topic Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable in AutoCAD Forum

Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

Anonymous — Wed, 25 May 2016 20:35:30 GMT

Hi,

Is there a way that we can put an exref (pointcloud) as an object unselectable (xref unselectable or layer unselectable).

**We wont to turn layer on a freeze mode as pointcloud still selectable.

We want to make pointcloud as background reference, but as we are working and try to make some cross fences, we always select pointcloud or pointcloud border.

Thank you,

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

Sofia.Xanthopoulou — Fri, 27 May 2016 12:15:07 GMT

Hi mdupuis,

and welcome to the community

Have you tried to lock the layer where the pointcloud is? It might be selectable there, but it is not editable.

Or you could lock the pointcloud.

Please, let me know if this is what you were looking for. Do not hesitate to ask if I misunderstood your question.

Regards

-----------------------------
Please accept as solution if my post fully resolves your issue, or reply with additional details if the problem persists.

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

Anonymous — Fri, 27 May 2016 14:42:41 GMT

Hi Sophia,

Thank you for your reply,

No, this is not the solution we are looking for. When we are locking the layer, the pointcloud (or either xref) still selectable in the viewport when we are making cross selection (not workable, but selectable). We are more looking for something like a "Subobjectselectionmode" that avoiding pointcloud selection or other way to make the elements away of the selection.

The problem is when we are working with the point cloud in background, we always hooking the pointcloud wathever the action we make (selection multiple lines, vertex, etc,)

Thank you!

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

Sofia.Xanthopoulou — Mon, 30 May 2016 12:57:14 GMT

Understood mdupuis ....

there is a string you can use (ssget":L") before each selection. Then the objects on locked layers are really ignored in the selection set.

E.g. Command: move - type (ssget":L") before selecting - then select objects.

Maybe you create a button for this string, so you just have to click on another button instead of typing before selecting.

I hope this works better for you.

Regards

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

Anonymous — Mon, 30 May 2016 16:28:36 GMT

Hi Sophia,

Thank you for your reply,

I think you are not so far of what we are looking for,

- First, i think that the string we need to write down is a lisp? if so, i'm not able to find it anywhere. If not, i'm not able to apply it on a command or either before selection.

- If it's work correctly like you mentionned, is this something we can automaticly apply, so we'll not be annoy by those layers?

Also, probably this will correct this issue as locked elements will not be selectable, but sometimes, when we are working with point cloud, it's applying a face on point cloud orientation and also changing the cube orientation. (see image attach) would this "lisp" correct this also??

Regards,

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

Sofia.Xanthopoulou — Mon, 30 May 2016 20:34:54 GMT

Now you got me

I am not really a programmer - I just find here and there some useful tools.

Actually you just have to type (ssget":L") into the command line - every time before you do a selection. BTW - if you use a command before the selection the objects on locked layer are not selected...

I also created a button for this "no selection" and it is working without any command, too.

I'll try to show you:

1. open CUI

2. create a command

3. create a toolbar

4. drag and drop the command into the new toolbar.

And see how it works

I am afraid, this is the best I have. If you need to go deeper into programming, please feel free to post into our customization board.

But still, please consider to mark any of these posts as accepted solution to show all other reader that there is a simple solution to the original question.

Thank you

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

Anonymous — Tue, 31 May 2016 22:08:14 GMT

Thank you Sofia!

I'll try this as soon as it will be possible!!

Regards,

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

Ali.Katebi — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 16:48:34 GMT

Hello

I have the same problem. I tried to solve it with your suggestion method, but I couldn't.

I put the point cloud in the locked layer too.
I send a screenshot. Also, I use ACA (AutoCAD Architecture).
Thank you

Re: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

drigotasg — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 17:03:46 GMT

I wonder if someone found a workaround for this old problem?

The case is, that a pointcloud is physically higher (points have Z value), according to the drawing plane XY, which has normally a Z=0. So while working, making any kind of selection is basically impossible (both point-selection or square-selection), as the points are always in front, in regard to the drawing area. (The reason while square-selection not possible is, while the first click has to be made in an empty space, to start it, but there is no empty space, as it's all filles with pointcloud).

The only possible solution i found at all is, to create a new UCS with a high Z value (in other words, to lift your drawing area high above the pointcloud). Or to move Pointcloud way down. It is all assuming, that you are workin on a 2d drawing, using pointcloud as a visual reference.

