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Protect Paper Space Zooms
Tip# 3434 By Robert L. Lawrence On 07-Jun-2010
4
Rated By 1 users
Categories : Paper Space
Software type : AutoCAD 2011
Rename File To : No Files to download.
Lock your viewports to prevent messed-up zooms.

Engineering Designer Robert L. Lawrence sends us a tip on zooming while working in a paper space viewport.

"The absolute best way to prevent messed-up zooms in paper space is to lock the viewport. This way one can zoom in or out even while inside the viewport, and the zoom factor will stay the same. It surprises me how many CAD people do not know about this, since many of the CAD files I receive do not have zoom-locked viewports."
 
Notes from Cadalyst Tip Patrol: I can't tell you how many views I've messed up in paper space viewports because I didn't lock the viewport! It's very simple to do, but easy to forget. Once a viewport is locked, you can pan and zoom all you like without changing the scale factor of the viewport; it allows you to work in the space freely.

There are several ways to do it. When a viewport is activated, a lock icon will appear on the status bar. If the current viewport is locked, the icon will appear locked; if not, then the icon will represent an unlocked lock. Another way to lock the viewport is through the Property Manager palette. Select the viewport, scroll down to the miscellaneous section, then toggle the Display Locked option. This is a great method to use if you want to lock or unlock several viewports at once.
 

 

Average Rating:
4


User comments
Comment by Ashley,Paul
Posted on 2010-06-07 12:00:03
Since we work in veiwports all the time, I've created toolbar buttons for locking and unlocking all viewports. One could also create a reactor that would make sure viewports are locked when a drawing is closed.
Comment by Dorwarth,Klaus
Posted on 2010-06-08 06:29:19
Additionally to locking the viewports, I save the pane in model space as a named view to be able to restore it anytime the viewport was unlocked.
Comment by Adelberger,John
Posted on 2010-06-10 08:49:38
I have incorporated part of a routine from tips $ tricks Vol. 11 No. 38, viewportlockunlock.lsp into my acaddoc.lsp file, so every time I open a file all of the viewport are locked. That way I do not have to woory about changing the viewport scale unless I want a different one.
Comment by DeShawn,Bill
Posted on 2010-07-31 16:31:50
Here's a little lisp to semi-automate the process. (defun c:vpl (/ sset) (prompt " Select viewports to lock: ")(setq sset (ssget)) (command "_.mview" "l" "on" sset "")(princ));lock selected viewports (defun c:vpu (/ sset) (prompt " Select viewports to unlock: ")(setq sset (ssget)) (command "_.mview" "l" "off" sset "")(princ));unlock selected viewports The "commands" (functions) when loaded will be vpl to lock and vpu to unlock. _____________________ Bill DeShawn http://my.sterling.net/~bdeshawn