Invisible / Phantom Objects

[Chris_MCA]

Hi All

I am using 2005 LT and have a serious problem.

The drawing that i was working on ............ has now disappeared, well the entities have anyway (all 1312 of them).

What i have found is that the 1312 entities are still on the drawing but not being shown. This might sound easy but i have tried most things - simple and advanced.

these entities seem to be what Autodesk call invisible or Phantom objects. Now i know how to erase or purge these unwanted objects from a drawing, but my question is -

how can these objects be shown again??

Stats of DWG - no layers are frozen or Off and there is no layer state active. none of the objects are selectable with either crossing window. Most of the commands work (such as move, rotate, erase and copy) as long as you select ALL entities (as none are selectable or displayed individually on the dwg).

i have copied objects to another dwg and no objects shown on display but are still listed as being there. Entities are simple objects (i.e. not all attributes-which can become invisible). I have tried changing views in case the entities were in another plane - still nothing.

I know these objects are still there and i would like my drawing back. But i cannot find any variable in HELP or Support or these discussion groups that deal with these phantom objects. This is only the second time this has ever happened to my dwgs. the first was only 1 object that could not be selected, but this is a whole dwg! The dwg size is 162 KB so i know the entities are still there.

I have restarted AutoCAD and my computer, but this happens on all computers i have tried, so it is not hardware related.

For those who wish to know - i merely saved the dwg, closed it, opened another dwg, worked on that for a little while (dwgs are not related) then i closed that and opened the previous dwg and all my objects had disappeared.

This one has me stumped!!!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Post the file.

--
Dean Saadallah
Add-on products for LT
http://www.pendean.com/lt
--

[Anonymous]

As Dean suggested, post the drawing so we can have a look. Objects have a
visibility property, which can be turned off. I'm not sure how that could
happen in LT. It will take full AutoCAD to fix, if that is the problem. If
you post the drawing, I will try to fix it and send it back to you.

If you list All or Last, do any of the objects have "Invisible" listed below
the "Space:" property?
For example:
LINE Layer: "0"
Space: Model space
Invisible
Handle = 6a8

--
Daniel J. Altamura, R.A.
Altamura Architectural Consulting
and SoftWorx, Autodesk Authorized Developer
http://partnerproducts.autodesk.com/popups/company.asp?rdid=2139
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Chris_MCA]

When listed.... all the entities say they are INVISIBLE, but i still dont know how to change that.

I am attaching the file for veiwing!

Im not sure what the full version could do..... but i still only have LT and it was done with LT!

[Anonymous]

Chris,
I was able to turn all the objects back "on." I still can't imagine how
this could have happened in LT though. It looks like this file has a lot of
history, with SmartArchitect, LDT, ADT, etc. There is a lot of "baggage"
left over in the file. I didn't strip any of it out, but if the problem
persists, I can do that if you want.

Dan
--
Daniel J. Altamura, R.A.
Altamura Architectural Consulting
and SoftWorx, Autodesk Authorized Developer
http://partnerproducts.autodesk.com/popups/company.asp?rdid=2139
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


wrote in message news:5148174@discussion.autodesk.com...
When listed.... all the entities say they are INVISIBLE, but i still dont
know how to change that.

I am attaching the file for veiwing!

Im not sure what the full version could do..... but i still only have LT and
it was done with LT!

[pbenedict]

I just downloaded your drawing and it opened just fine on my LT2k6. Have you tried to reinstall/repair your acad?

[Anonymous]

It is not my drawing. I "repaired" it for the original poster. In the
original drawing, all the objects had their visibility property set to
"invisible." Go back and read the thread.

--
Daniel J. Altamura, R.A.
Altamura Architectural Consulting
and SoftWorx, Autodesk Authorized Developer
http://partnerproducts.autodesk.com/popups/company.asp?rdid=2139
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


wrote in message news:5149692@discussion.autodesk.com...
I just downloaded your drawing and it opened just fine on my LT2k6. Have you
tried to reinstall/repair your acad?

[Chris_MCA]

How did you manage to turn the objects back on?? Was it only with the FULL Version (and if so which version??)
Also... what command variable??

