elevations?

I know of no fix. 
I will only rotate the UCS when I have building wall at angle and need to dimension.  The dim align command blows IMO

[whdjr]

You can use this to flip your dimensions.

Code: [Select]

(defun c:dimflip (/ ss num ent val nvl)
 (princ "\nSelect Dimensions to flip...\n")
 (if (setq ss (if (ssget '((0 . "DIMENSION")))
       (ssget "P")
       nil
      )
     )
  (repeat (setq num (sslength ss))
   (setq num (1- num)
ent (entget (ssname ss num))
val (cdr (assoc 51 ent))
nvl (+ val pi)
   )
   (entmod (subst (cons 51 nvl) (assoc 51 ent) ent))
  )
  (princ "\nNo valid objects selected.  ")
 )
 (princ)
)
(defun c:df () (c:dimflip) (princ))

[CAB]

And another.

Code: [Select]

;;  CAB 10/04/2005
;;  Correct rotated dimension to reflect the current UCS
;;  Used when elevations are mirrored in a drawing
;;  Updates DXF code 51
(defun c:dimrot (/ d elst ang)
  (and
    (setq d (entsel))
    (setq elst (entget (car d)))
    (setq ang (- (* 2 pi)
                 (angle (trans '(0.0 0.0 0.0) 1 0)
                        (trans '(1.0 0.0 0.0) 1 0)
                 )
              )
    )
    ;;  prevent 2 * pi
    (if (equal ang (* 2 pi) 0.0001) (setq ang 0.0) t)
    (setq elst (subst (cons 51 ang) (assoc 51 elst) elst))
    (entmod elst)
  )
  (print ang)
  (princ)
)
PS I draw all my elevations that way.

[Josh Nieman]

I know of no fix. 
I will only rotate the UCS when I have building wall at angle and need to dimension.  The dim align command blows IMO

Word.  It's so much better in Inventor... I don't know why they don't port it over.  In Inventor, the aligned dimensions will pick the perpendicular distance between two lines... but I guess that's the difference... Inventor: you select lines, Autocad: you select points... thus no perpendicularity intelligence...  still blows.

[Krushert]

I know of no fix. 
I will only rotate the UCS when I have building wall at angle and need to dimension.  The dim align command blows IMO

Word.  It's so much better in Inventor... I don't know why they don't port it over.  In Inventor, the aligned dimensions will pick the perpendicular distance between two lines... but I guess that's the difference... Inventor: you select lines, Autocad: you select points... thus no perpendicularity intelligence...  still blows.

YOu can pick line by hitting enter after you invoked the command.  However that only works if you are picking lines. But your are back to picking points if you are picking center to centers of windows or what-not.

Command: _dimaligned
Specify first extension line origin or <select object>:
Select object to dimension:
Specify dimension line location or
[Mtext/Text/Angle]:
Dimension text = 1'-5 11/16"

[Robb]

And another.

Code: [Select]

;;  CAB 10/04/2005
;;  Correct rotated dimension to reflect the current UCS
;;  Used when elevations are mirrored in a drawing
;;  Updates DXF code 51
(defun c:dimrot (/ d elst ang)
  (and
    (setq d (entsel))
    (setq elst (entget (car d)))
    (setq ang (- (* 2 pi)
                 (angle (trans '(0.0 0.0 0.0) 1 0)
                        (trans '(1.0 0.0 0.0) 1 0)
                 )
              )
    )
    ;;  prevent 2 * pi
    (if (equal ang (* 2 pi) 0.0001) (setq ang 0.0) t)
    (setq elst (subst (cons 51 ang) (assoc 51 elst) elst))
    (entmod elst)
  )
  (print ang)
  (princ)
)
PS I draw all my elevations that way.

Sweet! thanks you guys that worked perfect.

So you guys have no problems with drawing this method? Most of the guys in my office hate it. I guess they cant get used to it.

Anyways thanks again!

[Krushert]

One of my staff draws his ...... Some dimensions are upside down and justified to the wrong side. .....

I do know the fix for the dimensions.  It is LOFT.
Tell him to pay attention on how to he snaps to objects in picking the rotation angle.  Sounds like he picking from right to left instead of the correct way of picking left to right.  If he picks right to left, then Autocad adds 180 degrees to the measurement. and dim text will be paced on the wrong side.

see image.  Note the direction of the Y axis indicator of the UCS

[dan19936]

Does anyone else draw like this? Rotating the UCS to draw int/ext elevations?

I just rotate the xreffed plan & xclip for each elevation. Elevations are drawn with Y=0 as elev 0'-0" that way I can use xlines to track datums across all elevations.

Dan

[Robb]

Does anyone else draw like this? Rotating the UCS to draw int/ext elevations?

I just rotate the xreffed plan & xclip for each elevation. Elevations are drawn with Y=0 as elev 0'-0" that way I can use xlines to track datums across all elevations.

Dan

That's how my office normally draws and they are confused as heck when the UCS is rotated.

I actually like the idea of rotating the UCS to view/draw each side... this way you only have a single plan referenced once! and not a plan for each elevation. The reason I don't do it this way (UCS Rotate) is dimensions and hatches get screwy and I don't like xclipping each elevation. We draw mostly everything in modelspace entities/dims/anootation so drawing it this way seems to be causing some guys a big headache. Matchprop does not set the dimensions and hatches correctly. It seems that whichever UCS they were drawn on it adopts its settings.

[sinc]

Does anyone else draw like this? Rotating the UCS to draw int/ext elevations?

I just rotate the xreffed plan & xclip for each elevation. Elevations are drawn with Y=0 as elev 0'-0" that way I can use xlines to track datums across all elevations.

Dan

That's how my office normally draws and they are confused as heck when the UCS is rotated.

Land Desktop has a feature called "Drawing Orientation" that let's the Land Lubbers basically do this same thing.  It's the only way to avoid all the bugs in the various labeling commands, but it has its own set of drawbacks, as well.

Have you noticed that the QLEADER command also does not work correctly in a rotated UCS?  The size of the gap between the arrow and the MTEXT is calculated incorrectly if you rotate the UCS.  And the angle constraints (if you use them) are still oriented to the WCS, not your UCS.

[Bryco]

The dim align command blows IMO

Krushert, not many people know how easy it is to do a rotated dimension, and these are precisely the ones you need when the dimaligned ones blow.
Start the DIMLINEAR command.-enter
Pick the 2 points
Type R to get into the rotated option.-enter
Pick any 2 points that are paralell to the line you want
Drag your dim to where you want.
Practice this for 5 mins and it becomes very fast.

[whdjr]

I actually like the idea of rotating the UCS to view/draw each side... this way you only have a single plan referenced once! and not a plan for each elevation. The reason I don't do it this way (UCS Rotate) is dimensions and hatches get screwy and I don't like xclipping each elevation. We draw mostly everything in modelspace entities/dims/anootation so drawing it this way seems to be causing some guys a big headache. Matchprop does not set the dimensions and hatches correctly. It seems that whichever UCS they were drawn on it adopts its settings.

Robb,

You can always draw the elevations this way and then rotate them all properly as they would be displayed on a sheet and then dimension them and add hatches and notes then.