When using sectioning tool, how to select only visible elements?

[PatrickEC]

I use section planes to limit the view to only a part of a large model. Now, I want to export this visible part to DWF in order to view it on iPad. But when I try this the entire model gets exported (sort of, because the resulting file is like 40MB and it crushes Design Review even on my desktop).

So I figured I need to hide the elements outside the section planes, but here is the problem: When I use the Select Box tool also elements in the background outside the section planes get selected. Is there an easy way to select only the visible elements?

[PatrickEC]

I would really appreciate the help on this.

[fernanda.firman]

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention.

There is no easy away to accomplish what you are trying to do so I suggest you  to contact our developemtn tema directly:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=1109794

In Navisworks, you are able to hide elements in the view, export the view and the resulting DWF will have those items hidden but a DWF exported from Navisworks doesn’t have the sectioning in Revit. 

The issue is that an element in the model will span across the section box and you can’t hide only a portion of a piece of geometry.  As such you are selecting elements that are hidden by the section box using the select box.

We have some workarounds but they may not be what you are looking for.

Please try:

1. Set the view orthographic, and set it to face the model from the front by selecting the view cube. 
2. Use the select box to drag a selection box around the areas that aren’t visible outside of the section box and hide those items. 

(This would be best done by setting the view to an orthographic view mode, and setting the camera to face the front of the model to select the top bottom left right portions outside the section box to hide them, then rotate the camera to face the left of the model and selection the left and right portions).

Keep in mind that an element outside of the selection box may not be completely encompassed by the select box, and therefore wont’ be selected.  You can hold down shift to select any element that has some geometry in the selection box; however, if you do this in the outside portions, the elements in the section box may run out into those portions outside the section box and get selected.

After you turn off the section box, you may want to hide the ones that were missed individually.

If you have around 50 elements to select the best way to ensure you only select what is in the section box, is through the normal selection tool, holding down CTRL while you select to multi-selection.  This tool ignores elements hidden by the section tool.

[PatrickEC · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your help.

Based on your advice I came up with a slightly different procedure. You made me realize that I can use Shift+Select Box to select elements partially included in the selection box. So, I use your Orthographic-View-Front-Left procedure, but rather than selecting and hiding the elements outside the scope, I use Shift+Select Box to select the elements that I want to keep visible and use Hide Unselected command.

There should be an easier way to do it, I will contact the Navisworks team.

[MichaelWolff]

@PatrickEC It's been about twelve years since your request. Did anything come of it from you contacting the Navisworks team?