How to select all overlapping lines without manually selecting individual lines?

[lornaarch20]

I have scoured the internet for weeks and haven't been able to find a solution. I am on a deadline and desperately need help on this one.

I am a Mac OS user on AutoCad 2020 for ref.

I am working with a large OS map of a location and have the job of cleaning the tiles. The problem is that there are many duplicate/overlapping lines. To do this manually (which I have been doing) would take months and until now has taken 2 months. The map is approx 8 miles in radius so it is far too big to do this manually. 

PLEASE NOTE:

I can't use selection cycling as this would take too long to hover and select each overlapping line.

I can't overkill as overkill is deleting lines I do not want deleted.

Questions to the 'Please Note' points above:

Can I use section cycling to select many lines all at once?

Can I tell overkill to select the overlapping lines instead of deleting them?

For example:

I have 2 layers. One is called HOUSING and the other is called FOOTPATH. In total there is around 197,000 entities on these two layers combined.

HOUSING is colour 2 (Yellow) and FOOTPATH is colour 8 (Grey).

Many thousand lines from the FOOTPATH layer are also overlapping on lines from the HOUSING layer. I need to select these overlapping lines so I can clean the map ie by moving them, deleting them or whatever. What I will do with these lines after I have selected them is not the problem. The problem is being able to select these lines in the first place. Is there a way to select ALL overlapped lines only? I do not want to delete these lines.

Please please help. 

[pendean]

>>>...I can't use selection cycling as this would take too long to hover and select each overlapping line...<<
>>>...I can't overkill as overkill is deleting lines I do not want deleted....<<<

So what do you want to do with them once you find them? Explain the fear of not getting rid of them in a copy of your DWG file that can remain as your 'record copy".

[lornaarch20]

The lines that are overlapping are lines that cannot be deleted. It is an OS Map of a location I am cleaning up. Deleting lines would mean I’m deleting something that exists. Whoever made the tiles has created duplicate lines on over 100 layers. My job is to clean the map up. I just need to know if what I’m asking can be done as I can’t find a solution anywhere.

[pendean]

"cannot be deleted" does not explain what you want to do with them once selected/found: can you dig deeper and explain what happens to those extra lines?
How are you tasked with cleaning up but at the same time not wanting to delete anything?
Perhaps you need want to find a tool that merges all of the overlapping lines into one instead? Or something else?

Then we can help you find a solution if one exists.

[maxim_k]

Hi @lornaarch20 ,

>>>>>Many thousand lines from the FOOTPATH layer are also overlapping on lines from the HOUSING layer.

If they are on different layers, then you can freeze one of these layers - the layer you want to leave in place - and then use standard selection methods to select objects on the second layer. You will be able to see if they overlaps.

[lornaarch20]

Thanks for the suggestion but I can’t do that. There are thousands of lines on each layer. 127,000 on HOUSING and 63,000 on FOOTPATH. And there’s no particular order to the lines that I need selected so it would take too long to select them manually. The lines I need deleted are bounded by lines I need kept also so it would mean carefully selecting these duplicates which would add more time on to selecting them.

[lornaarch20]

Yes I will be merging those selected lines with the HOUSING layer and matching their colour properties to the H layer also. Or once selected I could delete them realistically.

The problem here is not what I want to do with them. I need to be able to select all the duplicates at once. Overkill doesn’t allow me to just select them all, it deletes them. And unfortunately overkill is deleting lines that I can’t have deleted. I’ve tried freezing the layer I need to protect most. I’ve tried quick selecting to see is there some genius way to quick select lines under lines. I’ve tried overkill and selection cycling but none work for this particular problem.

[maxim_k]

@lornaarch20 ,

Once again - what is your main goal?

Do you want to combine these two layers?

or

Do you want just to delete (move) objects on one of the layers that overlaps with objects on another layer?

or

something else....

[jporter]

I'm a bit confused here too.  Is there a problem with isolating each layer and then cleaning each layer up with the OVERKILL command?  Yes, it will "delete" lines, but it will merge overlapping lines into one and then delete the duplicate lines, thus maintaining the original "feel" of the drawing.  

[lornaarch20]

That is ideally what I would do but the lines that it deletes ultimately affects a layer that I do not want it to interfere with. I’m posting from my phone here so I will jump on my laptop and try and take a screen grab or recording to explain what I mean.

[jporter]

However, if you isolate only that one layer then that one layer is the only layer you manipulate at the time you run the OVERKILL command.  Yes, please make a screen cap or recording to better explain.  

Thanks, 

[lornaarch20]

[lornaarch20]

Okay so the screenshots Ive tried to explain what I mean. The red circles on FOOTPATH screenshot are just some points of where there are overlapped lines. The green lines on that screenshot represent the lines that need to be kept.

[lornaarch20]

When I bring the FOOTPATH layer drawing order to the front and then OVERKILL, some lines from HOUSING layer are being deleted. The screenshot doesn't depict the size of this drawing. If it were a small drawing I would be performing overkill and then manually go in and fix any issues created. This is just a small example of what Im working with as there are many other layers this problem is giving me also. I thought for the forum we'd just discuss 2 layers to come to a solution, if one exists.

[jporter]

Why not make a completely new layer and copy all the line work from both layers to it.  Then freeze the FOOTPATH layer and HOUSING layer.  Then run the OVERKILL command on the remaining lines.  This allows you to keep both layers in tact and still have your desired outcome.  

[lornaarch20 · Accepted solution]

Okay so I figured it out FINALLY.

I copied HOUSING layer on to a new temp file so it's safe.

I then returned to the original file and exploded both layers. I turned off FOOTPATH and then ran PEdit on HOUSING layer to join and extend all. At this point the layer looks a bit crazy as there are many new lines but it's fine as this layer will be deleted and replaced with the safe layer from the temp file. I then turned back on FOOTPATH layer and performed OVERKILL and all of those overlapping lines that I wanted to target are gone. I then deleted the HOUSING layer and brought in the safe/copied HOUSING layer from the temp file. I feel like I've just won the lottery.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I apologise for the vague description initially.

[stephane_veireman]

Bonjour,

Désolé mais je réponds français.

Avez-vous utiliser l'outil de Sélection Rapide ? Il permet de sélectionner énormément d'éléments en fonction de plusieurs critères de sélection.