REMOVE FEATURELINE FROM SURFACE

[tony1978]

I would love to see a feature in the ribbon where I  can select one or more featurelines that is part of a surface, and in the ribbon would be a feature to remove from surface. It would not delete the featureline just remove from the surface. Even if the featurelines were add to the surface as a group, it would update the definition in the surface properties. There are times where I will add several featurelines all at one time as a group. Now I would to remove one.This is where this feature would come into play. Right now I can remove a group of featureline or individual items in the Definitions but what if two featurelines were part of two separate groups that were add?  

[doni49]

For clarification:  This was also discussed in the forum.  Tony is specifically referring to the definition tab of the surface properties.  There are checkboxes that allow you to temporarily remove specific breakline sets from the surface definition.  But if you added more than one featureline to the surface at the same time, you can't turn one off without the other.

[doni49]

From a programming standpoint, this is how I think I'd go about this:

It would look similar to what you see when you're creating data shortcuts.  There is a checkbox for PROFILES.  If it's checked, then shortcuts for ALL profiles will be created.  If one or more of the profiles is checked (BUT NOT ALL OF THEM), then it would have a green square in the box.

Well when a "Breaklilne Set" is added to a surface, the definition tab would show a check box next to the breakline set along with the ability to expand that set to show the individual breaklines.  If you uncheck one but not the other, the checkbox next to the breaklien set will show a green square instead of a check mark.

Related idea:  We need a way to select the featureline graphically.  Pick a button in this dialog box and the dialog will close.  Now I can pick the featureline I want to remove.  When the dialog comes back up, the breakline is highlighted and I can check or uncheck it as needed.

[C3D_TomR]

Technically I think you can remove a single feature line.

1. List the feature line that you want to remove. Note the Breakline set # and the Item # in the group. For Breakline set2: 4, the set # is 2 and the item # is 4.
2. On the prospector tab, expand Surfaces > SurfaceName > Definition > Breaklines branch.
3. Select the Breakline set noted from Step 1. In this example it's Breakline set2.
4. In the Item View of Prospector tab, select the breakline with the item # from Step 1. In this example it's Item # 4. You may need to make the Description column wider to read the item numbers.
5. Right click the breakline you want to delete and select Delete. This will remove the breakline from the set and renumber any additional breaklines in the set automatically.
6. Even if you have the surface set to Rebuild Automatically it will not rebuild. Right click on the surface name in Prospector and select Rebuild.
7. The surface should now reflect the removal of the feature line from the surface definition.

I've recorded a screencast of the process. I found it humerous how many times I pressed ESC during the 42 second recording. Hopefully with these instructions and the very short video showing the process you'll be able to remove any breaklines you want in future projects.

Be warned that the breaklines/featurelines get renumbered within the set so if you need to remove multiple breaklines from the set, start with the highest number first or select all of them at once by holding the CTRL key and selecting them individually in the listing. Also note that if you choose Select from the right click menu the surface will be selected, not the individual feature line as you might expect.

Remove a Single Feature Line From a Breakline Set in a Surface

http://autode.sk/1ImtyhN

[doni49]

Thanks for taking the time to post that. But it's much simpler to ERASE the feature line (which also removes it from the surface) and then type OOPS (this UN-erases the last thing you erased without putting it back in the surface definition).

But the OP is working with the definition tab of the Properties dialog and wants to uncheck a feature line to temporarily remove it from the definition and eventually turn it back on to restore it).

[C3D_TomR]

I find that anything like UNDO or OOPS tends to cause corruption in feature lines so I look for other ways to get the desired result.

If the feature line is the only one in a set then your recommendation of uncheck in the surface definition before delete works fine.

Another solution is to copy the feature line to a temp site and delete the original feature line before moving the copy back to the original site.

All that to say that there are many current solutions for this request as well as additional suggestions including adding some type of check box to the individual breaklines in the item view similar to the ones in the definition tab of the Surface Properties. This would also allow a "try before you buy" scenario.

[tony1978]

Now lets simplify that by just isolating the featureline layer, then selecting several featurelines that were added from several different groups of featurelines.. This is where the new feature would come into play. I would simply just create a rectangular selection box or select individual ones and in the ribbon the new features icon would say remove from surface. 

Yes I can delete a featureline from a group listed in the prospector but you have no idea which one you are deleting when you have 800 featurelines and 20 featurelines are in each groups. You have the option to  zoom to the general area of the featureline but it does not highlight and indicate which featureline you are selecting in plan view.

[tony1978]

We do have an option to select a featureline within a group but it is still not indicated within plan view. Wish it would show the grips or highlight the featureline.

[joantopo]

Similar idea:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-civil-3d-ideas/surface-remove-breaklines/idi-p/7003216