command to move all objects to same plane

I am currently working on some drawings created by somebody else,I do drafting/engineering at a curtain wall company,anyway mi problem is the drawings that I'm working on have objects on different planes on "z", after suffering in the help window for a good hour or so I've decided to ask here if there is a command that will move all objects to the same plane at once. In this case move all objects to zero on the "z" plane

 

Code for a button macro:
^C^C_select;all;;move;p;;0,0,1e99;;move;p;;0,0,-1e99;;

 

Hello Vic,
Command: CHANGE,
Select objects (or type ALL),
P (for properties),
E (for elevation),
0 (zero)
'Tis the remedy for most objects, but alas, not all.
I wish you well,
Eric.

 

What would one change in that to force the objects to a different elevation?

 

^C^C_select;all;;move;p;;0,0,1e99;;move;p;;0,0,-1e99;; would get everything
at the same elevation (0,0)
so add this to the end move;p;;0,0,NEW_ELEVATION_HERE
to move everything to a new elevation.

 

Hello Chip ,
Thanks a lot for you're response I will try this right away, and thank u tstright that was going to be my next question also.

victor mc

 

Does this work in lines with varying z coordinates?
Ex. start point z=0 endpoint z=4.

Stephen J

 

Why not select everything, and in Properties type in a new Z value??

 

Yes.

 

Your Welcome

 

try the command "flatten"

 

try the command "flatten"

It's not my question. I don't know if that's what vicmc wants. He probably
doesn't want the 3d things changed to 2d, and has asked for changing them to
a Z other than 0.

Every time this question comes up, somebody posts a routine or macro to do
it, and it always seems to me that these pet methods were probably written
several versions ago. I used to have an old "change Z" routine too for the
same purpose, but since we've had the Properties interface I haven't needed
it. Just select whatever you want and type in the new Z.

Maybe I'm missing something. I've asked the same thing a couple of times
lately and haven't had a reply.

 

Hi Eric,

This method or (-ch p e 0) is what I always "USED" to use, but was never satisfied as it would ignore the defpoints elevation, resulting in the necessity of re-dimensioning.

Try Chips macro out! You'll love it, as it moves everything including the defpoints to Z=0.

I put it on an icon that I'll have worn out in a year from so much use.

 

Hi Chip,

I always "USED" to use (-ch p e 0), but was never satisfied as it would ignore the defpoints elevation, resulting in the necessity of re-dimensioning. But yours is great and moves everything including the defpoints to Z=0.

Thanks again for a really great tool!!!

Reply From: Chip Harper
Date: Jun/28/04 - 16:51 (CDT)

Re: command to move all objects to same plane
Code for a button macro:
^C^C_select;all;;move;p;;0,0,1e99;;move;p;;0,0,-1e99;;

 

Your Welcome... but the credit goes to another... the oldest post that I am
aware of is from Randy Richardson back in 2000. I'm just passing on
something I learned here in the groups.

 

<<I put it on an icon that I'll have worn out in a year from so much use. >>

Don't 'cha just hate it when the monitor begins to leak out around those worn spots???

 

Hello Madcadd,
I have become very popular around the office with Chips magic macro.
We have added a modified macro for selecting entities i.e.:
replaced all;; with \
For the novice "be sure to be in the desired UCS before firing"
Thanks for your persuasion.
Eric

 

Tom,

I don't think your 'missing anything', it comes down to the subtle differences between what different users are trying to achieve.

Using the old 'change>properties>elevation' command line is fine for users who just want to change an entity of constant Z value i.e. when its at a different elevation other than 0. As you point out, its easier to achieve this nowadays via the Properties interface. However, others may be trying to 'convert' 3d poly's which have different Z values at different vertices, to 2d. Properties won't do this, irrespective of how you invoke it.

In fact, as far as I understand, you can't 'convert' 3d to 2d (stand by for a whole load of posts on use of 'flatten', solview, etc. etc.) but IMHO the 1e99 trick is about the nearest you can get to a conversion though.

The frustrating thing is that although you can lose the Z values of a 3d poly to effectively flatten it to 2d, if you list it your still told that its a 3d polyline (but with all vertex z values = 0), so if you try and apply a linetype to the entity it makes no difference whatsoever.

I've posted a few questions on this topic before and had some helpful suggestions on building a lisp routine to 'rebuild' 3d entities in 2d but have never found the time to pursue the problem to a successful conclusion.

Maybe I'm in the minority in trying to get a true 2d conversion.

 

As in..

^C^C_select;all;;move;p;;0,0,1e99;;move;p;;0,0,25';;

I'm new at this....

 

I don't think your 'missing anything', it comes down to the subtle
differences between what different users are trying to achieve.

I suppose. We seldom see anything that contains truly 3D objects. The most
common related thing that we encounter is the need to place a building on a
site plan provided by a surveyor. Generally their topo lines are drawn as
plain 2D lwpolylines, but placed at the "real" Z elevation -- presumably
because that's what their software spits out. But we want flat drawings! The
Properties interface is the easiest way to move all of these to Z=0. In
earlier versions, I used a "chgz" routine to entmod these things, in order
to avoind the command-line chprop interface, but nowadays it's just as easy
to use the Properties palette.

Until I got it cleaned up, there were a few of our oldest standard blocks
which inexplicably contained a line or two with a thickness. Circa R14, if
you had a running intersection osnap setting and your cursor crossed a line
with thickness, you'd get an "unhandled access violation" crash. So I had a
"nothk" routine to fix that. I don't know if this bug still exists, since
we've fixed all the blocks now. But again Properties would be just as easy
now for setting thickness=0.