And could you re-attach the fixed file for me so i can have a look please??

[Chris_MCA]

I see you did re-attach the file.... thank you.

I would still love to know what version of AutoCAD you used to fix this and what command variables??

[Anonymous]

I used full AutoCAD 2007, but could have used any version, because LISP is
required. A long time ago I discovered a little known DXF code 60, by
accident. I came to realize that the visibility of objects could be
switched off. I later wrote a series of utilities to do the following:

Off - Turns off (hides) the display of selected objects
On - Turns on (unhides) the display of selected or all objects
Toggle - Turns off (hides) the display of objects that are on, and turns on
(unhides) the display of objects that are off
Isolate - Turns off (hides) the display of all objects, except for selected
objects
OffColor - Turns off (hides) the display of all objects matching selected
object's color

I find these useful to temporarily unclutter an area of the drawing,
especially for 3D work. It is better than turning an entire layer off. I
also added a startup routine to scan drawings, when they are opened, to
alert me if any objects are turned off. I can then elect to turn them on,
or leave them off. These are included in my AutoWorx and AutoTect products.

Some AutoCAD verticals, such as Architectural Desktop, now have similar
abilities built in.

If you have access to full AutoCAD, I'll give you a copy. If you only have
LT, I suppose you could DXFOUT the drawing(s), then manually edit the DXF 60
codes.

Dan
--
Daniel J. Altamura, R.A.
Altamura Architectural Consulting
and SoftWorx, Autodesk Authorized Developer
http://partnerproducts.autodesk.com/popups/company.asp?rdid=2139
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


wrote in message news:5149836@discussion.autodesk.com...
How did you manage to turn the objects back on?? Was it only with the FULL
Version (and if so which version??)
Also... what command variable??

And could you re-attach the fixed file for me so i can have a look please??

[Anonymous]

Daniel, could I get a copy of your code for a look see?

--

Gilbert L. "Chip" Harper

AutoDesk Discussion Group Facilitator
Web: http://www.hot4cad.com

[Anonymous]

Here you go. I wrote these a long time ago, before VLISP, but they still
work great for me.

[code]
(defun OFF (OL / OBJNUM SSOBJ OBJECT OBJLIST)
(setq OBJNUM 0)
(repeat (sslength OL)
(setq SSOBJ (entget (ssname OL OBJNUM))
OBJNUM (+ OBJNUM 1)
OBJECT (append SSOBJ (list (cons 60 1)))
)
(if (= (cdr (assoc 0 SSOBJ)) "VIEWPORT")
(princ "\nViewports cannot be turned off.")
(entmod OBJECT)
)
)
)

(defun ON (OL / OBJNUM SSOBJ OBJECT)
(setq OBJNUM 0)
(repeat (sslength OL)
(setq SSOBJ (entget (ssname OL OBJNUM))
OBJNUM (+ OBJNUM 1)
OBJECT (subst (cons 60 0) (assoc 60 SSOBJ) SSOBJ)
)
(entmod OBJECT)
)
)

(defun C:OFF (/ OBJLIST)
(if (setq OBJLIST (ssget))
(OFF OBJLIST)
(princ "\nNo objects selected to turn off.")
)
)

(defun C:ON (/ OBJLIST OBJON OBJLISTLEN)
(if (setq OBJLIST (ssget "x" (list (cons 60 1))))
(progn
(ON OBJLIST)
(progn
(princ "\nSelect objects to turn on, or for all on.")
(setq OBJON (ssget))
(OFF OBJLIST)
(if OBJON
(ON OBJON)
(ON OBJLIST)
)
)
)
(princ "\nNo objects found to turn on.")
)
)

(defun C:TOGGLE (/ OBJLISTOFF OBJLISTON)
(setq OBJLISTOFF (ssget "x" (list (cons 60 1)))
OBJLISTON (ssget "x" (list (cons 60 0)))
)
(if OBJLISTOFF
(ON OBJLISTOFF)
(princ "\nNo objects found to toggle on.")
)
(if OBJLISTON
(OFF OBJLISTON)
(princ "\nNo objects found to toggle off.")
)
)