Re: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

RSomppi — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 17:08:15 GMT

@drigotasg wrote:
I wonder if someone found a workaround for this old problem?

Apparently, the OP found message #6 useful.

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

marieta.nunez — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 11:14:06 GMT

Just replying here despite the post being old just in case someone else gets to sm_ali7's post and sees that this is the problem they are trying to solve, like I just did. We were also having issues with the surface recognition, and the constant changing of the UCS was troubling us for the task we were carrying out.

We just solved this problem by turning off the Dynamic UCS. This can be done by changing the UCSDETECT variable to 0

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

HD2022 — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 15:35:00 GMT

Hey Marieta,

any chance you can provide more details on this? I am having the exact problem as described by the original poster but setting UCSDETECT to 0 made no difference for me...

I have a point cloud, doesn't matter whether its 3d or 2d - I can trace over using polylines without issue it but when I want to select more than a single object than is drawn over the point cloud (IE - click once and drag down and to the right for a selection box to select multiple lines) it just selects the point cloud and stop. Click once and drag as well as clicking, holding the click and dragging. The result is the same - it just highlights the pointcloud and stops there.

I have tried locking the point cloud and locking the layer it is on, it makes no difference, it still wont let me drag out a selection box unless I am outside of the pointcloud area. I have tried adjusting the z axis of the pointcloud lower than the polyline geometry. Doesn't do anything.

Any guidance someone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

tomlynham6453 — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 17:56:02 GMT

Okay, so six years later I know, but this is still a problem that AutoCAD has not addressed. Revit realized this was a problem at least 13 years ago. You can toggle off "point cloud select" in the system tray.

Thank you for your attempt at a custom command for this, but the root of the problem here is not that you can't select linework individually when a point cloud is in the background (which is all you can do with this custom string posted here as "the solution"), it's that you can't get a selection WINDOW STARTED when there is a dense point cloud around the linework you are manipulating.

This is something that has been a major flaw in AutoCAD's interface going on a decade and a half since point clouds were first able to be imported into AutoCAD.

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

pendean — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:13:49 GMT

@tomlynham6453 wrote:

Okay, so six years later I know, but this is still a problem that AutoCAD has not addressed. Revit realized this was a problem at least 13 years ago. You can toggle off "point cloud select" in the system tray.

This is something that has been a major flaw in AutoCAD's interface going on a decade and a half since point clouds were first able to be imported into AutoCAD.

You'll have to provide Autodesk with your feature changes/new features yourself over here where they look for it https://www.autodesk.com/company/contact-us/product-feedback

HTH

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

frspyridon.papavasileiou — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 15:57:45 GMT

Hello there,

where do we download the ssget macro/lisp from?

I would be grateful to anybody able to help out!

All the best

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

josephsBVB7M — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 20:37:28 GMT

This seemed to work on my end so long as I had the pointcloudboundary mode set to 0. I do not have the point cloud locked in my properties toolbar as shown in the snippet more toward the top of this thread.

In summary, I have my:

pointcloudboundary mode set to 0

ucsdetect variable set to 0

ohsnap options for point clouds (within the 3d object snap tab) all turned off

I have a Pointcloud section to slice mode and have left-clicked on the section>right click>isolate>hide objects to hide the section box so my snap 2d object snap doesn't automatically default to the section but my view stays the same so long as the live sectioning is turned on.

This combination is letting me trace the exterior walls of a pointcloud at Z=0 without acad recognizing 'potential' surfaces.

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

draghici_gabi89 — Wed, 22 May 2024 12:37:32 GMT

Thanks a lot, this helped!

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

tpetermanALDUF — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 03:44:07 GMT

This didn't work for me. Another trick that may help is to put the point cloud in a block, instead of directly in the drawing area. This will still prevent clicking and dragging where points are detected. But other than that, the point cloud is ignored and doesn't get selected when clicking or dragging to select objects.

Re: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

samZZ9WW — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 15:14:52 GMT

Surely there is a viable solution for this by now. Zooming in and out to avoid point cloud selection is becoming very tiresome.

Betreff: Getting Autocad pointcloud unselectable

taylor6LFBY — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 17:12:21 GMT

100% my experience and outlook. Our point clouds are incredibly dense and can rarely start a selection window without selecting the PC. The only thing working for us is to split the viewports and change the visibility to 2D Wireframe. Very annoying and a major oversight in updates for ACAD.