Rotate UCS around Z-axis only - functionality gone?

[asutton]

This week I upgraded from 2011 to 2014 and have noticed a major change in rotating the UCS around only the Z-axis.

Looking at the attached image (the blue box is just to represent the relationship between the pipes):

I want to, as a simple example, rotate the UCS around the Z-axis from the end of one pipe to the end of the other.

In 2011 UCS, Z would allow me to select the end of one pipe and the end of the other and rotate to the angle of the red line shown.

In 2014 UCS, Z rotates the UCS from some unrelated point.

In 2014 UCS then selecting the two ends rotates the UCS X-axis to the direct line between the two.

In a working scenario the end of the two pipes would be in vastly different positions. Drawing a line between them, flattening it then using UCS, E on the flattened line give the functionality I want, but is a very slow way of doing it.

I have been researching this for about 3 hours and I can't find an actual answer other than "that's just the way it is now". Surely not.

I did find this thread which seems to suggest there is no way of selecting 2 points for a Z-axis rotation.

TL;DR
In 2011 if I wanted to rotate the UCS around the Z-axis I would type UCS, Z then select 2 points and the UCS would rotate around the Z-axis but the X & Y axis would remain as it was. This is no longer the case in 2014, how do I do this now?

[GegH1]

It's not quite that simple anymore.

You can still rotate around the z axis, but it is the z axis of the UCS symbol.

The old command would allow you to essentially fix the z axis and reference the x axis between 2 points, this no longer works as many of us have found. I think this functionality has gone because they have added the manual positioning and rotation of the UCS.

You may have noticed this, but for those who haven't, you can now select the UCS symbol manually by clicking on it (not via a window) which gives you 3 selectable nodes. Click on the 'z' node and move the UCS. Click on the 'X' or 'y' node and you can rotate the UCS.

This is actually a very useful functionality of the UCS, especially for those who don't know the old commands, but does mean the old UCS, z command can't work anymore for some programming reason.

However, what you can do is move ucs manually to a new point, like the end point of a line (Or programatically by UCS, O). Then use UCS, Z. The first point is 0,0,0 (the new origin) and then you can select a second point for the new X or a rotation amount, the UCS will rotate flat rather than follow a non coplanar line (i think that's the word).

This is the best i have found, it will however move the origin of the UCS to a new location in all Axis including Z although, the UCS will remain flat.

If anyone knows a better way please let us know. 

[JoistDetailer]

Actually, it CAN BE just that simple.....

At the command line:

"ucsicon", "s", "n" - turn OFF the "selectable UCSIcon".

Now, the "UCS", "z" rotation angle can be defined by selecting 2 points, just like before.

[Kent1Cooper]

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@asutton wrote:

.... 

In a working scenario the end of the two pipes would be in vastly different positions. Drawing a line between them, flattening it then using UCS, E on the flattened line give the functionality I want, but is a very slow way of doing it.

....

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[...old thread, but now that it's been revived....]

Depending on what you want to do while in that changed UCS, consider changing the SNAPBASE & SNAPANG System Variables instead of the UCS.  If you put SNAPBASE at the center-endpoint of the one pipe [bottom left corner of that blue box], then call up SNAPANG and pick from there to the center-endpoint of the other pipe [top right corner], it will rotate the crosshairs the same as changing the UCS, including the grid if you have it on, positional Snap locations will generate from the new origin, and the Z-coordinate difference will be irrelevant, meaning there is no need to draw a Line or Flatten it as intermediate steps.

But the reason it's "depending" is that coordinates and angles will still read in the Coordinate System you are in when you do it -- the new SNAPBASE location does not become 0,0, and the new SNAPANG direction does not become 0 degrees.  So there might be stuff you would want to do that require things like typing in locations and angles relative to that new origin and orientation, in which case changing the UCS will be the better approach.

[JoistDetailer]

...but "asutton" was specifically looking for a way to pick the Z axis rotation by selecting two points....like you could do on earlier versions of AutoCad - before the implementation of the "selectable UCS icon".

While your solution may work for some situations, it takes 2 steps instead of one.

My specific reasoning for rotating the UCS was working within LISP programs that I wrote.  The benefit therre is to be able to "trans" coordinates between UCS's easily.