(defun C:ISOLATE (/ OBJLISTISO)
(if (setq OBJLISTISO (ssget))
(progn
(OFF (ssget "x"))
(ON OBJLISTISO)
)
(princ "\nNo objects selected to isolate.")
)
)

(defun C:OFFCOLOR (/ OBJOFF OBJCOLOR OBJLIST)
(if (setq OBJOFF (entsel))
(progn
(if (setq OBJCOLOR (cdr (assoc 62 (entget (car OBJOFF)))))
(setq OBJLIST (ssget "x" (list (cons 62 OBJCOLOR))))
(setq OBJLIST (ssget "x" (list (cons 62 256))))
)
(OFF OBJLIST)
)
(princ "\nNo object selected to turn off.")
)
)
(princ)
[/code]

--
Daniel J. Altamura, R.A.
Altamura Architectural Consulting
and SoftWorx, Autodesk Authorized Developer
http://partnerproducts.autodesk.com/popups/company.asp?rdid=2139
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


"Chip Harper" wrote in message
news:5151280@discussion.autodesk.com...
Daniel, could I get a copy of your code for a look see?

--

Gilbert L. "Chip" Harper

AutoDesk Discussion Group Facilitator
Web: http://www.hot4cad.com

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing the code Daniel. It never occured to me that beyond
hidden attributes, layers frozen or off, and so forth that an object's
visibility could be truned off like that. I've been playing with your code
and .... Very Cool. 🙂

--

Gilbert L. "Chip" Harper

AutoDesk Discussion Group Facilitator
Web: http://www.hot4cad.com

[Anonymous]

Chip,
Glad you find them useful, or at least "cool." I'll admit, when I first
stumbled upon this concept, I didn't really have an application for it. It
was just "cool," but I eventually found may uses. Obviously Autodesk felt
the same way, and incorporated similar capabilities into ADT, and possibly
other verticals, I'm not sure.

You can also do this with VisualLISP by setting the visibility property of
an object to true or false. Someday I'll take the time to rewrite this in
VLISP. I'm not sure if it will be more efficient or not.

Dan
--
Daniel J. Altamura, R.A.
Altamura Architectural Consulting
and SoftWorx, Autodesk Authorized Developer
http://partnerproducts.autodesk.com/popups/company.asp?rdid=2139
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


"Chip Harper" wrote in message
news:5151352@discussion.autodesk.com...
Thanks for sharing the code Daniel. It never occured to me that beyond
hidden attributes, layers frozen or off, and so forth that an object's
visibility could be truned off like that. I've been playing with your code
and .... Very Cool. 🙂

--

Gilbert L. "Chip" Harper

AutoDesk Discussion Group Facilitator
Web: http://www.hot4cad.com

[Anonymous]

Now Gilbert,

You need to decide which side of the fence you belong!

This is the LT discussion group and yet you are discussing code that has not
meaning here!

As a Facilitator I expected more of you!

Unless you can turn this information into a diesel macro you are fired.

Regards Gary



"Chip Harper" wrote in message
news:5151352@discussion.autodesk.com...
Thanks for sharing the code Daniel. It never occured to me that beyond
hidden attributes, layers frozen or off, and so forth that an object's
visibility could be truned off like that. I've been playing with your code
and .... Very Cool. 🙂

--

Gilbert L. "Chip" Harper

AutoDesk Discussion Group Facilitator
Web: http://www.hot4cad.com Message was edited by: Discussion Admin

[Chris_MCA]

Thanks for all your help!

I guess this proves no software is completely BUG free!!!

We i guess i will stick with LT!

[GrantJarvie]

A touch harsh Gary, but funny none the less!

Grant

[Anonymous]

Grant,

Wasn't trying to be harsh or funny!
Just from the far side!

Gilbert is good!

Regards Gary




wrote in message news:5160904@discussion.autodesk.com...
A touch harsh Gary, but funny none the less!

Grant

Message was edited by: Discussion Admin Message was edited by: Discussion Admin