About Creating and Modifying AM2DHIDE Hide Situations (AutoCAD Mechanical Toolset)

The AM2DHIDE command creates hidden lines by enabling you to set the objects in front, in the 3D sense, as the foreground , and objects behind as the background .

If you modify the foreground or background objects, or you want to change the object selection for the foreground or background, use the AM2DHIDEDIT command to update the hide situation.

You can include objects in multiple hide situations. For example, an object can be part of the background in one hide situation while it is part of the foreground in another.

When you select objects for the background, the program breaks the objects automatically and moves the concealed areas to the appropriate layer. This function makes the objects hidden lines or invisible. As long as you keep these objects together, you can restore the original representation with the AM2DHIDEDIT command.

Note:

• AM2DHIDE cannot break/hide SOLID hatch patterns. The same applies to standard or custom content inserted with the Solid hatch command.
• If you select the Invisible on Layer AM_9 option in the dialog box that appears when you invoke the AM2DHIDE command, the program places elements in the background on a layer (AM_9, AM_9N, or AM_INV) that is turned off, by default. When you invoke the AM2DHIDE command (or the AM2DHIDEDIT command) again, the program switches on the layer and resets it to its previous state. This function ensures that all entities that you can manipulate are visible.

  You can deactivate the automatic switching off of layers containing concealed elements by setting the system editor key Acad/M > Hide > Invoff to 0. You must switch off hidden or invisible objects before plotting.

• It is possible (for example, during a copy operation) for some entities belonging to a Power Object (for example, a shaft) not to be selected. This behavior occurs when the program breaks these entities in the background, at which point they are hidden or invisible and no longer form an object.
• To enable copying an object in its entirety or to use Power Copy (AMPOWERCOPY), turn on the layers containing the concealed elements. To toggle the visibility of these layers, choose Format > Layer Tools> Invisible Lines On/Off.