Deleting all objects without selection

[dmitriZTSCC]

I need to delete every single object in my model in one command. Unfortunately, the typical approach of ERASE → ALL → <enter> does not work well because the ALL part makes a selection of every single object. Since I have thousands of objects in a generated model, this causes AutoCad to lock up for several minutes (!!!).

So, my question: is it possible to somehow clear the entire model without selecting anything? I know I can close the file and open a new file, but this is somewhat annoying.

[pendean]

No.

Why, if I may ask, is this not more than a one-off need that would not take but a 2-minutes to implement manually? What is the purpose you are striving for here, perhaps a different workflow exists to better meet your need.

[dmitriZTSCC]

I am generating masonry layouts for a house I've just built. The masonry layout is composed of thousands of individual bricks that cannot be homogenized (i.e., the use of textures is not possible). This results in a model with floors and windows and thousands of individual bricks (each is a BOX). Selection of all these boxes is where an epic slow-down happens.

[pendean]

>>>...Selection of all these boxes is where an epic slow-down happens....<<<
That's probably not going to be any faster with all other objects erased: you can test it yourself, simply FREEZE all the layers of all the other objects (assuming your bricks are on a unique layer). Same effect as erasing everything else.

Are these individual bricks actual BLOCK object types too? Or something unique like a solid (you wrote BOX) on a dedicated layer?

[dmitriZTSCC]

No, these objects (created with the BOX command) are neither part of a BLOCK nor part of any separate layers.

[pendean]

SELECTSIMILAR or QSELECT or FILTER commands should pick them alone if nothing else, then WBLOCK to create a new file with only these "bricks" in the new file. (and if you wish, a good time to isolate them into a unique layer).

You will face the same problem, slowness exists until you get past it I am afraid, your having that many quantities of free individual items that where not combined into blocks (per wall, or per feature or...).

Good luck.

[dbroad]

What is the advantage of destroying the data in a file vs starting a new file?  I don't get it.  If everything goes, delete the file.

[dmitriZTSCC]

The advantage is I get to keep the layer definitions, viewport settings and preview settings, among other things. I don't want to have to keep re-doing them all the time.

[dbroad · Accepted solution]

That is generally what templates are for.  AutoCAD Architecture automatically creates the layers you need on the fly however so I usually use the default templates for layer settings.  Project templates are a good approach if you want to save sheet layouts.

To create a custom template, try this. Put up with the deletion delay.  After deleting the objects in each drawing category you want a template for, save those drawings as templates.  Then begin using those templates for new projects.